Filmmaking while on Vacation

Graeme

Graeme

I might be crazy... but I'm looking at taking a 3-4 week vacation (likely somewhere(s) in Europe) and I'm thinking to myself "Wouldn't it be Cool to Make a Movie while travelling?" Now I'm travelling solo but will likely for at least part of the trip be in a tour like Contiki as that reduces my need to handle logistics of intercity travel and getting room to sleep.

I will be quite limited in plot capabilities (considering I have no Live actors, and only me as crew)...
Camera - GH2 with Mounted Light and Microphone - Maybe a small travel tripod.

Of course films float to my mind to which I could play off, I'll have to adjust to be my own idea but again I'm trying to think on the 'How' for the plot.
- Euro Trip
- Muppets (puppets but I could almost just green screen them on background video).
- Doctor Who
- Jumper
- Borat (but less likely to try offend people - starting fights in forgein countries is a bit of a no-no in my book of solo traveling).

Thoughts/Suggestion on how to do this?


Note: I normally rely on loose scripts and improv - When I direct I tend to do all the crew shots on a small simple rig to reduce need for a lot of crew - previous works here - http://www.checkitoutfilms.com/
 
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So u want to make a narrative short film with an interesting story WITHOUT any planning DURING your vacation and no crew/actors?

I get stressed out during the shoot with an excessive preproduction and help from my friends..
But if that's your idea of vacationing then how about :
How about a stressed and burned out obsessive detective can't switch off the detective mode and creates a murder investigation while he is vacationing.
 
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In one word: Yes

More than one word: ideally I have the story concept and rough plot so I know what I need to shoot in each city.

Another movie concept would be Angles and Demons.

In the end I'll likely go with Mystery, Point A-2-B, or Mocumentary idea as those are I think easier to coordinate on the fly.
 
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How about a travelogue? A man is on a brink of a mental breakdown and runs away from home. On the way, he realizes why life is worth living.

That's kind of hard, to shoot yourself as an actor, key grip and everything else. But oh, well Good luck with that.

BTW, have you seen "127 Hours"? You might get some inspiration since for the most part the film only focuses on one person. :D:D
 
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Graeme said:
will likely for at least part of the trip be in a tour like Contiki as that reduces my need to handle logistics of intercity travel and getting room to sleep.
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Throw a Hero or Contour onto your hat and just talk to people, in your group, as you travel. A straight-up travel documentary (about people who like to travel) will be a lot easier than struggling with how to form a fictional narrative with unwitting actors/characters on the fly... which also means you'll be able to enjoy the actual vacation, too!

:cool:
 
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Build a Snorricam with the modification of two camera mounts (mounted180 degrees out) so that you camera faces toward yourself and the other sees what you see. Yes, you will look silly, but it could be fun as hell. If one of your cameras is a GoPro HD Hero 2, you can use a lavelier microphone connected to the HD 2 for self commentary.
 
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Why not make it about an inanimate object? Or something that keeps turning up in all the different places? You can have a single character (you), which would make the narrative easier, or make the object/symbol itself the main character.

When I think about it, it reminds me of a one-man play I saw a while back called 'Under the Lintel.' It was a man telling the story of his research/discovery/evidence of the Wandering Jew all over the world (in the end he realizes that he always leaves his mark, though he's not allowed to tell anyone who he is, by writing 'I was here' on walls all over the world.)
 
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butterbescotch said:
How about a travelogue? A man is on a brink of a mental breakdown and runs away from home. On the way, he realizes why life is worth living.

That's kind of hard, to shoot yourself as an actor, key grip and everything else. But oh, well Good luck with that.

BTW, have you seen "127 Hours"? You might get some inspiration since for the most part the film only focuses on one person. :D:D
Click to expand...

Nice idea which can be on from the traveller's POV. It's not an ordinary movie but if well made can be really amusing. ;)
 
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Interesting that you mention Dr Who. maybe you could do a short following the doctor around various countries, tracking him via computer which can detect the time distortion caused by the tardis. You almost catch up with him at various places and finally you manage it in one place. Shots of running around places and just managing to hear the sounds of the tardis leaving before you get there.

The reason for chasing after him, perhaps you want to travel the universe or maybe you just want to return his sonic screwdriver he gave you. Just an idea but I wont call Steven Moffat just yet.
 
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One man discovers an international conspiracy of world altering proportions. His search for truth will take him across the globe.

Turn your self into a fictional character who has never traveled beyond his home town before. Play the "culture shock" game. take your cam on the streets of exotic places and be in character and talk to people... I guess thats like Borat, but it doesn't have to be offensive... try "bizare" foods like "french onion soup" or "pasties" Go way over the top on the mundane.. could be funny..

The "wandering jew" thing mentioned by dready has a cool feel.

Do a DiVinci code "lite" version..
 
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Perhaps a genealogy trace-back premise would work.

For whatever dramatic motivating event reason your character decides to take some time to investigating his surname's history and origins.

Along the way and at various adventurous destinations he meets a litany of sincerely brilliant and disturbed relatives who are at the same time very thoughtful and kind.
Throw in a love interest, some ideas for product placement, and tie it with a beautiful bow: Frankly, none of it matters. Somewhere between Heisenberg's uncertainty and serendipity we are who we are.

It should be very low impact.
Lotta scenic shots and private moments as your character conducts ongoing research.
Lotta voice overs to bridge between seemingly legit interviews.
Fabricate completely off the wall Tarantino-esque bullsh!t stories for people to "share" about how this and that the family is or was.

Channel your best Robert DeNiro doing investigating, exploring, and interviewing.
"How would Bob read through yellowed 17th century courthouse documents in Flintshire Wales?
Would Bob agree to more than a nightcap from the voluptuous selkie innkeeper in Muckle Roe Shetland?"


To add a layer of intrigue, perhaps the character's official family history is forever noted for a particular crime, murder or theft.
While simply investigating that history he uncovers the crime was the tip of the iceberg as the family was unjustly branded and vilified by the laws of the land at the time for "crimes" we would consider just and good today.
Be creative. I got nothing. :lol:
Just a thought, though.
 
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Come up with whatever story you want, plan for it, then film a BUNCH of background footage of all the awesome locations you'd want to use. Then you can green screen your actors at a later time...
 
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wheatgrinder said:
Rayw.. did you see "everythign is illuminated" sorta follows your plot..
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No, I haven't!
I forgot about that one being on my to-do list, though!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_Is_Illuminated_(film)
Thanks for reminding me.


Strangely, I just finished Melancholia (meh... ) by Lars Van Trier who, upon his mother's deathbed, was told by her that his real father was someone else.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_van_Trier#Biological_father

So, somewhere between that and the vaguest plot line of National Treasure: Book of Secrets I thought a simple adventure story could be crafted.
 
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Thanks for the bunches of good idea, yeah I'm thinking along the lines of self-mockumentary (aka not real but made to look real) of me running around. Anything more I think will require help I simply won't have.

So my thinking right now (subject to change as I do more and more research) is go to Europe and pick 4 locations/cities and plan out a simple script with why I would be at those 4 places.

One of the places I would like to visit is Bruges, Maybe another in England and France (think smaller cities/villages rather than large popular cities which are crowded etc)... leaving me one other location...
 
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