Should I make my own camera rig, or buy one in this case?

Stop worrying about the dumb stuff you don't need.

Go and make films now. Once you have your experience, let it guide you.

Well the film I decided to make takes place in a driving scene mostly.

If you cannot shoot it this weekend, put the story/script aside and shoot another. Come back to this story later. Go get shooting.

Well I was going to go shopping tomorrow, for the rig... but I am tired of shooting random things like buildings and cars driving by. I want to shoot something for an actual short, since I was told that random shots of whatever I can find, do not count.

since I was told that random shots of whatever I can find, do not count.

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You know what you need to do. No need to be a tool anymore. Drop the excuses. Losers make excuses. Even if they're from someone else. Shooting random things that do not count is better than spending your time being a loser.

Well I was going to go shopping tomorrow, for the rig...

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Go buy the rig. Whatever. Just pre, shoot, post, learn, repeat. Anything that slows you down, put it aside and then you pre, shoot, post, learn, repeat. When you figure you have nothing more to learn from pre-shoot-post-learn-repeat, then it's time to slow down and start asking your usual questions for a little while and then go back to pre-shoot-post-learn-repeat. Get out of the loser cycle you're stuck in.

The only questions you should be asking lead you towards, "How do I do it this weekend" and "Simple steps I implement now that can improve what I'm doing", "Who can I add to my network".

Ignore steps that will stop you from making films.

Cannot do post audio? Easy. Don't do it. Cannot grade it? Don't grade it. Can't write? Steal scenes from films/tv. Can't block, copy blocking from films/tv. Don't have a camera, use your phone or make a film with stock footage. Don't have audio gear, make a film that doesn't need it. Don't have access to lights, shoot where you don't need it. There are plenty of other areas in filmmaking you can make improvements that are way more important than those. Get it? You can make films or you can make excuses.

Film making or LoserVille awaits you. Your choice cupcake.

Okay I can shoot random shots tomorrow then... Do you think I should stick with the attitude of getting a movie made by any means necessary? With the first short I made, I was told it was bad to make everyone shoot for a 16 hour day, and I was told it was bad to kick the noisy tenant pretty much force, out of the location of the owner in order to get it shot back then... Do you think I should still stick to that attitude and make the movie, by any means necessary then, if losers make excuses?

I guess it was too much for h44 to stop making excuses.

I also guess it was too much to expect you to have some common sense.

If you think your only option to shoot your film is to shoot 16 hour days and assault members of the public, you need to professional psychiatric help. Your head is screwed on wrong.

Do you think I should still stick to that attitude and make the movie, by any means necessary then, if losers make excuses?

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This is why you've managed to only shoot one short in 6 years. You either shoot or you don't. It's really that simple. You've managed to shoot for maybe 4 days out of 2189. Don't tell me you're so dumb that you never considered splitting the 16 hour day into two 8 hour days? You still would have had 2184 days free. Location not available, shoot on another day. You'd still have 2183 days free to come up with more excuses.

You make more excuses, have less of a network and make less films than any film maker I know. That's an accomplishment. Not a good one, but still an accomplishment. Keep living the dream.

for a DIY rig like this it depends on how expensive your camera is.
I would never put a $3,000 camera on the hood of a car with a DIY scrap i didn't trust. yikes.

On the other hand, if a legit rig costs the same price as my camera.... then yeah i would just DIY rig instead.


As far as making a film by any means necessary - that's not meant to be taken to extremes.
Yeah we do break minor laws sometimes where no one gets hurt. But you're not suppose to blackmail or threaten people with a gun to get your film made. That's nuts.

Don't give up and don't make excuses when there is a reasonable alternative. That sort of common sense thinking isn't your strength but it takes faith sometimes. You've got to stay positive and believe there is an alternative while you try to figure out what that solution is.

I didn't threaten her with a gun or anything, I just ended up making the landlord getting her out for the day, by showing her that I had a signed contract to shoot there, even though she lived there, and the landlord allowed her to move in and make all sorts of noise, without telling me. So I guess it wasn't really force, but manipulation.

As for shooting for 16 hours, the landlord was not conforming to the rules, of the place she was renting out, I found out, and the power bills were not being paid. So they were going to shut down the power to the location, in a couple of days, I found out on the day of shooting. So I knew I had to get it done then, cause the other actors would not be available to shoot again for two weeks. So I had to get it done, before the power to the location went out. If the landlord had told me that ahead of time, I could have gotten another location, but I only found out after, shooting almost half the movie there already. So it was pretty much get it done, then or not at all. But next time I guess I should call around, and find out if the location is under any legal penalties of being shut down like that, rather than taking the owner for her word.

What's worse to ask of my actors though? To shoot for another 8 hours... Or to ask them to reshoot a lot of what they did before, just because the location was going to be powered out in a couple of days, and we need one location, so everything would match to give the audience the impression that it's the same location as before? Should I just have asked the actors to reshoot what was already shot, later on, and they would have been up for that more? I just really didn't want that footage to be waste.

As for the rig, I could use the homemade one, like in the video, if it's worth it, rather than buying a professional one, but the professional ones last longer I find, or at least the DIY steadicam I made, didn't hold up as well over time. It didn't work that well really, compared to a pro one, that I tried later.

As for the camera, when I mount it to the car and drive, is there a way to keep the wind from turning the focus ring, and putting the picture out of focus?

What's worse to ask of my actors though? To shoot for another 8 hours...

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What's worse... if you had the experience in problem solving and shooting instead of a phd in shitty excuses, this would have been unlikely to happen.

Not all films require contracts. Most of the stuff that I shoot are done in friends houses or even just at home. Shoot with friends even if it's just for fun. Especially if all you're shooting for is for youtube. Think small scale and work with what's ALREADY available to you. Hell, we've shot with construction lights a bunch of times. You're very ambitious, but sometimes that ambition gets the best of you. I'm not saying to stop being ambitious, I'm only saying to go small and gradually work your way up. Or just shoot a solo thing by yourself.

Okay then. A musician I am friends with wanted me to direct him in a music video. I could do that...