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Things We've Learned...
By Dan West and Rick Popko: Co-Founders of 4321 Films and creators of "Monsturd" and the soon-to-be-released "InfecDEAD"
Prepare for the worst
In our case we ran into trouble a few times due to either scheduling or lack of commitment from our cast (drug problems in some cases...ugh!). This can happen when you don't pay people. It is one of the disadvantages of low budget shooting. Twice I (Dan West) was forced to don a main character's costume to act as their double so that shooting could resume. We also lost our previous contact for a rental cop car and had to scurry around at zero hour searching for a solution. This came in the form of a prop house who rented us the Police mars lights for the top of the car, which we ended up fastening to the top of Rick's mother's jeep and then fastening our door decals from our first movie, "Monsturd" onto said jeep. Also, at one point we were forced to switch locations at the very last moment with over 40 actors coming to the shoot. We were literally writing new directions to the new location for each carload of extras as they arrived.
Oh, I get jokes
Use humor to your advantage. Funny is funny on any budget. Remember there is humor to be found in even the darkest situations. Ultra low-budget films that completely lack a sense of humor about themselves can often come across as bad porno with all of the "good stuff" edited out. Long-winded speeches delivered by amateur actors can be excruciating to sit through and can cause headaches, nausea or death through prolonged exposure. Don't fall in love with your own dialog to the point that you shoot yourself in the foot. You are not Kubrick (at least not yet). Humor can make up for a lot of faults in a low budget flick...it can often make a project more endearing and tolerable than if it was just some dead serious, talky bunch of crap with a bit of gore thrown in. We would much rather sit through a stab at funny material than listen to a ten minute speech about how the victims can't escape a situation. Incorporating humor doesn't mean telling jokes. We're not talking "Airplane." Subtle bits of black humor can work to your advantage...you don't have to make a Troma movie to convey a sense of humor. Unless, of course, that's what you're after.
Don't be a casting coach potato
Cast age appropriately. Unless you are creating a remake of Doogie Hauser M.D, no one believes in a 17 year-old doctor. Luckily we reached the ripe old age of 39 years old and can cast ourselves in numerous parts without looking ridiculous (or to look ridiculous on purpose depending on what type of movie we are making). The old Hollywood joke about casting 35 year old high school students seems to work in the opposite direction in the microcinema community...here we seem to sometimes exist in a "Logan's Run" type of society in which no one ages or lives past the age of 20. Therefore we have biochemical experts, four star generals, and F.B.I agents who look like they may have just passed their driver's license exam.
Dress for success
For Christ's sake pay attention to costumes. They are important. Don't dress a policeman in a $10 Halloween costume and expect that people won't laugh at your production values. If you need a Doctor...buy the proper costume and equipment....if a prop looks silly...work on it. Don't dress your scientist in your mother's frilly white summer jacket just because you were too lazy to make a trip to Goodwill and purchase a $7 lab coat and some medical scrubs. Pay attention to detail. If you need a reference, watch a movie with the proper costumes and take notes, and recreate them as closely as possible. If you need an Army Colonel....don't purchase a surplus jacket from the Air Force and pin cheap, Halloween, Dracula medallions on it. Do your audience the common courtesy of at least getting the color of the uniform right. Attention to small details better sells the idea of willing suspension of disbelief. Costumes are extremely important and when you skip on detail it shows immediately.
Location! Location! Location!
Seek out interesting exteriors and interiors for your movie. Don't confine your film to your parents' garage. Think of ways to incorporate interesting establishing shots...even if you happen to be shooting on a set built in your spare room. If you need Frankenstein's Castle...go find it! Use a Winery Exterior....or in some cases, numerous good-looking or effective locations can be used to represent a single location in you shooting script. In some cases we have used four separate locations to make up one fictitious place in our script.
There are interesting pockets for locations no matter where you are. When we needed a hospital we did three things:
1.) Dressed our actor in medical scrubs and lab coat and simply had him walk into the entrance of a real hospital and exit the same way.
2.) For an interior we found a supply company who sold medical cabinets and other equipment. We simply stocked an actual medical cabinet with pharmaceutical bottles, kept the shot tight and fooled everyone into thinking we used and actual hospital.
3.) For an establishing shot we used the exterior of another hospital, simply filming the entrance sign not labeled with the specific hospital name. It was simple and yet highly effective. Be creative. Keep a list of potential locations that add production value.
Bust a Move
Keep a close eye on continuity of movement from your actors from take to take. If they brush their hand through their hair on one take...well, they need to do it each take in the same fashion if you want the gesture in the movie. If they are holding a pencil and jotting notes at one point in your take...have them repeat the same gesture at the same moment in the next take. In the heat of battle things like this can be forgotten. When you can't create a three camera set up and need to create three separate set ups to achieve the shots you need, try to hammer it into your actors that they remember their gestures. If they do this, your trip to the editing bay will be a pleasant one and may cause you to offer your actors unsolicited sexual favors because you were so happy that they could put a pen behind their ear at the correct moment.
What Are You Looking at?
Give your actors a line of sight, preferably with a person they can actually be looking at. We screwed this up in our most recent flick, "InfecDEAD". One of our actors was supposed to be looking at us in a scene, but we got stuck behind the camera and holding the microphone. We ended up pointing to a spot on the wall and told our actor to look at that. It looked okay through the camera at the time, however when we cut the scene together (with us in it), he is obviously not looking at us.
Kill Yourself: Not your actor
Unless you have production insurance, be prepared to do all the stunt work yourself. NEVER endanger the life of one of your actors. Even if they happily volunteer to do the stunt. If something happens, and believe us when we say accidents DO happen, you will be held liable. It doesn't matter if he/she's your best friend in the whole world. Things can change in a heartbeat when medical bills are involved. If you have a house, or anything else of value, you can say good-bye to it, because you will be sued and you will lose.
Parrots of the Caribbean
If your actor shows up to the set unprepared, be prepared to say his/her lines off camera and have them parrot them back to you. The advantage to this approach is that just about anyone on the planet can parrot a line back. The downside is that this approach only really works when there are one or two lines of dialog.
Don't Drink and Film
Making a movie is hard enough. Don't make things even more difficult by letting you and your cast drink (or do drugs) during a shoot. Things you were supposed to get (such as coverage) will be forgotten, tempers will flare faster than normal, direction and acting will get sloppy, and you'll kick your ass in the editing room when you see how crappy the scene turned out and wonder why?
Stripe One!
Pre-stripe your tapes for consistent timecode throughout the tape. This helps when logging all of your material. If you don't pre-stripe your tapes, timecode gets zeroed out every time you eject the tape, making finding particular clips on a tape damn near impossible.
Hello Dolly!
Buy a dolly. It'll be the best investment you ever made. There's nothing that looks better and more professional than a tracking shot. Note: if you have a little extra cash burning a hole in your pocket buy a crane that works with the dolly. Then you have the best of both worlds.
Let's get High... Definition that is
If you haven't started your feature yet and haven't bought a camera, buy HD. Standard def is going by way of the dodo. The government has said that all stations must be broadcasting in HD by a certain point, and it's coming soon. If you're starting your project now, assume it'll take you at least a year to shoot and post it. At that point, no one and their mother will be caring about your standard def movie. Also, competition for distribution is incredibly fierce today. People shooting in HD will probably have a better shot at distribution than those shooting standard def. It just looks better and more professional.
Sound Off!
Get good sound. This is a no-brainer. Invest in a good XLR shotgun mic. You can find them these days for $250-$300. You really don't want to have to Foley your audio. And Foley you will do if your audio sounds like crap. Keep in mind no distributor worth their salt will take your movie with bad sound. It doesn't matter how beautiful your camera work and actors are. Also, don't forget to get your room tone. This will save you in post.
Feed me!
If your actors are workin' for nothing have some kind of food and drink on the set. Doesn't have to be lavish or expensive. If it's a morning shoot, bagels, coffee and juice are just fine. If it's a lunch/dinner shoot, hotdogs with all the fixings, chips and sodas will work.
Here Comes Speed Racer!
We've spoken with a number of indie filmmakers who've asked for constructive criticism on their project. When we pointed certain things out, the usual reply was, "Well, we only had XX number of days to shoot the thing." That's just horseshit. Don't cut corners. Take your time and do it right. "Monsturd" took us two years to make. "InfecDEAD" took us about five years to complete. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.
Leggo my Ego!
Making a movie isn't about you. It's about the movie. Don't be so full of yourself that you won't listen to suggestions or criticisms. You don't have to do everything that everyone says, but be able to hear people out. Some of the best shots in our most recent movie came from actors who suggested something to us.
Black and White and Read all Over!
That's right we're talking about newspapers; those wonderful things that are delivered to your doorstep or picked up in racks on street corners. These things are a valuable resource filmmakers. Inside you'll learn about local bands and where they're playing (great way to get a free soundtrack to your movie!), or improv shows or other productions (great way to go meet actors who'll be in your movie). We read a story about a troupe of beautiful women called the Living Dead Girlz in our local paper. The story included the group's website. After a couple of email exchanges, they agreed to be in our movie for free. And it's one of the best scenes in the movie.