Fan Filmmaker's Primer

[Maurice]

Has an "Elite Force" fan production been done? I don't think I have seen one and loved the games and think it would make an awesome series.

Excuse me, what does that have to do with this thread?

Nothing I suppose. My apologizes but I don't think I can delete my post.

I'd suggest starting a new thread on this topic in the root directory of Fan Productions, where more people might see it.

You can usually delete posts. It's under EDIT.

 

[Maurice]

This has been floating around for a while, but I thought it was worth sharing because while it's nominally about writing it's true of just about any creative pursuit, and especially about that period where your taste exceeds your ability. It's super-short but worth it.

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[Barbreader]

Thanks for that Maurice. I admit I am on my third novel (non-Trek although there are Trekkies in it and one of them creates an artificial life form he names after a Trek character)... and I threw a play in there to try to get the 'keep it short' down. This is going to be the first one I try to sell... the others just weren't good enough. I have done about 30 or 35 rewrites, and I'll probably do 10 more. I've gotten comments from more than 25 people, and every one of them was useful. They helped me get out of my own head.

 

[Maurice]

10 Tips For Kids Who Want to Be Filmmakers! : FRIDAY 101

While this is supposedly aimed at "kids" who want to be filmmakers, what he says is good advice for any beginner.

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[Ron Asman]

Back to Lighting for a moment, here's a photo from another shoot I did in the same small stage I mentioned previously, but wherein you can actually see how much lighting we were using:

CLICK TO EMBIGGEN!
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Basically, there are four banks of florescents (the large flat black boxes) arrayed to get the greenscreen lit evenly: two above, one to the left one to the right. There are five additional barn-doored stage lights on C-stands to illuminate the players.

Also note the black sound blankets hanging from the ceiling to help deaden echoes.

Love the sound blankets! In my bedroom/recording studio, I'm using comforters nailed to the wall!

What are the sound blankets? They look like packing blankets I can get a Harbor Freight...
Thanks for the info.

 

[Maurice]

Yeah, they are effectively shipping/packing blankets.

 

[MikeH92467]

You can get comforters for a few bucks at Dollar General or just about any other place that sells stuff cheap. Thrift stores are great hunting grounds for that kind of stuff as well.

 

[Cjohnson1701]

Just popped in here to say thank you for all the tips and tricks. I really liked some of the Camera stuff, from the first couple of pages. Although I haven't read anything to do with post production. Or at least the Digital Effects side of things, at least on this thread.

So if you guys don't mind, I wouldn't mind putting down my own two cents here if that's okay with you guys.

If you need to know, the majority of my experience is in two games, one was critically praised at an student indie show in which I was lead artist and pipeline TD, plus three years of college specifically aimed at modelling, texturing, and lighting.
I am currently a contracted character modeler/rigger at a small indie studio. This would be the second game I'm working on.

Cheers,
Chris Johnson

 

[Maurice]

Just popped in here to say thank you for all the tips and tricks. I really liked some of the Camera stuff, from the first couple of pages. Although I haven't read anything to do with post production. Or at least the Digital Effects side of things, at least on this thread.

So if you guys don't mind, I wouldn't mind putting down my own two cents here if that's okay with you guys.

If you need to know, the majority of my experience is in two games, one was critically praised at an student indie show in which I was lead artist and pipeline TD, plus three years of college specifically aimed at modelling, texturing, and lighting.
I am currently a contracted character modeler/rigger at a small indie studio. This would be the second game I'm working on.

Cheers,
Chris Johnson

Hi Chris. And welcome.

To date the focus here has mostly been on the practical side of planning and shooting... on Production as opposed to Pre- and Post-Production (albeit there have been momentary detours to those topics). In part that's because it seems like a lot of fanfilms are strong on the VFX side and weak on everything else, and my strengths and interests are in writing and production (and editing, but that's another topic). In fact scriptwriting tips were put into a separate topic just because it seemed like a poor fit with the hands-on nature of this topic.

Naturally, anyone is welcome to share tips and tricks in this topic—that's what it's for after all. Based on the feedback I've seen it seems most of the readers here appreciate posts most when people share practical, easily grasped tips and advice. It's important to explain the "whys" as well as the "hows" (e.g. explaining WHY directional continuity matters, not just how to do it).

If you have stuff to contribute, by all means do. While I started and sort of curate this topic, I don't "own" it nor do I want to.

Heck, if i turns out there's TONS of post production stuff contributors want to cover, maybe it deserves its own toipic. I suspect people primarily interested in post production pipelines aren't so interested in sound blankets, C47s, booming, C-stands and "manmakers". But I'll let others chime in on what they'd like this thread to contain.

 

[MikeH92467]

Given that the seemingly most consistent problem with fan films is sound quality, it may warrant it's own thread.

 

[Barbreader]

Perhaps it would be best to start a post-production thread. With hundreds of posts already, we could think of each of these threads as a 'chapter' or 'section', and post-production deserves its own. As one filmmaker has pointed out to me privately, there are more than a few fan films out there with completed photography which have never been released. It would just be easier to find things in such a thread.

 

[lennier1]

Threads for writing, pre-production, production and post-production. And one of these days we'll really need to get James Cawley to write a book on the mountains of research he does for his projects (right down to organizing accurate bookends for Kirk's quarters).

 

[Maurice]

In this topic no one's yet contributed a single detailed how-to post on sound, so a separate topic promises to be short-lived unless someone really takes ownership of it.

Frankly I'd love to see an experienced sound person write some how-to posts here, as it's something I have only a passing knowledge of since I use pro sound guys who bring and operate the appropriate gear.

As to Cawley and Co.'s research and application of same, that's more costume, prop, dressing and set related (really preproduction) and kind of specific. At the same time, since so many fan filmmakers seek to make "museum pieces" of such things, it would seem a popular subject. Doesn't Gschnitzer post about that on the Phase II boards?

 

[Cjohnson1701]

Just popped in here to say thank you for all the tips and tricks. I really liked some of the Camera stuff, from the first couple of pages. Although I haven't read anything to do with post production. Or at least the Digital Effects side of things, at least on this thread.

So if you guys don't mind, I wouldn't mind putting down my own two cents here if that's okay with you guys.

If you need to know, the majority of my experience is in two games, one was critically praised at an student indie show in which I was lead artist and pipeline TD, plus three years of college specifically aimed at modelling, texturing, and lighting.
I am currently a contracted character modeler/rigger at a small indie studio. This would be the second game I'm working on.

Cheers,
Chris Johnson

Hi Chris. And welcome.

To date the focus here has mostly been on the practical side of planning and shooting... on Production as opposed to Pre- and Post-Production (albeit there have been momentary detours to those topics). In part that's because it seems like a lot of fanfilms are strong on the VFX side and weak on everything else, and my strengths and interests are in writing and production (and editing, but that's another topic). In fact scriptwriting tips were put into a separate topic just because it seemed like a poor fit with the hands-on nature of this topic.

Naturally, anyone is welcome to share tips and tricks in this topic—that's what it's for after all. Based on the feedback I've seen it seems most of the readers here appreciate posts most when people share practical, easily grasped tips and advice. It's important to explain the "whys" as well as the "hows" (e.g. explaining WHY directional continuity matters, not just how to do it).

If you have stuff to contribute, by all means do. While I started and sort of curate this topic, I don't "own" it nor do I want to.

Heck, if i turns out there's TONS of post production stuff contributors want to cover, maybe it deserves its own toipic. I suspect people primarily interested in post production pipelines aren't so interested in sound blankets, C47s, booming, C-stands and "manmakers". But I'll let others chime in on what they'd like this thread to contain.

Thanks, Mainly I wanted to talk about just organisation. Most people hire studios. So most of the technical Post stuff I don't need to go through. But I was planning a primer on pipeline and managing assets, especially if your hiring freelancers. Okay well I'll get to work on that.

 

[Maurice]

Most fan films involve no "hiring" at all, just people donating time and effort, so I'll be interested in seeing how you'll apply such methodologies to an all volunteer effort.

 

[MikeH92467]

It seems to me that fan producers are fairly good about making specific casting calls for actors but not quite as specific when it comes to behind-the-camera and post-production positions. Somewhere upthread I seem to remember a list of positions that need to be covered. Sound experts would certainly be on my list.

 

[jojolimited]

It seems to me that fan producers are fairly good about making specific casting calls for actors but not quite as specific when it comes to behind-the-camera and post-production positions. Somewhere upthread I seem to remember a list of positions that need to be covered. Sound experts would certainly be on my list.

On any low budget independent production, sound is actually more important than visuals (unless you are making a silent movie). It's been the bane of many many independent productions. Great sound can make up for mediocre cinematography, bad sound ruins even he best.

 

[jojolimited]

I'm 44 in a matter of days. I started dabbling 10 years ago. I'm still mediocre as hell, but getting better.

Mediocre is absolutely NOT the word I would use to describe your efforts, Nick. You've done some outstanding stuff over the years!

Nicks fan films are an excellent example of good writing and acting making up for little VFX. You don't miss them.

As far as age? My son is 37 years old. I probably am too old to get into full on commercial movie making, but not to old to do low budget movies. Never too old for that.

 

[USS Intrepid]

Thanks, I try even if I don't always hit the mark.

Good to see you back around here, by the way.

 

[Maurice]

On any low budget independent production, sound is actually more important than visuals (unless you are making a silent movie). It's been the bane of many many independent productions. Great sound can make up for mediocre cinematography, bad sound ruins even he best.

Yes. We've said that repeatedly upthread: sound trumps picture.