From Frame One

So, I made a feature film over the last year and it's now making its way into the world. I've got another year of university and then... life.

So I thought: how can I keep myself going forward? How can I keep myself creative and productive? How do I make another film?

And the answer (or part of the answer) that I came up with, is to make a new blog about the process of making a feature film- right from the very start, when it's just you and an idea, through (hopefully) to the point at which people get to see it. Hopefully it will be an educational resource, but hopefully it'll also be an interesting saga that might appeal to audiences and investors alike.

Anyhow, here's the website: FromFrameOne.com

The first post is kind of an introduction, so I made a little video of myself (very casually) introducing the project.

If I may make a suggestion - in my opinion, this kind of video is best kept to the 2-3 minute range.

I'm interested in hearing what you have to say - I'm a writer/producer with one feature completed and working on the script for a second - but it drags.
Just my opinion, though.

NickClapper said:

So I thought: how can I keep myself going forward? How can I keep myself creative and productive? How do I make another film?

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Make $0 short films.
Paint.
Write.
Draw.
Listen to music.
Sculpt something.
Write a screenplay.
Bring a notepad everywhere you go. Write down ideas.
Do something you've never done before. Get out of your comfort zone.
Continue to write, and begin to perfect your writings.
Keep on doing that, and once you get that brilliant idea that gets you excited, write a script for it.
Perfect that script.
Development and pre-production...

And the answer (or part of the answer) that I came up with, is to make a new blog about the process of making a feature film- right from the very start, when it's just you and an idea, through (hopefully) to the point at which people get to see it. Hopefully it will be an educational resource, but hopefully it'll also be an interesting saga that might appeal to audiences and investors alike.

Anyhow, here's the website: FromFrameOne.com

The first post is kind of an introduction, so I made a little video of myself (very casually) introducing the project.

Click to expand...

Oh, or you could do that

Best of luck! I look forward to seeing it

Very nice.

I greedily look forward to seeing how this progresses and the ongoing feedback you receive from the blog itself.


Are you active on other online forums germane to the theme/elements/activities/locations within 'Heavy Lifting's story where you converse with those members?

I'll be honest, I'm not really expecting to do another video blog for several months- hopefully then it'll have some actual content! Apologies for it being too rambling, but it was just an introduction.

@Ray: I'm not really active anywhere else online, except Facebook and Twitter (and my other blogs). I'm not really sure, right now, how I'm going to approach the project, or where I'm going to look for enthusiasm/support. Perhaps that'll be the topic of my next blog post...

I hope that the breakdown of budget on FOTF is quite interesting to people. It's actually the first time that I've sat down and tried to work out exactly where the cash went. It's by no means a precise list, but should give an indication of the costs of doing this sort of thing in a major city.

I like it!

Ok, well I don't have much to update on the film front, but it's good to keep this thing going.

I've read a lot of threads on here worrying about the three-act structure and quite a lot of responses which, in my opinion, fail to take into account very important reasons why structure is both important and unessential.

'Heavy Lifting' is a film that explores the three-act structure in a metafictional way, so I figured it was worth writing up a (relatively) brief exploration of how I used (and abused) the three-act structure in writing the screenplay. I love some feedback on whether people think this sort of post is useful.

The Undisciplined Three-Act Structure of 'Heavy Lifting'

Thanks

I would be more interested if you made a "making of / behind the scenes" type video

sfoster said:

I would be more interested if you made a "making of / behind the scenes" type video

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Huh? I think you may have misunderstood the project- at the moment, a BTS video would be me going about my everyday life. There'll be nothing to film for many months, possibly years.

Given that I won't be video blogging again til Christmas, I'm curious to know whether texts posts are interesting. I've had a pretty decent response from people outside of IT, but this is a community of filmmakers and I'm making a film (or trying to, at least), so I'm interested in your opinions.

Hi guys!

Been away at university for a couple of months, so haven't really had time to contribute (or even think about) to this. But I'm back for Christmas, so I figured it would be worth trying to get some stuff done. I took bits and pieces of the script to a writers group during the term and it seemed to work quite nicely out loud and got plenty of good feedback.

For me, the next step is to try and drum up a little bit of interest in the project. When I was approaching The Flight of the Flamingo's crowdfunding campaign, I decided that, rather than doing a moodboard style teaser trailer, I would film a single scene from the movie and use that to demonstrate the tone of the piece. I think this was quite an effective technique in hindsight, and one that I'd recommend to other filmmakers.

I'd like to make a proposition to any IT filmmakers out there. If anyone is bored at the moment, doesn't know what to film or doesn't have any inspiration, then I'd love it if you'd take on the filming of a short scene from Heavy Lifting. Doesn't have to be super high production values, doesn't have to be UK based, doesn't have to be exactly what's written on the page. I'd love some of the filmmakers on here - who are far more talented with a camera than I'll ever be - to spend an afternoon filming a scene from the screenplay.

You will, of course, be fully credited and acknowledged. I'd post any such scenes on the project blog and may also use them when looking for investors and sponsors (all the time reminding them who the actual talent behind the camera was!). So, if you're interested, let me know!

Interesting idea, Nick. Will you be posting a link to the script or selected scenes?

Nice idea, send a download to your script.

Flicker Pictures said:

Interesting idea, Nick. Will you be posting a link to the script or selected scenes?

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rotwang said:

Nice idea, send a download to your script.

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Hi guys, thanks for your interest!

I posted the script in this thread. For those who haven't read it, but are curious as to what it's about, here's something of a logline:

Jay and Alexa are a young couple who have just broken up. At the launch of Jay's new play, he bumps into Alexa and ends up considering the ways in which their failed relationship has inspired his creativity.