Another issue i have been pondering is that when writing, brainstorming ideas, do i write for the locations that i have, or do i write and then find the locations instead of writing around my boundaries.
Good question. If your goal is to shoot a film on the cheap, then you should write something that utilizes things and places you already have, or can beg, borrow, or steal for your film for free. While there's nothing wrong with Rodriguez's book, it's more of a memoire than anything particularly useful.. I'd recommend you pick up a copy of the
DV Rebel's Guide.. it is all about the how-to's of making a film on the cheap, and this question is one of the first things addressed in the book.
I want something that can show off my ability as a director, editor, cinematographer, but i also want to produce a good story. Should i focus more on an in-depth story with well thought out dialog, or just come up with a basic plot and film a great 10 minute action flick? I'd like to have both but i'd like your opinion on that also.
Without a good story and well thought out dialog, your "great 10 minute action flick" is going to be a crappy 10 minute action flick, because it won't know where its going and it's more than likely your friends, family, and whomever else you're talking about putting into your film isn't that good at improv to create the story on the fly and have it not suck. Don't skip over the story portion just because you're eager to shoot something. The more time and energy you put into
every aspect of your film, the better off you'll be.
You've made plenty of shorts, but nothing you want to show around... you want to change that this time, the good news is it's absolutely possible, the bad news is that it has to do with a great many other things than just the camera it was shot on. Don't set yourself up to fail from the get go,
Write a good solid script, have it critiqued, rewrite it, etc...
Put in plenty of time on preproduction, storyboarding, casting, etc..
The more organized you are going into the actual shooting phase, the more smooth and productive it will be.
Make sure you've got enough coverage for a good edit.
If you've got visual effects, make sure you can make them look believable, hire someone to do them for you that can, or write them out of the script. A half-assed visual effect detracts from the viewing experience, and would be better left out than used.
CAPTURE GOOD AUDIO AND DEVOTE A GOOD PORTION OF POST PRODUCTION TO THE AUDIO MIX
(which must NOT be done with headphones, or cheap computer speakers if you want it to not suck in a theater)
Until you can make a kick ass short film that looks & sounds awesome and has a story -- even if not the BEST story, it has a story that doesn't suck with believable characters, etc -- until then, my advice is keep making shorts.