Handling the Pressure

8salacious9

8salacious9

Hey guys,

so since i last filmed that little clip for my film Seishin (reminder): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sef69UoWmcc

you can follow on twitter if youd like :) www.twitter.com/seishinmovie

It went quiet and i had been heavily promoting on Twitter (godsend), now in the last two weeks, after having my main actor drop out (i got rid of him coz he couldnt attend on dates so it was getting ridiculous), I was in a panic situation, I desperately needed actors, casting websites werent working too well to be honest, all positions were unpaid, i could maybe afford some small change towards travel and some home cooked food, but was this enough?

sure my film to me is great and i believe done right will get me massive spotlight attention, its unique in my opinion, its franchisable in my opinion.

well after looking like it was going all down hill with only 2 actors to my film with at least 2 more needed it looked like i would have to either keep blagging on twitter that the film was going to be great and it was under process, or something had to change...

that change came by the way of a facebook like.. from there i met an actor who has been in quite a few british gangster films Danny Dyers 'VENDETTA' for example, who said he would like to be in my film and even help film, from there he introduced me to other actors to which in total i now have around 7-8 ... not only that but on twitter iv had quite a few actors ask if im still casting (despite me tweeting a need for actors weeks ago) then I had a nice surprise, Someone who was in Harry Potter deathly Hallows pt 1,2 asked me if i was still casting, now iv only emailed him about the film so he may not reply back etc but to me this was a great pinnacle to my film, an example of the kind of calibre actor that a little unkown film like mine can get, he had a few roles in the film too i believe.

so now im getting to the stage where im constantly getting people asking me if theres roles still available.. thing is theres so many now that i havent thought that far ahead, i didnt think this would happen, most of the actors I had before they left were my friends, now im left with my little sister as the main star and another guy my friend introduced me to (who is phenomenal and a great discovery) now i have a whole bunch of actors to choose from, have already casted a few and this time theres a new aura around my film.

'Handling the Pressure' well how does someone like me, who A.has never made a film before, B. been involved in any films majorly (some minor camerawork) C. wrote only one script which has gained alot of attention, handle the higher profiles? I dont really have a crew? i actually had to wake up my lazy Sister (other sis) to do the boom for one shoot that i scrapped...

have i gone too far? what is everyones expectations? do they realise, i have one small canon 600d, with a 50mm 1.8 lens? when i told them this was my first film, i dont know if they realise, ITS MY FIRST EVER FILM, when i said this was my first script, THIS WAS MY FIRST EVER SCRIPT!

now im enjoying the attention and quite proud that i havent had to spend a penny to secure the actors i have at the moment and everyone knows things can go wrong, people could drop out etc, but its going well so far and i want to shoot as soon as possible.


so tell me, what does the REALLY indie boy do? what would you do? im being asked for schedules and everything, something i havent even considered, usually it was just a text message or a facebook message which said sunday 11 am at location x etc etc, that was it, now im having to really think about it...

to anyone that doesnt know, i only started filmmaking last year and only started writing a script last year too, this year was going to be my year and iv had some problems (see post about annoying customer) but now its like things are moving faster than expected..

sorry for my waffling but i need some opinions...
 
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I would expect my first film to be utter crap and try not to involve as less people as possible. I don't want people to see me failing and making mistakes (which will happen, even more on a first shoot).

Have you shown that little teaser to these people ? If yes, they know exactly what they're dealing with (the grading tells it all).
 
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Well, you handle the stress/pressure by drinking heavily, ingesting huge amounts of cocaine and shooting heroin. Then....:lol::cheers::D

You know yourself best. I like exercise to bleed off stress. I drink LOTS of water and take my vitamins; yeah, I'm disgustingly healthy now, but have to make up for previous years of abuse....

For things you don't know about or understand do not be afraid to ask for help. "The only stupid question is the one you don't ask." Just be sure to ask people you trust, who know what they're doing, and that you listen intently and carefully to the answer and then apply it.

You are now coming to realize that when those of us with experience told you to preproduce to death we really meant it. Yeah, preproduction is boring and technical and extremely un-fun, but it makes the shoot and the post process A LOT easier. And, if you do it right, preproduction can be creatively interesting as well as fostering a feeling of involvement for the cast and crew. The fact of the matter is, the smaller your budget the more you need to preproduce.
 
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My main actor has been the biggest problem with my web-series for me for months and months now. It's been delayed so many times that I've had plenty of time to re-write it over and over again.

We're at a point where one more day of shooting is all we need from him, but he currently isn't responding to emails or phone calls or texts... The pressure is intense because we're SOOO close to completion... I just want that big sigh of relief when it's finally through...

It's like being unable to orgasm after months of masturbating...


I deeply envy you for being able to find more actors. I wish we could trade what we're stressing over.

But keep in mind, when you ask what everyone's expectations are, they may have faith in your film based on the script, or even your enthusiasm. They're likely all used to skeleton crews and low-to-no budget films, because that's how they probably started out.
 
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mussonman said:
My main actor has been the biggest problem with my web-series for me for months and months now. It's been delayed so many times that I've had plenty of time to re-write it over and over again.

We're at a point where one more day of shooting is all we need from him, but he currently isn't responding to emails or phone calls or texts... The pressure is intense because we're SOOO close to completion... I just want that big sigh of relief when it's finally through...

It's like being unable to orgasm after months of masturbating...


I deeply envy you for being able to find more actors. I wish we could trade what we're stressing over.

But keep in mind, when you ask what everyone's expectations are, they may have faith in your film based on the script, or even your enthusiasm. They're likely all used to skeleton crews and low-to-no budget films, because that's how they probably started out.
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haha i know what you mean, thats why the guy in the clip had to go, constantly making himself unavailable, so i had to re-write the script.

please believe me when i say that i had no one... no actors whatsoever to fill in his role just two weeks ago, now its like they are pouring in.. (good things come to those who wait ...right)

i have no patience the most il wait for someone is a month, iv seen people prepare 2 years for just a 10 minute film, which isnt productive in my eyes, im getting old fast and i need to be ahead of the game.

everyone knows this is a zero budget film, but are excited by what theyv seen.

again i dont think il please everyone, but the hype around my film is rising higher and higher, im filming today so lets hope i can do some justice.
 
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Alcove Audio said:
Well, you handle the stress/pressure by drinking heavily, ingesting huge amounts of cocaine and shooting heroin. Then....:lol::cheers::D

You know yourself best. I like exercise to bleed off stress. I drink LOTS of water and take my vitamins; yeah, I'm disgustingly healthy now, but have to make up for previous years of abuse....

For things you don't know about or understand do not be afraid to ask for help. "The only stupid question is the one you don't ask." Just be sure to ask people you trust, who know what they're doing, and that you listen intently and carefully to the answer and then apply it.

You are now coming to realize that when those of us with experience told you to preproduce to death we really meant it. Yeah, preproduction is boring and technical and extremely un-fun, but it makes the shoot and the post process A LOT easier. And, if you do it right, preproduction can be creatively interesting as well as fostering a feeling of involvement for the cast and crew. The fact of the matter is, the smaller your budget the more you need to preproduce.
Click to expand...

yeah i guess now is the time to show how much im dedicated to the film to get it right, i think il enlist the help of another member on here who iv met and helped film... he seems to know bang on what hes doing and is a great director.

thanks for the advice im soaking it all in now :)
 
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TheArtist said:
I would expect my first film to be utter crap and try not to involve as less people as possible. I don't want people to see me failing and making mistakes (which will happen, even more on a first shoot).

Have you shown that little teaser to these people ? If yes, they know exactly what they're dealing with (the grading tells it all).
Click to expand...

I disagree with you, why should my first film be utter crap? I'm very creative, i know what i see, im not doubting il make mistakes, but i reckon il have an OK production, to be honest only people like us will notice grading issues and in regards to the grading, i know very little about it, but i still did it myself and took it to a look that i prefer, its in a re-anime world.

but your right they do know what they are dealing with.. a genius in the making ;) haha
 
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You can believe whatever you want.

But whoever you are, your first productions are bound to be crappy because you'll run into problems for the first time ever and you'll have no experience on how to handle them.

The very first time I took people to shoot something, the Sound part went very badly. I'm glad we were only three on set, no matter how excited and how much I read about it and how confident I felt, I still made mistakes and I'd rather make them in an intimate environment than show them to the world.

About that grading, it's overdone. I understand that you're going for a specific look but it's still not working.
 
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I agree with the user TheArtist here. After completing my first short film I ran into countless problems. Delays in filming due to actors suddenly having committments (we weren't paying them so we couldn't tell what to or what not to do - if they had other ways of making money would you blame them?), the camera work wasn't always the best, their were technical problems with the camera and sound kit, and a lot of times the script would change while filming completely just because it made sense to the story. Not to mention no budget makes finding suitable locations hard.

I'm glad we didn't aim too big with our first production, in the end we were just relieved to have it completed because it was a lot of work which had a lot of problems. Usually as you make your first short film you realise how you work as a director on set with more professional actors, you understand the difference between working with amateurs and people who have had professional experience and again this is a lot more pressure to try and make everything go smooth to look good for them, especially when it's your first production. Your trying to prove something to yourself as well as others.

But it's also true that not every first short film has to be crap but there will be many mistakes thrown into that, it's whether or not you can handle the pressure after you realise that mistake has happened (on set), or of course in editing if you spot something completely disastrous it might be too late.

Good luck on your first short film and I look forward to seeing it when it's completed.
 
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TheArtist said:
You can believe whatever you want.

But whoever you are, your first productions are bound to be crappy because you'll run into problems for the first time ever and you'll have no experience on how to handle them.

The very first time I took people to shoot something, the Sound part went very badly. I'm glad we were only three on set, no matter how excited and how much I read about it and how confident I felt, I still made mistakes and I'd rather make them in an intimate environment than show them to the world.

About that grading, it's overdone. I understand that you're going for a specific look but it's still not working.
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well of course its all down to opinion, i agree il run into problems, the production wont be professional as of course im still an amateur, iv seen films that were filmed good but i didnt like them, i believe this will be filmed okish but people will like it.

and everyone has opinion, their entitled to it, as you are yours, all thats left is for me to prove myself worthy because there is no end to an arguement of what is good and what isn't.

and hey if i please a few people then all the better than none.
 
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Notoriety Pictures said:
I agree with the user TheArtist here. After completing my first short film I ran into countless problems. Delays in filming due to actors suddenly having committments (we weren't paying them so we couldn't tell what to or what not to do - if they had other ways of making money would you blame them?), the camera work wasn't always the best, their were technical problems with the camera and sound kit, and a lot of times the script would change while filming completely just because it made sense to the story. Not to mention no budget makes finding suitable locations hard.

I'm glad we didn't aim too big with our first production, in the end we were just relieved to have it completed because it was a lot of work which had a lot of problems. Usually as you make your first short film you realise how you work as a director on set with more professional actors, you understand the difference between working with amateurs and people who have had professional experience and again this is a lot more pressure to try and make everything go smooth to look good for them, especially when it's your first production. Your trying to prove something to yourself as well as others.

But it's also true that not every first short film has to be crap but there will be many mistakes thrown into that, it's whether or not you can handle the pressure after you realise that mistake has happened (on set), or of course in editing if you spot something completely disastrous it might be too late.

Good luck on your first short film and I look forward to seeing it when it's completed.
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I agree completely with everything you said, mistakes are going to be made, iv scrapped 2 scenes already coz they looked crap and i had people not turning up etc, but today we are re-doing one of those scenes, this time everyone is here, and thanks.
 
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haha loved this post. It reminds me of me in so many ways. I used Craigs list for Casting though and it worked really good, found some great people.

Your schedualing question, well you may have it figured out but i'll let you know what I did maybe it will help some one. what I did was plan a film schedual a month a head for two months. Right now I need to start my june/july schedual but made my april/may schedual in March. It also all depened on what shots I needed to do. I saw you have some woods in your movie, maybe scheudle for july / august.

Scheduling is easy you got this, most important thing is to not stop your project keep it going. ride it out like a pirate on a sinking ship. Not saying ur movie is gonna be a flop just saying don't give up. Hell Tarantino took 3 years to finish his first film then it all went up in flames,
literally.

I never filmed anything either, like you this is my first script/ film. rally interested in your work at least you can edit it HA I wish i could do that right now. Keep it up man, never stop
 
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Salacious, I'm with you on this one -- your first film does NOT need to be crap. You can make an AWESOME first film.

It's just that the odds are very good that you'll always think to yourself that it's an AWESOME first film.

I love my first film, always will. I have very fond memories of it, and I learned a lot while making it. I stand proudly by it, and enjoy sharing it with anyone who cares to see it.

But if I were still making films like my first one, I'd be ashamed of myself. I've grown a lot since then, and I plan to continue to grow. I think that's all that folks like The Artist are trying to convey to you -- your first film will not be what you ultimately desire to be making in films.

That doesn't mean it can't be awesome, and that doesn't mean that you can't feel proud of it. Just expect that you're going to see many things that you're going to want to do better next time.
 
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Take your blessings. If you can impress these people, you have a really good platform to work from, and potentially a great pool of people to use - not many people get that after their first film. I'd make absolutely sure they knew your exact position, though, because if you do royally balls up (not certain, but chances are, something will go wrong) then they're not going to feel mislead or like you've wasted your time. Hell, even if it turns out as the worst short they've ever made, they obviously admire your ambition, style, enthusiasm, whatever, and you will still have a great pool of people to use in future! (because they won't hate you/feel like you're a time waster)

Cracker Funk said:
I love my first film, always will. I have very fond memories of it, and I learned a lot while making it. I stand proudly by it, and enjoy sharing it with anyone who cares to see it.
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heh, I hate all my early work (well, i'm still in my early work, but only started becoming anywhere near serious a year or two ago). I had done things with friends for a few years earlier, and they were utter crap - we knew that, we were just killing time and having fun. Then when I started taking it seriously, I poured so much in and it was still utter crap (my first attempts at writing drama, as opposed to parody/comedy that only we found funny). It was infinitely better than the stuff I'd done before, but it was done under the conditions of a media class (at school) and, at the time, i was running a little creatively short on story. So even though my work was better (my last one for media was technically quite solid, but story is overly convoluted), it felt empty. Because it was work for a media class, we had to go through all the *proper* processes - which I am not going to deny are important or useful - and the production took a long time. I ended up pouring so much into something I wasn't that passionate about, and it probably shows. I just grew to hate it more and more as it went on, but i was a perfectionist, so I still tried to make it as good as I could. With my last film, I was also working with a couple of really important local (stage) actors, so I really didn't want to let them down. Ultimately, it's nothing I would willing show people or be proud of though.

In the summer holidays, I made a couple of films (using my friends) that were written and shot in a day. And these are the first projects I don't hate. I guess because I was in a better writing/creative frame of mind than I was in media class, and I was doing things very much on my own terms. I think it shows and they're better than the work i poured 4-6 months into because of that. Media class wasn't a waste of time, i learnt a lot because of that, and those short/fun films (going back to parody a little - albeit more intelligent) wouldn't have looked good without it. I'd still be hesitant to show people them, but I don't hate them.

For me though, I don't know if I'd call any of these my "first" film.. Maybe that's wrong, but they're all important, and either lacking the emotional input from me, or the level of professionalism in production. I am now investing in my own gear, and have been writing my own material again - I think I will consider the first film I make, the one I make completely on my own terms (where I have a story I want to shoot, not when I'm told to write a story and make it) and with my own gear. Then again, I may not like it and decide it wasn't really my first film :P

Sorry, i went on a massive tangent there, was initially intending to just say I hated my first work (whereas you loved yours, but recognise its flaws).
 
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Cracker Funk said:
Salacious, I'm with you on this one -- your first film does NOT need to be crap. You can make an AWESOME first film.

It's just that the odds are very good that you'll always think to yourself that it's an AWESOME first film.

I love my first film, always will. I have very fond memories of it, and I learned a lot while making it. I stand proudly by it, and enjoy sharing it with anyone who cares to see it.

But if I were still making films like my first one, I'd be ashamed of myself. I've grown a lot since then, and I plan to continue to grow. I think that's all that folks like The Artist are trying to convey to you -- your first film will not be what you ultimately desire to be making in films.

That doesn't mean it can't be awesome, and that doesn't mean that you can't feel proud of it. Just expect that you're going to see many things that you're going to want to do better next time.
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yeah i think you nailed it on the head, maybe i was giving the impression that my film will be a blockbuster hit, of course not, the filming might be shabby, the colouring may be crap, but the story could be good, it could be enjoyable to watch, again we cant please everyone.

iv already learned alot so far... I will probably do a big write up for all newbies about the reality of filmmaking.
 
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Just prepare every detail before shooting.
Make a timeschedule that's not too tight.
Be nice to your crew and cast, but stay in charge.
Make it the best you can.

Don't spend year in After Effects trying to clean up mistakes. Edit it. Finish it after you shot it.

Don't panic!
Keep the end goal in mind, but go there step by step.

Your first movie doesn't have to be completely crap, but believe me: a year from now you will notice things you could have done better :P
 
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