Updated July 2009, planning for fall shoot.
Life and Death and All that Crap
NOW CASTING FOR HALLOWEEN SHOOT
An existential film for four actors:
Two moving men, an older grumpy vet and his fresh young rookie, on a strange job in a house with no owner.
An old man in a cemetary, and a little girl who wants to play.
I am accepting headshot/resumes for the four players, as well as talented crew with experience in 35mm film camera and sync sound. (The film is all day shots so light equipment should not be needed, or be minimal.) As I explain below, I'm on a very tight budget, but can provide transportation to/from NYC or your home and lunch.
BUDGET:
Camera rental, each day: $225-250
400 ft color negative,
4 rolls(20 min of raw stock):
$128 * 4 = $512 + shipping
Insurance for 35mm rentals from a NYC facility is about $500 a day. If we film on Super 16mm in one day, camera and film costs could be around $800. Cool!
You may notice the HTML title says video, as I've considered filming on HD. If push comes to shove we will, but I'd rather have the film look!
Remember the old analog vs digital saw regarding audio? Here we go again - film just looks better than HD.
LOCATION, LOCATION....and PROPS
We need an empty house to film in, or one with rooms to pillage of belongings. It requires front steps, with a wheelchair ramp preferred but we can modify. We also need to rent a white moving van.
Here is a draft of the schedule (please remember all final schedules are still a draft :) ):
9 AM old man, little girl
sc 6 and 7 Front of cemetery, town
ref shot - playing
insert - girl standing on sidewalk in different places, sunlight
sc 7 trailing shot, handheld, into town
10 AM sc 2, 4 Graveyard hill
insert - wheelchair cam
extreme closeup zoom, child's entrance
insert - distance shot
ref shot, 2 way dialog
12 LUNCH
12:45 PM working men
sc 3, 5 Interior of house
ref shot 3a - enter house
inserts (2) 3a/b - young man explores
ref shot 3b - men chafe
ref shot 5 - men work together
2 way conversation
3:30 PM ensemble
sc 8, 1 Outside of house
ref shot 8 - track!
insert - closeup, skyward
insert - 2 way dialog (old man, girl)
finale shot
ref shot 1 - truck arrives
6 PM Wrap!
What? A film shot in one day? That would mean 20 shots in about 8 hours, averaging a shot every 25 minutes - setup, two takes, next shot. Here's where daylight scenes are advantageous to shoot and move fast. A second day would basically be for cleaning up problem scenes. Or more likely, day one would be the graveyard area shoot, and day two would be the house starting early enough to wrap by dusk.
Well, we won't know until we try, won't we? I'm a guy whose made a decision to realize the one dream I have treasured since I was a teenager. This is my reel as well as a part of yours, so I want to make this the absolute best it can be. But time, and the right partners, are more valuable than money at this stage of my career. Be my secret weapon, today.
Contact Me on my website for email and questions are welcomed always.