More than just a doormat

Life's Ups and Downs

The lame shit you might write in a diary that you hope no one reads, but I'll be posting it here.
I guess I've always been a bit weird, not in a crime-watch or making furniture out of cats, type way. I mean how I look at things sometimes.

For instance when I was a kid my mam decided to throw out the old mat we had in the hallway. It wasn't anything fancy, in fact it was just a spare piece of the living room carpet. It was dark brown with brightly coloured shapes and patterns covering it. I suppose you could say it was loud, (how loud was it?) let's just say I'm surprised we never got noise complaints off the neighbours, "ba dum tish".

Anyway I got upset when I heard it was in the rubbish, ready for collection. I tried to reclaim it even though it was now wet and stained with other refuse which had spilled over it (for some reason my my mam didn't want me dragging the smelly old thing back inside...but that's enough about my dad).

Seeing as the mat's fate was doomed I decided to honor it with a fond fairwell. I took several slices of corned beef from the fridge (which annoyed my mam when she found out) and sat next to the bin crying and feeding bits of it to my old friend. I knew the mat couldn't eat corned beef, as it didn't possess the necessary digestive system, but its the thought that counts.

I did this because I felt an attachment to it, I didn't want to marry it or any crazy shit like that, but it had been there for so many memories. Wiping snow off your feet at Christmas while the magic still existed, using it as a landscape to play on, greeting you every time you got home with the knowledge that once you stepped over it you could relax and be yourself, and knowing that everyone you loved at that point had came into direct contact with this otherwise meaningless thing.

I don't know if there is a point to this, I guess if there is it's this... The real value of people and possessions is derived from how you experience them. Whether they are old and frayed around the edges or have no real worth in a capitalist society, don't view anyone or anything as just a doormat.

The Experience

Could be the ultimate guide on how not to create an online presence.
This is my fourth week writing the blog and trying to create an online presence. So far the feedback for the blog has been positive, I'm not sure if I'm using the social networking sites properly though. I read another blog about tips for shooting in low light conditions. It included helpful tips like: 1. Use more lights and 2. Go somewhere were there's more light.... Amazing, how do they come up with it?
Anyway I mentioned that the tips weren't overly helpful and got a response back from a guy who didn't even write the article (he basically just started swearing and arguing). Ah the internet.

The Film

Everything and anything to do with the film, pre-production, fights, cast and crew, fights, budgets, fights and finally the end game (which may contain fights).
Last week I talked briefly about writing the script for NAMELESS, I might go into more detail in the future but for now lets skip to pre-production. This sounds so exciting right, pages and pages of paperwork. 

Okay so we had a 90 page script which roughly equates to 90min (1page = 1min screen time).
We had a budget of just under €5000 and after factoring everything in, our shoot schedule needed to be no more than 16 days.

Myself and Alan Donnelly (the producer) broke the script down by location, actors and sometimes by costume or makeup, then organised the shoot schedule by location. This meant that when we finished with a location we could move to the next one, knowing we wouldn't have to return. In each location we structured the scenes so we could finish with the actors in a similar fashion. That way we'd saved money on travel, location costs, food etc. 

Any props that were needed we either made or ordered months in advance to try and keep costs down. There's garda crests etc in the film so we contacted their press office well ahead of time to sort out clearances. Some of the locations also meant dealing with the OPW, if this is the case you need to make sure your insurance is up to scratch.

Well that's enough of that for the moment, I was planning on going through everything in linear fashion week by week but pre-production is about as exciting as....well what you've just read. So from now on we'll skip to random sections in no particular order.  

Indie 

Thoughts, ideas, experiences and tips revolving around making low to no budget films. 
Also documenting successes and failures along the way.
If you're writing a script that you're planning to shoot or sell, keep your budget in mind. Think about different ways of approaching things, sometimes it can add a whole new dynamic to a scene.

When you're writing your imagination can create anything without limitation or cost, but that epic battle, massive wedding scene or the period piece that requires hard to find costumes and set dressing, all cost money. 

Don't look at it as a limitation though, look at it as a creative challenge. If you feel the story won't work any other way, then maybe write another lower budget script as well. That way you start building up a body of work and have writing samples to show.

Example: A scene set in a coffee shop with 20 extras.

Could it be shot more intimately, just focusing on the main actors and using audio to give the impression of a busy environment. 

What do the 20 extras or location add to the scene (or is it just that it looks cool). 
If the main focus of the scene is the conversation between two characters, what other locations might suit. The more you think about the budget the more creative your approach becomes. 

If you're planning on selling a script that's going to cost millions to make and you're an unknown, chances are people won't be willing to take a risk with you. That's not to say it doesn't happen, it just doesn't happen often. 

If you don't want to scale things back or feel the story can't be told without epic set pieces then maybe think about writing it as a book instead. After all 'Lord of the Rings' wouldn't work as well if it was set in a bedsit in Waterford.....or would it?....no no it wouldn't ha ha.  

Chat to you next week.