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Underground > Creation >

Hey kids, let's make a movie!

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18:56 / 12.02.05

well we'd be glad to have the two of you on board

sttab - we're planning on doing most of the actual filming in the UK, so I'm sure you could help out on the set (camera work, location scouting, set dressing, costume making/finding, and transportation are all things that we could use)

Meludreen - would you be up for co-writing the script with me? Impulsivelad and I worked out the beginings of a rough draft, and if you want to continue to develop it with me, I'll send it to you

solid~liquid onwards

22:44 / 12.02.05

w0w, recognition.

Im up for this.

how are we for kit? Anyone got there own mics, camera, sticks (good stuff) etc? If not they can easily be found/rented/borowed.

When working with no budget, weve worked backwards. Fisrt finding whats available to us and what we can do (if we cant do something we find someone who can), then working out what we want and how to blag it, then written the script around these variables. Thats what weve done for templars and thats what were writing our next movie around. From the sounds of the ideas floating around all you need should be easily obtainable.

00:33 / 13.02.05

Ok, TeN that sounds good, I'll PM you my e-mail address. However, I'm a bit wary of stepping in on somebody else's ideas so as well as us working on the script it might be an idea if impulsivelad gives me a PM or two discussing his main ideas and thoughts for stuff perhaps not yet written.

If all that's OK, then I think I'm good to go.

03:19 / 14.02.05

If you need any more help with the script, or even just someone to read over what you've written and give suggestions, let me know, I'd love to.

Also, production's all in the UK now?

20:17 / 14.02.05

Meludreen and Patrick - I've sent both of you copies of the script. When you get a chance, read it over and tell me what you think and whatever ideas you have about it. If you want to write a little bit yourself as well, or modify my version, then go right ahead. I've also asked Impulsivelad to PM both of you and discuss some of his ideas.

NOTICE TO EVERYONE:
I've posted a page in the wiki about this project. This should make it easier to give updates and provide a place to point newcomers to wondering what this whole thing's all about. The wiki can be found here
(Patrick - there's a part in there that should answer your question about production location as well)

04:56 / 15.02.05

Hokay....

I got the draft from TeN last night and a PM from Impulsivelad.

At the bottom of the draft TeN sent me is a note from Imp discussing the length, suggesting that we extend it to about thirty or so pages as long as we keep the locations and what not quite tight. I'm leaning to this side. I think if we're to do any justice to the idea, we need a little more than fifteen minutes. How do you guys on the production side feel about this?

Anyway, what I've done is taken their draft and incorporated it into a total redraft of my own (basically to get my ideas running together), which is currently at around ten pages. I'll send this to TeN and Patrick when it's a little bit further on and they can pick the bits they like and splice it with the stuff they're coming up with and vice versa.

Also, what are we shooting on? Film or DV? If film was ever an option, then we could even consider using it for present day segments while filming the future on DV. Since most of the story is in the future, this would keep cost down and express the artificiality of the environment. Or would this complicate processing?

If film isn't an option then fuckit, it's a bit redundant anyway.

19:31 / 15.02.05

actually the note was from me to Impulsivelad, not the otherway around.... but regardless, I'm not positive it needs to extend to 30 minutes/pages, but I think we should leave it open as an option. Until we decide which direction we want to go in, and how much of the ideas people have had will be incorporated, we'll get a better sense of the length. There's also the possibility of the 1 page = 1 minute thing not working, as I invision this being a very slow moving and quiet film. Even if we only write 15 pages, it could wind up being 30 minutes long. (should we try to limit it to 15 pages max?)

also, on the topic of film vs. DV - I happen to love film, and would far prefer to work on film instead of DV. BUT (and this is a big but), film can be incredibly expensive, even more expensive when you're dealing with color, and that doesn't even include the equipment (harder to find to borrow and/or more expensive than DV). It also creates a need for more experienced people on the set (a wrong light reading can mean days and hundreds of dollars worth of footage ruined). Editing film is not only a huge pain in the ass, but traditional film editing cuts out the entire collaborative spirit of this project. converting film to digital (in order for everyone who wants to edit to have a chance at it) is astromically expensive if you want good quality.

for better or for worse, I think our only option is to shoot DV.

solid~liquid onwards

11:19 / 17.02.05

I would love to work with film... but whos gonna pay for it. DV is the only viable solution unless we have money. But if you want the film look, a lot of editing packages have features that make dv look like film. The canon xl2 has a adjustable cine look settings on the camera.

As it was mentioned, there is no problem getting a good dv camera, i know several people who it might be possible to borrow from and several places to rent from. And if its after june i might have my own xl1s or xl2 (Im in the process of applying for business grants to set ReelVison films up as a production company for films, corporate, weddings etc)

21:34 / 18.02.05

I read the Wiki, things look good for the split production. Barring a sudden speed up in pace, we'll probably start filming after I finish school, in May, so I'll have four or so months with no pressing engagements, and a lot of time to make the film.

And, I'd agree DV is definitely the way to go. Film definitely gives your project more credibility, but if you bring the same attention to lighting, etc. to DV production that you would to film, the production will still look much better than someone's home video, and in terms of acting, DV allows for a lot more exploration, since you can basically shoot as much as you want. In today's day and age, unless you're a studio, I feel like it's just not worth it to shoot on film.

18:03 / 04.03.05

Anything new with this?

We're The Great Old Ones Now

05:36 / 08.03.05

Can I just suggest that you consider the length of the project very carefully? I'm not sure about festival regs and so on, but I'd consider a project which came up at twenty five minutes (for example) to be in a kind of unhappy middle ground between a short and a single episode of TV or something. I don't know how people would respond. I know that's superficial - but by 'people' I don't mean John Q. Public, I mean execs and suchlike, who can be a little on the superficial side in matters like this. If what's actually happening to you, for example, is that you've got enough story for a feature, then either cut or make the full film...

02:18 / 09.03.05

TeN sent me the script via e-mail, I really liked it, and I sent him back some comments, but haven't heard from him since. So, that's the last progress I know of. If anyone else has something newer, please post it.

13:17 / 11.03.05

I've not heard anything since my above post. I did those pages to illustrate some of my ideas then sent them to TeN. He said he'd be on holiday for a week or so and then might still have some trouble getting time but that was the last I heard.

Update, TeN?

19:01 / 11.03.05

sorry guys. I've been busy lately and haven't really gotten a chance to work on this much. The suggestions Patrick and Meludreen made were great though, and I'm going to try to work them in sometime this weekend. I might post the results of that edit up here for everyone involved to see and give their opinion on. Also, to anyone involved in writing the script - feel free to work on it without me. Just because I'm busy doesn't mean things can't get done. Write a new segment, rewrite an old segment you feel needs rewording, whatever, but there's no reason to have to wait for me to make an "official edit" or anything. We're all working on this together.

Anyway, so yeah, I'll try to get something done this weekend. I know all of you are anxious to get this moving.

03:56 / 11.04.05

Just checking in for an update on this. If someone sends me the latest version of the script, I could do a revision on it, just to get things moving again. I know I'd like to film some time over the summer, so if we're going to do that, we should try to start things moving again pretty soon.

19:59 / 11.04.05

perfect timing, Patrick, I was about to post something here. Basically, here's where we are - you and Meludreen sent me some excellent suggestions, which I've been meaning to inocorporate into what's already written. I am sort of stuck though, and as much as I look at that script, I can't figure out where I want it to go, or how to go about changing what needs to be changed. I was considering posting what I have so far and seeing what everyone had to say about it, but another option would be to send it to you and maybe get the ball rolling again. I seem to work best when I revise a script and add to it, have someone else revise that and add to it, have it sent back to me to be revised and added to, and so on and so forth. So maybe that is the best way to go. I'd be more willing to making it public, but I'm not sure it's ready for unveiling just yet... it has all sorts of little ugly parts sticking out that need to be trimmed down, and the final half is sort of missing and directionless.

So, it's up to you, Patrick. Would you rather I send the script to you and we can start passing it back and forth like I started doing with Impulsivelad at the begining? or would you rather I post the script and officially open it up to suggestions from everyone?

16:59 / 12.04.05

Put it on the wiki.

You know you want to.

21:47 / 16.04.05

Considering it is a group project, I'd say post it to all and see who wants to take a crack at it. I'll definitely do some work on it, but if other people want to also, they should go for it.

00:24 / 17.04.05

Well christ, that was a bit harder than I thought.

I made a home on the wiki for the script, as well as tried my best to implement a system where users can comment and revise in an organized manner. It needs a little work, but I trust you guys can spiff it up a bit.

Enjoy!

00:27 / 17.04.05

oh, and also... to get the ball rolling, I went ahead and posted some of the comments and revisions that have been sent to me. I hope you don't mind. If you do mind, you can just remove them, and regardless, you'll probably want to revise them and introduce them in your own words.

02:59 / 22.04.05

*BUMP*

so what? none of you have any comments on the script?
I thought you were all dying to see it?!

07:08 / 22.04.05

Just read the opening - the stuff that's on the wiki - it moves very well, perhaps more of a overwhelming description by the doctors of what he is, as it seemed to jump to him knowing that he was an android very quickly. Also, perhaps he should be more bitter, less respectful of sci-fi in general. Only seen the wiki stuff, so maybe there is more there.

22:31 / 24.04.05

Hey guys, just to mention that I'm a pretty experienced DoP and a partner in a production company - http://www.fullrange.co.uk - so if I can answer any questions or work out some basic equipment rental rates for you, please let me know.

23:18 / 13.05.05

*BUMP*
this thing has been up for almost a month and no one has touched it. a month! if you guys actually want to do this, show a little effort, will ya?

benny - no more. everything there is is in the wiki. it's rather undeveloped as of yet, which is why everyone needs to be contributing!

malaclypse - great! we're not far along enough to be getting involved in that stuff, but when we are, it's always nice to have more people to help us out.

solid~liquid onwards

10:50 / 17.05.05

Been away for a almost two months. a month working and a month in africa doing the paris dakar rally route in a beat up old land cruiser. Read the opening but i dont have time to post any thoughts right now as im mad busy organising shit for treasure of the templars.

still up for this, wont be able to think about it much till mid july.

18:27 / 17.05.05

apologies for my absence on this- the script so far is great. I'm with Nick on the 10- 15 minute thing- any longer and it'll be really hard to show at festivals etc- if you want to flesh it out- go for the full feature thing- which in turn creates problems- a short could be great with this project- get a really, really tight little script going- if the idea works and there's room to grow there's no reason why we couldn't make it into something longer.

I'm at work at the moment- but i'll post again when i have some more comments/ ideas. Is there a full outline anywhere as the Wiki script seems to be the story so far... do we know how it ends?

19:14 / 17.05.05

"do we know how it ends?"
still stumped on that part
where it's at now, there's a million directions it could go in... i figured you guys would help come up with some ideas

08:04 / 19.05.05

I had a vague notion for an ending yesterday-

We discover that our scientists aren't real either- but also are characters from the writers novels (maybe with some unpleasent traits...). This in turn could lead us down several routes- is this actually happening/ or all in the writers mind (maybe a bit corney)- who is doing this and why (a truman show-esque moment...) etc etc.

*hmm just reading this and i'm not so sure if it sounds as good as it did while drifting off to sleep last night but hey!*

They're just very rough ideas- but it would make sense to nail down the story now- rather than writing and writing but not know where your going...

Thoughts people?

anybody else got anything to add?

17:57 / 20.05.05

as stereotypical as the "life is a dream... or is it?" plots are, I can't help but love them. i'm all for this as a direction (and we are desperately in need of one), so if everyone else is in agreement, then i guess that's how we could proceed. i don't have any free time at the moment, but i'd be able to help with brainstorming, and when we get it a littlemore fleshed out, either me or someone else could start writing some more. still though, if any of you feel compelled to write a scene or some dialogue or anything, feel free (that's what i added the section on the wiki for... read the rules though).

if we are ever going to get this done though, we have to get moving. so come on... where's that motivation?

03:55 / 26.05.05

I've converted the script into Final Draft format, and I can make an HTML file of that that I can post in the wiki. It should be a lot easier to read than the other stuff.

Also, I've been working on a project on my own, but have hit the wall of having no actors to star in it. So, I know someone here was an actor based in New York, and I'm wondering if anyone else knows of people based in New York who would be interested in acting in a short. I might try this as a seperate thread because it could get buried here, but for now, just PM me if you've got any good ideas about how to find people.

16:45 / 26.05.05

"I've converted the script into Final Draft format, and I can make an HTML file of that that I can post in the wiki. It should be a lot easier to read than the other stuff."
sounds great.
hopefully making it easier to read will inspire some of you to ACTUALLY START CONTRIBUTING. really guys, what the hell happened?

solid~liquid onwards

12:16 / 16.06.05

Still up for this. Im so severley busy lately.

01:40 / 04.08.05

This thread kind of died once it came down to actually making something. I've still got a month off before I go back to school, and I'm here in New York, so if anyone wants to do a film project, I'm up for it, either filming what we have of the pre-existing script, or doing something new. Drop me a PM and let's see what we can do.

solid~liquid onwards

15:08 / 19.10.05

Im available for uk shooting. preferably early november or early next year. (im due holidays)

I have all my own kit now:

panasonic ag-dvx100ae (broadcast quality camcorder with 25p cine look)
rode ntg-1 shotgun mic (broadcast mic)
manfrotto tripod (neccessity...sssscccsscc?)
manfrotto fig rig (for steady freeflowing shots)
2 batteries- 3hours and 10 hours life
mic stand
Rain bag for camera ( i live in the highlands)

I got a mac with a dvd rw. final cut pro 3 for editing and dvd studio 2.5 for dvd menu creation

I can edit well and shoot not too badly. ive only had my new camera for a week so im still learning. There we go. if people want to do this project, the kit and someone who can use them is available. I dont have the time to organise this project so someone should take charge and produce.

17:48 / 19.10.05

I pretty much assumed this project was dead, but if enough people are up for it, I suppose it could always get started again.

the scripts are on the wiki if anyone wants to have a go at finishing/revising them

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