Newbie from India - advice needed.

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Prabu

Hi all,
This is Sudharsan Prabu from Coimbatore, India. My passion is to become a film maker (a short filmmaker would be more suitable).
I will be owning a Nikon d3100 next month and for now i am in the process of writing a script for my first short.
As this is going to be my first attempt, please throw some advice on how to make my first short film..like., what are the things i need to concentrate so that my first short wont be a disaster...!
I'll be thankful for all kinds of advices.
Thanks in advance.
 
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Welcome to indietalk!

Your first short film will be a disaster. So relax your expectations and
begin the learning process. For reasons I still don't understand, people
think as long as they have a camera they can make an excellent film.
Without going through the learning process.

For your first short movie concentrate on learning NOT on making an
excellent movie. Audio is very very important and usually pushed aside
by first timers. Make sure you have a microphone on a boom pole at the
very least. Lighting is very important. The camera will get a picture with
natural light, but the image will look more like a "movie" if you use light.

Think long term; your forth film shouldn't be a disaster - your first one
might be.

Right now, what microphone do you have (or plan to get)?
Right now what lights do you have (or plan to get)?
 
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Sound Is Half Of The Experience

Sound Is Half Of The Experience

Sound Is Half Of The Experience

Sound Is Half Of The Experience​




Seriously, as 'Rik said, sound is one of the most overlooked aspects of filmmaking, even by experienced filmmakers. You may want to check out my blog on production sound which also includes some prep and ideas about audio post.

http://www.myspace.com/alcoveaudio/blog

 
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Thx!

Hey first of all, thanks Directorik and Alcove for your replies.
coming back to Directoriks queries.,I dont have any mic with me.. and i do understand the importance of sound...but din have a clue about what to buy..., with a limited budget of about 100$(I know this is very low, but still,) for sound. Can dubbing be considered as an option for sound?
About lighting, I will be filming mostly in outdoors and so lighting wont be a problem i suppose.
Pls do give your thoughts pertaining to sound..!
 
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hey prabu, welcome to the forum.
if all you have is $100 to spend on a microphone could you possibly stretch to a zoom h2? they are good quality if you wont have much wind or background noise and you mount it on a diy shock mount and boom n stuff if you had a little more cash.
Zoom H2 on Amazon.com
hope this helps
 
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The reason most first time movies don't look very good is because filmmakers
feel lighting won't be a problem. But if you can't afford any lighting, then you
do the best you can without it.

Same with audio. You should get a good shotgun mic. If you can't then you
use what you can afford. Dubbing is not a good option. It's very, very difficult
especially for amateur actors and inexperienced audio tech without the proper
equipment. It's MUCH better to spend the money and take the time to record
good audio tracks as you shoot. $300 to $400 now will save you $3,000 to
$5,000 later.

However, don't let the equipment slow you down. Use what ever you have
to make movies right now. Do NOT wait until you have all the best equipment.
Your passion is to become a filmmaker. So make movies.
 
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Thx Ernest. Definitely, I will.
I have another question. I have an mp3 player which records a decent sound. It has voice activation in it. Can i use it for recording sound? or it will end up in miserable audio..?
Thanks..!
 
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Im not an audio guy but i can tell you it wont be up to par.

Basic budget sound equipment will cost you a few hundred dollars at least.

You can also look into partnering up with someone who has their own sound equipment or hiring someone who's new and doesnt charge a lot.
 
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Prabu said:
Thx Ernest. Definitely, I will.
I have another question. I have an mp3 player which records a decent sound. It has voice activation in it. Can i use it for recording sound? or it will end up in miserable audio..?
Thanks..!
Click to expand...
Try two things:

Place the mp3 player 2 meters away from you and speak. Is
the audio good?
Place the mp3 player very close to you and speak. Is the audio
good?

When you are making a movie the microphone will need to be
anywhere from one to two meters away from the actors to
keep it out the the shot.

What will the voice activation do if there is a pause in the dialogue?
Will it shut off?
 
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I saw a zoom h1 on the end of a boom pole, seemed to work. Try that with your mp3 recorder.
Attach it to a long pole that someone can use to get close to the actors but keep it out of the frame of the camera. If you can TURN OFF the voice activation youll be happier, youll get lots of extra audio, but that will be handy anyway when you go to sync stuff up. Use a DIY clapper board!
 
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Great advice so far from the other members.

Just to throw in my 2 cents.

You said you are in the process of writing your first script. In my opinion, writing is one of the most important parts of the filmmaking process. The way I look at it, you could drop 30 grand on some top level equipment but all you will end up with is a great looking, great sounding piece of crap story. So step 1, really try and focus on telling an interesting story. If it's familiar, put your own spin on it. Make the familiar story stand out. Make it unique.

Storytelling isn't something you can learn overnight. It takes years of reading and writing, so don't feel defeated if it's not turning out the way you want it.

Good luck!
 
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