Need help making my first professional movie!!!

So I've made many short films before but none have been very good quality and have been shot with a cheap camera. Now I am planning on making an action/comedy/drama feature length film and I'm confused where to start and what to buy. I've already written a majority of the script but I need help with what equipment I need (Camera, audio, lighting, tripod, mics, and pretty much anything you guys can think of). The equipment doesn't need to be top of the line but I do want it to look professional. I also kinda need to know how much this stuff would cost so I know how much I need to fundraise. Also, any other tips for this process would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much in advance!
 
Your first step. Finish your script.

Once you've done that, break it down and then post details. It's very difficult to even have the first clue to what you need without knowing what you're doing.

As for fund raising, that'll depend on the volume and quality of your fanbase. If you don't have a fanbase, it'll depend on the volume and quality (of their purse) of your friends and relatives.
 
Don't buy any gear. "Hire" people who already own gear. What you want to do is direct a script, not learn how to run a new camera, incorporate "professional" audio, how to light well, etc., etc., etc. You want to collect good films, not equipment. I know that this runs contrary to what most of the folks here will tell you.

But think about it; you'll spend about $20k (or whatever) on gear you may or may not know how to use, and since you'll be running the camera you'll be handing the audio off to someone who probably knows less about production sound than you do.

Okay, now take your $20k (or whatever), give 10% to the DP, 10% to the PSM/Boom-op, 10% to the grip/gaffer. Another 10% to the editor and audio post. The rest pays for everything else - fees/permits, food & drink, sanitation, security, actor & misc. crew stipends, filmmaking expendables, etc. Now all you have to do is "direct" people who know more than you do and can help you more closely capture what you see/hear in your head.

Which of the above scenarios do you think will give you a better film?
 
So I've made many short films before but none have been very good quality and have been shot with a cheap camera.

You seem to be taking two indirectly related facts and somehow arriving at an illogical conclusion that one causes the other!? In summer more people drown and more people eat cheap brands of vanilla ice cream but, eating a cheap brand of vanilla ice cream does not cause more people to drown.

I've already written a majority of the script but I need help with what equipment I need ...

According to the title of your thread, you need to know how to turn your script into a professional movie and there is no equipment which can do that. Effectively you are asking which type of ice cream you should eat to avoid drowning!

The equipment doesn't need to be top of the line but I do want it to look professional

There are a whole bunch of variables involved in making a movie appear professional of which equipment quality is only one and not even the most one! Such as: Experience and skill of who is using the equipment, working conditions/environment, planning, preparation and management of those people and conditions, etc. Let's take a simpler example of getting a paint job for your car: Buying a decent or even top of the line paint spraying machine is still going to result in a crap paint job unless you have someone who is an experienced and skilled painter. Even having an experienced painter AND top of the line spraying equipment is still going to result in a crap paint job if the environment isn't right (say a dusty field). Even having an experienced painter AND top of the line spraying equipment AND a professional (dust free) paint shop will still result in a crap paint job if the bodywork of the car has not been prepared professionally before it's given to the painter. The same is true of making films, if you want a film which looks professional then the first thing you are going to need is professionals! Maybe you can raise yourself to professional or near professional in one or more filmmaking fields but remember that professional doesn't just mean occasionally being able to achieve something which looks professional, it means always being able to achieve something which looks professional and that means not only knowing how to use the equipment but knowing which is the right tool for the job and of course having other supporting professionals to design, plan and manage the preparation and conditions which enable our professional to achieve professional results.

If you want to make professional quality films I would advise you to spend time observing professional filmmakers, learn more about film aesthetics and the filmmaking processes/techniques which enable them and put all that into practise by making more and better shorts. Asking the question you've asked indicates that you're not yet ready to make a professional movie because there is no equipment (top of the line or otherwise) which will give you a professional quality movie.

G
 
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Welcome to indietalk, stillyswillis.

I hope you're taking in all the good advice you're getting. I, too,
think you should not buy all the needed equipment. Rent. Better
yet, team up with people who own and use their equipment. You
want a good camera? Find a dedicated DP with a camera. You want
good audio? Find a dedicated sound person with equipment.

But I know that's not what you want to hear:

I need help with what equipment I need (Camera, audio, lighting, tripod, mics, and pretty much anything you guys can think of).
The minimum equipment I would suggest having on hand is:
a tripod
6 lights with stands
2 china balls
8 extension cords
6 power strips
black wrap and gels
2 bounce boards
a good shotgun mic
a boom with extension cables and shock mount
headphones
4 apple boxes
a coffee maker
a slate with marker
gaffers tape
a bunch of C-47’s
batteries

If you can afford it.
a dolly (wheelchair or doorway)
a simple grip kit with:
c-stands (at least 6)
flags (assorted sizes - at least 8)
scrims (at least 6)
silks (at least 2)
cookies (at least 1)
sandbags (one for every light/c-stand and then 6 more)

I also kinda need to know how much this stuff would cost so I know how much I need to fundraise.
Now that you have a list of equipment YOU need to do the research. Are you
up to it?
 
The minimum equipment I would suggest having on hand is:
a tripod
6 lights with stands
2 china balls
8 extension cords
6 power strips
black wrap and gels
2 bounce boards
a good shotgun mic
a boom with extension cables and shock mount
headphones
4 apple boxes
a coffee maker
a slate with marker
gaffers tape
a bunch of C-47’s
batteries

I think this is a pretty good list although I would say you could probably get by with less, depending on your short. I would say the big thing that is missing in this list is a good computer and monitor and all your post software which is also going to cost a pretty penny.

I first got into film making because I wanted to answer the question of why films look so much different than home videos. I think the reason is, ordered by importance: Lights, Audio, Camera, Post. In order to excel in each of those areas, you need most of what is listed up there plus all your post equipment.
 
I think the reason is, ordered by importance: Lights, Audio, Camera, Post.

Interesting, I would order them differently. Camera would definitely be last, Post would be far nearer the top, but by far the most important item isn't even on your list, the personnel!

I would say the big thing that is missing in this list is a good computer and monitor and all your post software which is also going to cost a pretty penny.

Baring in mind the title of the thread contains the words; "professional movie", this point you are making is where we run into trouble. A "pretty penny" is a gross understatement! Extremely few filmmakers, even amongst the multi-millionaire famous directors, can afford their own post equipment. I only know of two modern day makers of professional films who actually own their own post equipment, everyone else hires post companies/facilities when needed.

G
 
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