Community Project

NickClapper

NickClapper

My greatest regret, during my time on IndieTalk, has been my failure to get a community project off the ground. We came pretty close with the organ lottery project, but it never quite worked out. The past few days has seen a new member trying to get another community project off the ground, but is, I suspect, going to fall into a number of inevitable traps.

I am currently studying for the final exams of my academic career (*sob*) so am just sitting in libraries all day, every day. I'd like something to break it up a little bit (in addition to the couple of projects I am, slowly, working on). So I've come up with a new way to do a community project.

If you would like to participate in this project as a director (or in a shooting capacity), I need the following information out of you:

What actors are at your disposal? [i.e. two men and a woman]
What locations are at your disposal? [i.e. a house, a bar, an abandoned quarry]
Can you record decent quality sound? [i.e. yes]
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Please be conservative with your responses. In order for this project to be realistic and work, I need to be sure that people can (and will) shoot their scenes in the allocated manner.

Once I have a bunch of participants, I will go away and write a short script that incorporates these various shooting units into a single coherent story. I will ensure that no member has more than a maximum of two days shooting (though generally will try and keep it to what can be done in a single day). If you cannot record decent quality sound, I will give you no dialogue to shoot. Everything will be kept as simple as possible (within the constraints of a very tricky project!) so that we have the maximum chance of success.

Additionally, if you are not willing to direct (or arrange the production of) a shooting unit, there are loads of other roles that are required:

Composer
Editor - individual units should edit their scenes but a central editor will put it all together and try and ensure that the editing matches throughout.
Post-sound
VFX - will not be VFX heavy, but we can incorporate some if there's someone who can supply the talent.
Marketing - with so many cooks, would be great to have someone responsible for pushing the film.
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In order to make this attempt as successful as possible, I will only accept forum regulars into the scheme. New members (and I'm talking people who've only been around a few weeks) are welcome to input and help out, but it is of paramount importance that I know people will stick around and see their unit through to completion.

The deadline for signing up is 18th April 2014, giving people two weeks, after which we will allocate two months (and a bit) to complete production of your scenes, meaning a shooting deadline of 30th June 2014. As I have said, should be no more than a day of filming over the course of two months, so if you can't commit to that then please don't!

I really hope this works, and I think it can. Let me know if you have any thoughts and get signing up!

Current units:
David.rhsc (San Francisco, USA)
cheeseandachallenge (Wellington, New Zealand)
Cracker Funk (Richmond, USA)
wheatgrinder
Flicker Pictures (Boston, USA)
mad_hatter (Birmingham, England)
Dreadylocks (Omaha, USA)
Lucky Hardwood (New Orleans, USA)
ChimpPhobiaFilms (Ohio, USA)

Fence-sitting-maybe-merchants:
WalterB
Dreadylocks
sfoster
mad_hatter
ChimpPhobiaFilms
ItDonnedOnMe
jax_rox
Flicker Pictures

Music team
JoshL
mike mcguill

Sound team
mike mcguill

Sound maybes
AudioPostExpert
Alcove Audio

Marketing maybes
RayW

And remember to fill in this form if you want to have a shooting unit in the film!

(Of course, if you're local to an existing unit, why not team up?)
 
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bring water to boil
add cornstarch while stirring constantly, until desired consistency is reached
remove from heat. (goo will thicken further)
add tempura paint \ food coloring
maybe some glitter

Should be biodegradable and ok to leave on the ground.. no clean up is nice..


Interestingly, you could make this a PROP and not a goo... use geletin methods and poor the goo out on a smooth surface, let it "set up" and then you can roll it up, bag it, transport it, unroll it on location ....
 
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The wonderful Walter hooked me up with the info I needed to start organizing this project's, hereto referred to as the '2014 IT Community Project', marketing and promotion department.

Hopefully, by the time the 2014 ITCP gets completed and ready for film festivals this October cast & crew will be able to bring a large following with them.
At least larger than the two dozen people involved. :)

I've assembled some basic information and want to see if so far this is good.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RvQUKGU6bvj_s92MZNYl50NQgEVen_Ky-vY-BFxoA7g/edit?usp=sharing

I believe I've got the settings on "anyone with the link can edit", but don't worry - I've made a secure copy of it in case some devil strolls across this.
Security will ramp up at that point.
And I really don't EVER want anyone's personal info on these pages.
Lord knows name and location are good enough.

By this weekend I'll knock the setting back to view only, but in the meanwhile edit away.

We need to see if Alcove is in on this, I'm not sure what his status is.

APE, I've just assumed that you've pretty much committed yourself to this more than a strong interest. Please, by all means, modify that if need be.

Chimp, Lucky, and Foster have expressed strong interest as unit directors bordering on commitment, but they don't seem to have any story elements directly assigned to them as of post #240.
One of you guys wanna volunteer for the "Vern in Woods" segment?
The other two volunteer to make several "Alien Craft Videos?"

Or, Nick, are you writing in these guys some additional characters/locations?



I'm building a crew & cast list to send interview questions to to start building a blogger site for.
This spreadsheet helps me considerably in keeping the Project's moving parts in some sensible order.
 
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Iv signed my self up for "Vern In Woods" as well. Seems pretty low fruit considering what I'm shooting. This is just in case no body else wants it. Im thinking it will be a good warm up to the small holding stuff
 
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Will make some of the suggested amendments to the script over the next few days. Keep posting here (whether I've responded directly or not) if there are things you'd like to see, or things you like to not see, in the next draft.

Great job organising Ray! That spreadsheet is a good start and hopefully the individual units' production schedules and plans are starting to come together. It'd be good to have a spreadsheet to book in dates quite soon, so that we get an idea of when people are going to be shooting and when we'll have feedback about how that went.

Wheat, I'm happy for you to take Vern in the Woods if no-one else is willing to commit. Obviously, if someone does want it, then the more people the better, but if people haven't committed by this point then I suspect their heart's not really in it. Still, those people who wanted to participate but didn't have sound equipment - it'd definitely be good to get them involved in filming the original spacecraft footage.

Anyhow, I'm going to have to taper off my involvement a bit for the next few weeks. I'll still be keeping regular tabs on this thread and responding to queries, but I've got my finals exams starting on May 19th and I need to do a couple of weeks of committed revision! Wheat has a pretty good handle on the production side of affairs, and Ray seems on top of scheduling and motivation, so I think we're in a good place. As I say, I'll be around, but I won't be committing to doing too much until the start of June. At which point, I can help as much as people need!
 
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rayw said:
The wonderful Walter hooked me up with the info I needed to start organizing this project's, hereto referred to as the '2014 IT Community Project',...
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IDK WTH I was thinking.

Just changed the title to
Global Movie
Experience 2014.​
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RvQUKGU6bvj_s92MZNYl50NQgEVen_Ky-vY-BFxoA7g/edit?usp=sharing

Obviously that's a name for what basically serves as a production company or 48hr FF-like organization to fill in the appropriate IMDB blank space.
Yeah, I'm gonna find out how we can all get IMDB credits for this - for those who want it.

The film itself will need its own title, BTW.


Boss, before you go bury yourself in a big ol' stack O' books, have you figured out a title?

Or... shall we keep it a mystery for a while longer, wait till we have something to start clucking about, get everyone on board to link this to their facebook pages, youtube channels, twitter accounts, blogs, and any other social media, blab a little more - THEN - have a title naming contest?

Just another pathetic reason to drag interest in and stick this project in people's faces.



Oh, and I'm about to start making spaces for unit director's cast&crew members.
We oughtta wait for any contests and broad discussions until after the bulk of them have been filled in.

Why have a contest among twenty people when you can have a contest between a hundred-twenty?!!

Gimme a couple days and I'll know if we can waggle IMDB credits in front of potential cast & crew if that li'l carrot serves as any motivation.
Can't hurt.
(We can give 'em an opt out clause on their release form if they feel the project's product would tarnish their reputations and sully their public standing. :lol:)

Maybe the prize for the 'Name the Film' winner can be to name a character or give a shout-out to something, like a charity or organization.
Producer's discretion, of course.

(Yeah, this'll get embarrassing. -ish.)



Alcove Audio said:
I would like to be. The real issue is scheduling; it all depends upon how busy I am when the project is ready for audio post.
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YAYYYYY!!!

A definite maybe!
I'll take it!

Can you reconnoiter with APE and JoshL for the division of tasks and whatnots? Commit to a flexible something that would sure help them if you could bunt it in, but also not break their necks if "life" happens and you can't?
Eh? :yes:
 
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Who all is going to build the UFO footage using what SFX elements and/or programs?

What are the source material deliverables you need?
Can you turn 1080 source into cr@ppy cell phone video, or do you need crappy cell phone video to begin with?

And just how cr@ppy do you really want it?
Can you cr@ppify it in post?
Would you want all of us to send in samples?

I know on my 8 color crayon box of an NLE trying to chroma key out tree leaves is a PITA while nice clean edged objects key out real easy at the edges.
Do you need even overcast skies in the background or is that something you just roto out?

What else do we need to know or provide?

And about how many of these UFO clips do we want?
Surely more than a couple.
 
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Rayw raises a pretty critical point. No one is confirmed yet for the VFX side of the UFO video. Has anyone expressed interest that we can follow up/encourage? If not that's a pretty big issue. I imagine it doesn't help that this forum is mostly occupied by directors and the like - most vfx artists and the like seem to drop by but aren't overly active. Correct me if I'm forgetting someone. But it does look like we may need to reach out to someone?

If needbe, I know a dp who does a bit of vfx hobbyist type stuff on the side. It would be a less than ideal solution and would depend, of course, on what his availability is. But it's an option.

As someone who isn't familiar with vfx, take my opinion with a grain of salt - but I'd imagine it'd be easier to give the vfx artist HD footage, have them *create* the UFO. Then crappifying the image would make matching it with the footage a bit easier?
 
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C&C: Yup.

I know Wheat can do some snappy SFX with his better equipment than what I have, I just don't know how cr@ppy we want it, otherwise anyone of us with any SFX skill can give this interesting but fundamentally minor story element a stab.
flyingsaucer.gif
Or whirl!
Shroob_Saucer.gif


In fact, a UFO in situ contest between us could YET AGAIN be another point to engage our potential audience.
So we might even wanna strategically kick this can a little further down the road as well.



NEXT subject...

Tell me this:
For our no budget short film being submitted to each of our local film festivals, when it comes to casting would the project be best served by casting the perfect actor/actress with no or very little social media following - or - casting an almost as good actor/actress with a decent to heavy social media following?

Actor that brings only his/her fabulous self to the table?
Or actor that brings his/her decent self + big posse to the table?

Just a li'l devil of a consideration.



Slots for crew Assistants and actors added:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RvQUKGU6bvj_s92MZNYl50NQgEVen_Ky-vY-BFxoA7g/edit#gid=0
 
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Hey, y'all!

Nick, you're doing a good job as a leader on this project. And a good handful of people have made some solid contributions. I like what I'm seeing in this thread.

Just thought I'd drop by to reassure that while I can't take part in the preproduction, I'm definitely on-board for production, and I like the scene that's been written for me. Of course it's hipsters, haha! :)

Also, dang, ain't the forests of the Pacific Northwest beautiful?!
 
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rayw said:
....

Actor that brings only his/her fabulous self to the table?
Or actor that brings his/her decent self + big posse to the table?

Just a li'l devil of a consideration.

...
Click to expand...

Good point!
But I need an extra scene if I can get Carice van Houten to participate ;)
A scene of some cult coming together in the evening, while Robin's crew is secretly filming. It can add to the tension and mystery, but the story can do without :P (In case I can't get it done)
Let me think about this.

@Nick:
'Robin' doesn't smoke anymore.
We need another reason why he is stalling, while he was impatient.
Eating a banana would be too much (comedy) I guess... On the other han on Dutch sets stroopwafels are quite common as a sugar-bomb-snack-that's-not-sweet.

About the UFO video:
it is at night, right?
So the closer the light comes, the darker the rest of the image: a cellphone uses auto-exposure.
It has to be shot hand held, the movement of the camera should be tracked so the UFO stays in place and then the UFO needs to be moved.
And after everything is finished the endresult needs some little extra noise and shakyness and bad compression
:P
(I'm sorry, I don't really have time for that part at the moment.)
 
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Nick,

Shooting schedules indicate you have until the end of this month, three weeks, to nail down the screenplay's story.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...NYl50NQgEVen_Ky-vY-BFxoA7g/edit#gid=730529645

FWIW, since it's not an action story, not a VFX driven story, mostly drama, it really needs to pose "an intriguing question" for the viewers so that they can take away more than "I just saw that, nice as it is."

And the four chicks involved need beefier roles (a little estrogen goes a long way) especially Laura who comes across as victimized by Vern's opportunistic behavior.



An intriguing question.
An intriguing question.
An intriguing question... Hmm...
 
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rayw said:
APE, I've just assumed that you've pretty much committed yourself to this more than a strong interest.
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Yes, I am as committed as it's possible for me to be at this stage, but without knowing exactly when audio post will start, how long it will take and if/how I can work this project around my commercial work I can't say 100% definitely I'll be able to do it. The best I can do is say "probably" and that I'll do my best to arrange my schedule if it's at all possible.

G
 
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AudioPostExpert said:
The best I can do is say "probably" and that I'll do my best to arrange my schedule if it's at all possible.
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Understood & accepted.
You and Alcove are in the same professional boat. A terrible, just terrible, place to be. :D I'm glad for you.

Headzup, mid-August Nick should/would be dumping "Batch One" of videos onto your desk for consideration.
Colulmn "H": https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...NYl50NQgEVen_Ky-vY-BFxoA7g/edit#gid=730529645
"Batch Two" of final video should roll in right behind it by a week or two - if not the whole thing.

There's about five weeks to wrap it up, followed by a week of nit picking.



What can the unit directors deliver to you and Nick, and what can Nick deliver to you that will make the process go fastest or most efficiently.
I think you have a good handle on the caliber of work required for this. ;)
 
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We need to find an editor!

I don't have a laptop capable of even stoping that footage! Unfortunately, my trusty old MacBook Air is reaching the end of its days...

I feel certain that someone will step forward to edit this project. I will closely collaborate with them during the editing process, but my technical skills, um, lie... elsewhere...
 
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