MAKE YOUR OWN MOVIES

Written by Kevin Ford 4/27/2006

INTRODUCTION

Here at Mo-Freek we want to encourage as many other people as possible to become active in the world of ultra-independent movie-making. By ultra-independent I mean at the level where you really are just starting out and you're not yet dealing with raising money from investors. (That is what I consider "independent" filmmaking to be, by the way, and the following suggestions are not necessarily appropriate for that specific level of movie-making.) This section of our website is for the people out there who sincerely just want to start making their own movies and don't know exactly where to begin. It is my belief that this knowledge should be shared, and that people should not have to spend thousands of dollars enlisting themselves into film-seminars, classes, or courses.

WHERE TO BEGIN

Before you break down and buy any equipment, make sure that you have an idea of some stories that you would really like to bring to life on the screen. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. The equipment means nothing if you don't know what you would like to do with it. Now, factoring in that you do have some concepts and ideas for projects to create, you want to make sure that you have access to at least a couple friends (friends that are actors are a bonus) who are willing to appear on camera. If you are shooting something like a nature video that requires no human involvement, find some plants and animals who will be in your movie. And sometimes it's good to start with something that totally inspires you, like a favorite song. You may be able to go out and shoot footage of things that catch your eye and turn around and edit it together to music, creating something like a "music video" or a musical "montage." When it comes to having humans in your movies, take the extra effort to have them sign a standard “performance release” giving you the legal right to use their image and likeness.

FILM VS. VIDEO

Shooting on film and video are two totally different things, both have their ups and their downs. Generally speaking, from my point of view, it's probably best to start on video for cost reasons. Even Super-8 (the cheapest motion picture film) is pretty damn expensive. Currently it will cost about $25-35 for approximately 3 minutes of Super-8 film; that's after developing it. And unless you have access to an old Super-8 splicing kit, you will have to then pay to transfer the film to video so that it will be editable on a computer. (You can get away with projecting your film onto a wall and videotaping it straight off of your projection, but you will find that there are some pretty nasty 'flicker' issues that you can encounter, compromising your picture quality.) The same information applies to the various 16mm film formats, only it's about double the cost of Super-8 across the board. So when you're looking to begin on the path to making your own cinema, I would strongly recommend starting with Digital Video (DV) or Hi-Def Video (HDV). These days the cameras are very affordable and you can get 60 minutes of tape stock for as low as $5! This means you can shoot and shoot and shoot and shoot and still have enough money to pay your monthly electric bill, as well as get dinner for you and your loved ones.

CAMERA SELECTION

Nearly all of our Mo-Freek digital productions have been shot with Canon, Sony, and Panasonic DV cameras. Currently there is a big push towards cameras that shoot in 24-frame mode. (Motion picture film is generally shot and projected back at 24 frames per second, and the standard for most video cameras is to shoot and playback at 29.97 frames per second.) So the cameras that shoot at 24fps are appealing to some because it inherently gives their video a bit more of a "film look." Don't worry if you can't afford to drop $2-5,000 on a camera to start. The important thing is that you get a camera that fits within your budget and has Firewire input/output capabilities. There are DV and HDV cameras from all of the major brands that are very affordable nowadays... check your local video equipment store and look for "close-out" items... you can get a DV camera for as cheap as $200 if you really look for it! For that price you can get a camera and just start shooting to test the waters. It will take away stress that comes inherently with making a bigger purchase. (Many times people start with an expensive camera and then have buyer's guilt because it just sits in their closet collecting dust... if you have a cheaper one you won't feel as bad about this!) And think of what it is that you're wanting to make. The Blair Witch Project was designed to be shot with a "home video camera" to keep with the theme of the whole movie. Not to say that you should be remaking that movie, but do think about your concepts and ideas and what look will best suit them. The DV movie The Celebration is another great example of shooting on a cheap camera to fit with the movie's theme.

Also think about where you will be making your movies, and how important it can be to not stand out in your environment. Some of the nicer cameras like Canon's XL series and the Panasonic DVX series can draw a lot of attention to you when you're filming scenes out in the real world. Personally I like the cameras that look more like a "home movie camera" because when you're out in the field shooting no one will even notice you. I've shot with larger cameras that catch people's eye and it's pretty frustrating to be working on a scene when people stop to ask you, "Hey, what'cha doin' with that thing? Are you makin' a moooovie???" So think about the art of blending in if what you will be shooting requires you to be out in public. Make it look like you're just some novice taking home movies and no one will really bother you.

EDITING EQUIPMENT

Once you start to make your movies you will naturally begin to think about editing. I'm totally biased towards Macintosh here, and I admit that. By now everyone is aware of Final Cut Pro. Whether you have Final Cut 2, 3, 4, or the latest Final Cut HD, it certainly is the way to go for any indie-filmmaker. And whether you shoot on film or video Final Cut Pro can handle it. From my experience a Macintosh G4 or G5 will lead you to the best results. And if Final Cut Pro is too intimidating or too expensive (approximately $1,000 for a first-time buyer) don't feel bad about starting on the free program iMovie. It comes already installed in any new G4 or G5 and is very user-friendly. When you want to get into more advanced multi-track editing you will curse iMovie, however, and that just means it's time to move on up to Final Cut Pro. But the basic principals and key commands that you will learn in iMovie will help you when you go to learn Final Cut Pro. External Firewire hard drives are a good thing to invest in as ultimately you will start to run out of storage space on your computer. Full resolution video files when stored on your computer work at this approximate ratio: 4.5 minutes = 1 Gigabyte of storage space. So do the math and figure out how much space you're going to need for any project you undertake. Oh yeah, one more thing. MAKE A FRIEND WHO KNOWS all about Final Cut Pro because you'll be editing in the first few months and freak out because you're computer is going haywire on you. At that point call your Final Cut Pro friend and beg him to talk you through whatever problem you're having. I can't tell you how many calls I made in the old days to my editor friends. Later I was on the other end of it and a lot of people would be calling me for advice on something. Like most other things in life: what goes around comes around.

FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVALS

Once you've completed an independent masterpiece you will want to think about how to share it with others. The first thing you will most likely think about is submitting your work to film and video festivals. This might not be a bad idea but one thing you should know is that it's like gambling. Most festivals get THOUSANDS of entries and narrow their selections down to just a fraction of their overall submissions. Now if you're really struggling and independent, dropping $35-45 on entry fees to these festivals will start to add up. And if you do not get selected you may start to feel like these festivals are a waste of your time and money. This is my current opinion on most of the festivals that I know about. I feel like they literally profit off of the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of good-hearted, well-meaning independent movie makers. Now one of my movies, Three Days, made the rounds at a number of well-known film festivals but as it turned out it had little to do with the movie itself and EVERYTHING to do with the fact that our independent movie starred Jane's Addiction. Most festival programmers just want movies that will bring some celebrities (and the press that comes with them) to their festivals. From my own experience I will argue that it really is that shallow. Now there are many festivals that really are grass-roots and do not operate this way, and if you find them, submit your work by all means. In theory film festivals are great because a bunch of original work that would otherwise not be seen has a chance to be shared with audiences. One dream of mine is to start my own festival and I would encourage anyone else to think along those lines. Rent a space in your community, obtain a video projector, and organize a one or two night festival with your work and the works of others that you can join forces with.

One of the real motivations behind getting into the "name brand" festivals, of course, is the idea that your work will be seen by a distributor who will then make you an offer to release your movie. Unfortunately, while this is still possible, most of the time these deals are made secretly well before the festival even happens. Festivals at this point really are a strange beast. In truth they are more "industry" than most of us would like to believe. That said, I do submit movies of mine to festivals big and small every year. It's like playing the lottery... there's always the hope but you'd be a fool to really bank on getting in... unless your uncle is Stephen Spielberg or something. Then you will be in the festival and they might even throw a parade for you when you arrive. Personally I like the idea of setting up screenings and mini-fests in our own communities. This is a step in really taking indie-film screenings back to their counter-culture roots. It is where my current focus is so I'm trying to sway you to think like I think so I won't be alone.

INTERNET OUTLETS

Internet outlets are also really good if you are dealing with shorter indie-movies. Atom Films, iFilm, The Internet Archive, and YouTube (just to name a few) give you the ability to upload your work and share it with people instantly. The outlets are out there, and typically these internet sites do not ask you for any money to show your work. If they do they're probably just trying to scam you and you'd be better off saving that money and starting your own website! And while I'm on that subject, I really would encourage any indie-filmmaker, established or not, to start their own website to share their work with others. I created this Mo-Freek website because I had a growing library of movie work that existed outside of the mainstream movie world, and I really did just want to make it available for others to see. Starting your own site is great because you can showcase your own movies (or at least portions of them) to people all across the world. It is then up to you how aggressive you want to be in spreading the word about your work. If you do nothing at all in terms of promotions people will still stumble across your work while "surfing" the internet.

SUMMARY

For now I am intentionally just scraping the surface of this very in-depth subject of how to make your own cinema. It is a cause I believe in greatly and I don't want to pretend to know it all. But since I've created Mo-Freek I have gotten many emails from people who just want to know the information listed above. There will be more to come, as I myself am still learning day by day. I just want to emphasize that in this day and age, for less than $4000, one really can become their own independent movie-making operation! You get a camera, a computer, and some editing software and you will have the tools to make your own movies for several years.