'alone' - a zero budget short, and how I did it.

[danieljohnsonfilms]

I jumped on a plane from London, UK - to New York, USA - my plan was to visit some friends, meet some writers and producers, and get to work on a feature script, as New York always inspires me. I was in New York for a month, and I wanted to write a feature in that month.. but I only ended up writing half. I was happy, though, as I unexpectedly made a short film, using 12 actors, on a zero-budget. It was a lot of fun and I'm happy with what I did.

A lot of people ask 'how do you do something in New York for absolutely no money?' - so I thought I'd talk a little bit about the process I went through, and hopefully it'll inspire some people who have maybe been struggling to get to making their first film. For those of you who are more experienced, you've probably done all of what I did, and more.

I took a handheld camera on my trip with me. Just a little handheld JVC thing, not professional, not even semi-professional, a bog standard, consumer model.

When I got to New York I started to get ideas for a film. I was feeling a bit lonely at the time as I was ill and not up to seeing people. So I was a 7 hour flight from home, in NYC with nothing to do and no-one to see. I began writing the script for 'alone.' I wanted to write something I could do with just me and my little camera. And of course, I realised -- this camera is going to perform better outdoors than indoors. If I film outside during the day, with natural light, it'll look pretty good, but the minute you go inside; the lack of professional lighting is really going to show. So I decided straight away to do something set entirely with exteriors (I ended up with one short shot which was an interior).

Also, being just me and this little handheld camera - It was never going to look polished and totally professional. I was aware of this when writing, and it added to my conviction to write about loneliness and lonely characters. It felt like a handheld kind of story to me. People out in the streets, being alone. By writing this way, you could almost say I gave myself license to have bad camerawork. Or rather, I allowed my limitations of budget and equipment to become a plus.

I wrote 12 parts for actors. Actually, I wrote 15 but ended up cutting a few bits-- the wonderful thing was that the parts were all very interesting for actors; very involved and very short. So an actor could turn up on location, do some fun, interesting work, and be gone in an hours time. The speed with which I decided to work meant that actors were all to happy to work with me. There was an improvisational spirit to how we worked, and my directing style (even though it was scripted, there was room to find the moment) which again made it attractive to actors. Therefore, I didn't need to pay anyone, yet still got great talent. It was a true guerilla style collaboration -- no money, no time, no anything, just a writer/director with a camera and a story, meeting his actors and getting to work.

The wonderful thing about using such a small, low-spec camera, is that nobody is interested. Nobody says 'ooooh, will this be on TV?' or 'Do you have permission?' - they just think you're tourists. And therefore, I was able to film anywhere I wanted. I shot in many of my favourite places in New York, with absolutely no problem at all.

I also shot a scene this way in London, to add a level to the story, which really helps tie the film together.

So this is the film - a zero-budget short movie; just me wanting to try something around an idea I had... I would love for you to check it out. I am quite proud of what we achieved out of nothing, and for all of you filmmakers I think you'll love watching these actors; they're ones to look out for in the future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upfVIPiOpbc


Daniel johnson

PS: The guy checking the blonde out on the train is me in a cameo!

[devhaven]

There was some real nice stuff in there. Apart from too much hand held camera I thought it was a nice story.

[CDCosta]

The bad audio make it unwatchable. It was too 'Home made'

[danieljohnsonfilms]

Maybe I shouldn't have written so much about how I made it, ha! Come on man, it's not home made looking at all; no need to put down a guys work like that. It has a lot of good qualities, it's a shame there's none you felt worthy of commenting on.

Dan

[M1chae1]

I think you guys put a lot of work into this, and it shows. Congrats. Gorilla filmmaking!! Woo hoo! How do they work permits in London and New York? You guys were shooting in major public locations, how does that work? Do the police bother you? Anyway, that's neither here nor there...[EDIT: I read your post and understand. With a tiny camera and no equipment, no attention was drawn to it being a 'production.']

I think some of your shots were really cool, albeit typical--like the street level traffic shot. I would have liked to see more composed, steady shots. I felt like there were a few times the handheld worked just fine, and it was usually when the shots were relatively steady. I think a good portion of the film was too shaky, and the overall composition and strength of a scene would have been increased had you used a tripod. Don't be afraid of the sticks. Composing a shot is an important thing.

The audio needed a lot of work. There were a few times I couldn't even hear what the actors were saying. That just isn't acceptable--especially when you put this much work into a project. You should spend a little more time with ADR if it's needed. No need for a project to suffer from this kind of thing. Either get a shotgun mic, or ADR what is needed.

Several of the actors were very good--the black couple were awesome, and the guy with the beanie was good also. The rest of the actors were a bit weak. The girl on the cell phone had a lot of dialog, and I didn't care for her performance--it was stiffled and unatural. I would have liked to see a stronger actor in that role.

The story made it's point...but barely. I felt like the transitions, the character through-lines, and the overall concept got lost in a sea of unrealized editing blips. The film gives me the very feeling you want (being alone, or tumultuous relationships and what they can do to you), but I felt like your concept could radiat much more powerfully if the script and editing were a bit more realized.

The lighting was natural light only...not much to say there. It was OK for what it was, but I would have liked to see more actual lighting design. I know I know...that's impossible when you're shooting gorilla...I'm just saying.

Nice work overall. I just thought the concept was a little wishy-washy, the sound wasn't great, the camera work needed refinement, and the acting could have been more well-rounded. But with all that said...I thought you did a good job. Next time set yourself up to do more actual production design.

Good luck on your next piece.

[Ghattprod]

I think you did a good job bro. sure there are some imperfect audio parts but as your story explains you did a guerrilla style film here. you didn't have the advantage that others on big budgets have. I say great job of using what you had. the shot composition was nice and for a non pro camera the resolution is pretty good. I also enjoyed the music. you should consider maybe making something like this into a feature. Keep up the good work.

[Smith]

Well I really liked it, yeah the sound could have been better but I understood what was being said, & the camerawork was fine considering your limitations.

I loved the concept of glimpsing people's lives to convey the theme of lonliness, and I feel you were successful in doing that.

But y'know what - the coolist thing is that you put yourself on a plane to NY alone and shot a film... that must take some balls.

Smith

P.s. UK FTW

[Dreadylocks]

I really liked it. I don't think I could improve upon M1chae1's review. I think the black couple were the best actors by far, and that girl on the cell phone was the weak point(maybe just because she had a lot of screen time)

But I'm really impressed that you got such steady shots with a handheld. I can't get anything steady w/o a tripod, but I am working on making a shoulder mount so I can still have some movement in my films.
I'd still give the audio a 7-8/10, I found it perfectly adequate, especially given the equiptment.
Overall, I liked it a lot, keep it up!

[backlash]

I liked it. Considering the style the sound was acceptable. Some of the camera settings caused a bit of blur at times.
Still, the acting was convincing and most of the situations credible, some were a bit forced though.
The part that didn't convince me a lot is the fact that the story didn't really drag me anywhere. It seems as it sets up for something bigger, but then it just stays there. Too many characters to specifically like or worry about one of them. But that's just my feeling.

Great that you put that with so many actors. I always have problems finding people, but I don´t live in the UK or US :-(

[danieljohnsonfilms]

Hey All,

Thank you so much for the responses, I really appreciate it - and like that you've all taken the time to spare 7 minutes for me. I know how hard that is, I'm often watching something on youtube and am struggling after 19 seconds!

I take on board many of the comments re: handheld, sound, etc - for me, I was aware of them from the beginning and didn't think those problems should deter me from making it. And I think the subject and style of the film allows for them to be a lot less than perfect... and I can't stress enough how low budget this was. This was me and a little camera; no crew, no nothing-- just me doing something with the actors, in two different countries. So in that respect, I'm very proud of it.. and for the more negative, dismissive people on here; I think they miss the point.

Thanks all - It's really great to meet you all and get some honest feedback

Daniel

[TI Irwin]

Awesome for a $0 budget. Acting was good. Not too big a fan on cell phone girl, but the addict and his girlfriend were great! Good for inspiration on making cheap well.

I think you should add more of the London element to your story. Maybe shoot some more footage at home and tie the theme of loneliness to every city. - Just food for thought! Nice short!

[Cracker Funk]

Mumblecore!

Have you seen "The Puffy Chair"? It's pretty awesome.

The audio wasn't an issue for me. But hey, that's just me. I felt perfectly fine accepting that this thing was shot with nothing more than a handicam. I've seen entire movies that were shot with nothing more than a handicam, and some of it, I've liked a lot.

Nice work. Personally, I think that script you're writing -- you should shoot it yourself, mumblecore style.

[HaroldSmithArt]

Daniel,
That was a powerful short film. Took me back to some hard times I went through. Performances were on point, music was on point.
Brother, you hit a grand slam on this one.
Harold

[HaroldSmithArt]

What camcorder did you use? Did you use the built in mic?

[danjama]

I loved it. No audio issues for me! Great actors and camera work.