Remake, Remodel

Charcuterie - The Feature

So I know I've been talking a lot about the Charcuterie doc lately, but I'm just going to post one more thing up here.  I'm in the process of writing a feature film right now, but with everything that's going on, my timeline is going to get pushed back a bit.  I'm not upset about that as all the things that are currently keeping me busy are pretty amazing, but the time it takes to really write a good feature is something I don't have right now, and I don't want to rush it.  It's a cool story and one that's got me pretty excited, so I want to get it just right.

In the meantime, my goal of making a feature in 2012 (just in time for the world to end via some splashy visual effects) is still going strong.  The Charcuterie doc has been getting more and more press and people have been getting in touch with me, asking about the possibility of a feature.  And so, after the first of the year (and once the rest of the Twelve Films are done), I'm going to start shooting the Charcuterie feature film.

I never imagined making a doc as my first feature, but honestly I've really become excited about documentaries and telling non-fiction stories.  And the subject matter has me really excited as well, so I'm going to jump in head-first.

I'm going to be doing a lot of research over the next 5 months, talking to people all over the country who make charcuterie, trying to put together a narrative.  I started about 3 weeks ago and it's amazing how many interesting people I've already uncovered.  Not just chefs and professional charcuterres, but people who just enjoy making it at home for themselves and friends.

I have some pretty lofty goals with this doc, so we'll see what happens, but I've been finding more and more lately that if you just ask respectfully, nine times out of ten, people will try and find a way to accommodate you.  It's going to involve a lot of travel and investing in some new equipment, but I really think it could be something great.

Moonshine

This post has been a long time coming and to some it might sound a little crazy.  A few years ago, I wrote a little vampire comedy called Moonshine.  It was a throwback to the 80's style of horror films (a lot of boobs and blood) and it got some good feedback from other writers who got what I was trying to do.  Now, it was written to be made...a small cast, the majority of the story in one location, etc. and I really thought that it was what I wanted to do.

The project took a few attempts before I got it up and running, but about three months ago, it kind of started to take off.  I hooked up with an amazing producer in Houston who has made a few horror films in TX and really knew his stuff.  We started talking about casting and we got the script out to some names.  One of them (I'm not going to name him, but he was a big star in the 80's) really liked the script and we made him an offer...and he accepted.  With this name attached, we'd almost certainly be able to get the funding and make the film.

I had made in-roads to money last year and was all poised to pull the trigger, and then I took one last look at the project.  It hit me like a ton of bricks...this wasn't the film I wanted to make.  Not by a long shot.  Don't get me wrong, I love horror movies.  I grew up watching the great horror films of the 80's like Nightmare on Elm Street, The Thing, Evil Dead and the rest of them, but I didn't want to make one.  At least not as my first film.

My love of films lies squarely in the comedy and drama camps.  Those are the films that I want to make because those films are more about the acting, the writing and the emotions that interest me.  Horror films can be (and sometimes are) very artfully made, but too often, it becomes about the blood and the boobs and while that's fun, it's not me.  If I'm going to put a year or two of my life into something, I want it to be something that I can be proud of.

So I shut the whole thing down...this was about two months ago.

Now, I'm hard at work on a new script which is much more the type of film that I want to make.  It's got drama, it's got laughs and it's got heart...the type of heart that stays inside the body and doesn't get pulled out by a blood-thirsty vampire.

The writing is going well and I'm hoping to have the outline finished in the next couple weeks so I can get started on the first draft.  I'll keep you all posted on how it's progressing.

How much is it, really?

I posted a couple weeks ago about the concept of the $20,000 feature.  Since then, that idea has been taking up a lot of my waking hours as well as the time when I should be sleeping.

The number ($20,000) was arbitrary.  And thinking about it more and more, I think it's too high.  Yes, there are costs to making a film, some are hard costs that you have to pay and others are costs that can be deferred or even put off all together if you call in favors or promise to do favors for other people at a later date.  Right now, the hard costs that I can think of are the following (in no particular order):

1 - Sound.  I'm learning a lot on my Twelve Films Project, but the one thing that I keep coming back to is audio.  It seems so simple, plug in a microphone, point it at the person who is talking and hit record.  But as any sound person will tell you, that's never the case.  If I'm producing, directing and shooting all at once, then we're gonna need a dedicated, experienced sound person with equipment.  There is nothing worse than a good film with bad sound.  That's why I'd want to hire a good sound person with good equipment.

2 - Food.  A cast and crew will work under a lot of tough conditions.  They'll get up early, stay up late, show up on a weekend, their birthday or even Christmas...but never ask them to skip a meal.  And always make sure that meal is as good as possible.  A well-fed cast and crew are a happy group.  Happy people work better.

3 - Locations.  Yes, some locations are free and others are easy to get, but there are always going to be locations that you have to pay for.  The key is to write a script that doesn't have too many of those.

4 - Gear.  For the most part, the gear I'm talking about is lights.  Sure, it would be nice to have a dolly or a jib, but this low budget of a feature probably won't have those kinds of toys.  I'm talking about the necessities, the stuff you can't do without.  Thankfully, I have a good camera (and my producing partner has one as well) and I'm slowly adding to my own personal collection of toys.  I just bought a follow focus and I'm planning on working on some lenses and other stuff over the next few months.  Plus, there is a good chance that I'll be hired for a job where I'll need to purchase some of the fun toys that I've been coveting recently like a slider, on-camera HD monitor and other fun stuff.

5 - Misc.  There's always some purchases that you'll have to make.  Be it a specific prop or piece of costume, or a replacement part for some piece of equipment, there's always something.

That's all I can think of for the moment, but let's break it down.  I'm going to say that my imaginary movie is going to take 12 days to shoot (two 6-day weeks).  All prices are based on my experiences here in Austin.  If you live in New York, L.A. or Detroit, these prices may be low/high.

• Sound person (with equipment) @ $300/day - $3600
• Food @ $400/day for an 8-person cast & crew - $4800
• Locations - $2500 total
• Gear - 3 Kino Flow 4x4 lights at $210/week each - $1260
• Misc. - Let's set a cap at $1000

Grand total on that is $13,160.  Not too shabby.  Now that means that the rest of the crew and all of the cast will be working for free (or at least working for food) which isn't outside the realm of possibility, especially since Matt and I would be doing the bulk of the harder jobs ourselves (shooting, lighting, etc.).  Finding some friends, film students and interested parties to help as P.A.'s or grips shouldn't be too hard.  And if it comes down to it, Matt and I can move stuff, set up lights, etc.  It's what we're doing now on the Twelve Films shoots.

The next part of the puzzle the the script.  Thankfully, I went to lunch with Andrew Rosas yesterday.  Andrew and Matt had a great idea for a short film a while back that we all had talked about shooting at one time or another.  Andrew and I got to talking about it and we hit upon a brilliant way to expand it to a feature.  By the end of it, we were laughing so hard that people around us were staring.  Always a good sign.

Matt, Andrew and I are all going to be working on a music video together that will end up being the March film in my Twelve Films Project.  I'm hoping that, as we're all together shooting, we'll also be talking about this idea and how to make it work.

More soon.