Yep, I'm making a fan film and it's the best decision I've ever made.
It's a Judge Dredd (comic version) based film, focusing on a little know character, Judge Minty, written over twenty five years ago.
Soon after announcing the idea I had numerous solid offers of help including a brilliant prop maker and sh*t hot CGI digital artist. Even though I said I had a project to finish first and couldn't start filming until at least next year, they've already started making stuff! I've also had an offer of help from a produced script writer.
Don't you love it when things get a life of their own?
And you are not the weakest link. You were the spark that lit the flame. Now keep adding fuel to the fire.
Yes, I'm a walking cliche' lately.
__________________ "When in a certain frame of mind, all that enters the mind is filtered through this frame." - V.P. Turner http://www.indietalk.com/blog.php?u=6530
Thanks for the positive comments. I've got to admit I'm very excited.
With a lot of the expensive things now available for free, these are the highest production values I've ever worked with. Getting a bit nervous.
I've been suggesting things like, "how about we shoot this scene in a concrete underpass" and getting responses like "yeh, we can have a smashed CGI bike in the foreground with it's wheels still spinning and a massive CGI Mega City backdrop in the corner". And the prop maker saying "how about we can smash up a prop helmet and stick it on a pole" for another scene.
Amazing.
The obvious disadvantage is that, because it's a fan film we can never really own what we produce or make any money off it. Unless some kind of deal is arranged, but in that respect the property owners hold all the cards. The main reason for making the film is love, a guaranteed audience and perhaps some good exposure. We've already had a convention asking to show the film, before I've even written the script.
Don't you love it when things get a life of their own?
And you are not the weakest link. You were the spark that lit the flame. Now keep adding fuel to the fire.
Yes, I'm a walking cliche' lately.
I can't agree more with this statement...The one thing that's in seeming short supply in the lower budget indy world is producers who are willing to go the distance with a project. There's alot of It would be fun to and not a lot of finished projects after they're started. Slowly we start to congeal people around us who will help us get a project completed and they are gold.
Producing is an art form just as much as Prop folks or CG artists...but producers manipulate circumstances to produce locations and resources rather than manipulating various materials to make a particular prop or a computer to make a spaceship.
Don't sell your talents short Producers tend to make more $$$ than others on a project in hollywood because they shoulder the risk and burden of action and completion.
Yeh, some of the fan films are amazing. It should be a great. People are already getting interested. We're hoping to get a nice teaser trailer sorted this year, I'll post when it's finished.
I never really thought of myself as the producer, more writer and director, but I guess that's what I've become, by default.
You're right VPTurner, it really has taken on a life of it's own. It's cool to come to my desk on a morning and find a bunch of emails, with cool suggestions and people creating more work for themselves.
Cheers, the CGI artist is now working on digital lizard like mutants (Gila Munja) to lurk in the shadow for one scene. They're going to be brilliantly detailed, but we're only going to show glimpses of them, less is more if you know what I mean.
Just thought I'd update this thread with some more visual references and post production images of 'work in progress' props. These were designed a desktop images so sorry about the size.
Producers tend to make more $$$ than others on a project in hollywood because they shoulder the risk and burden of action and completion.
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