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[Singer]

Im sure every movie buff has seriously considered this at some point in there lives and people who just watch the odd movie may have thought about it but in this day and age with great action and sci fi shows few and far between it really brings about the question would you consider making your own mini series or film just so you had something you and many people like would love to watch. Whether it be a relentless testosterone filled action series like A team or a goofy teen supernatural slayer fest like Buffy. If someone asked you to make a short series of films with them what would you make and why?

Personally Id love to do a sci fi series on two reasons I think itd be alot of fun making alien planet scenes the special effects could be done the ye olde star trek way with a black star covered sheet and a model space craft ect. You could build sets that youd use more than once ie a ships deck ect. I would love to make a mini sci fi series put it on youtube and see how it fares if we got enough interest you would proberly get a deal.... as in like the fred channel.

So any advice on how to get ahold of actors and actresses that wont charge to be in it and also anyone interested in helping me shoot the footage and build sets? Could be a laugh to make atleast. Also anyone with knowledge of movie special efftects cgi ect would be most welcome to add finishing touches.

[DJ Jo-D]

I'd love to make my own horror or B-Movie! I think I'd have to do some kind of friday the 13th Series (the one in the shop) but some kind of dream type theme - i have fucked up dreams and reckon there is far too much going on in my nut that it needs to be shared!! haha

Sorry can't help with the people front, but my ideal job would be FX and doing make-up.....just up there in the things I want to do list!

[Lucky Rathen]

I've also thought about making my own horror movie, something in the Scream vein, or maybe an homage to the old 50s B-movies that I like. With monsters. Lots of monsters. I reckon if I hired some cameras and lighting equipment I could do a decent, if extremely cheap looking effort. I don't have a clue how to edit though, I'd be totally lost there.

As for actors, there's a drama course at Aberdeen College, one of my mates is on it, and she'd jump at the chance to get some acting experience, as I'm sure most of her classmates would. You could try and get in contact with them, no idea how you'd do that though.

[DJ Jo-D]

good idea!

could be a constulant for costumes....love making costumes cheaply and plenty exprience ha ha

[Biz]

If I made a film I'd go around jumping off buildings and dying, shooting people and cutting off their fingers, without the aid of CGI and a that jazz, but that's the way to go - Green Screen instead of sets and props - yeah baby, sets are a pain to assemble, move and store, go GREEN, debatedly greener for the planet and a that stuff tae .

[Biz]

Nae green screen or ting the noo, but here's ane and a half I made earlier.
YouTube - vts 01 1

[Afro Droid]

I'd rather write comics....

[Singer]

Yeah B movies are awesome, anyone could make them thats what was great bout them lots of fish monsters and a hero. Though Id have to throw in some Evil dead quotes I watched army of darkness the other day the macho lines are so bad but so amazing "Im afraid Im going to have to ask you to leave the store ma'am-shot gun blast-. Classic thats true bout the drama course though might check that out. I just learnt how to do the sin city effect so thats got my creative juices flowing again. Nice vid Biz was that shot in the human hives in Seaton?

[ca_gere]

Getting a film/series off the ground is extremely hard when there is little or no budget involved. God knows I've tried countless times to start little projects amongst friends. I decided that documentary/non fiction was the way forward after experiencing all the hassle involved in fiction. When you factor in script, actors, equipment, locations, sets, time, post production.... the list can be endless depending on the scope of your film... there are a lot of variables that need extensive organisation and require a lot of time which, if you and the people involved work/study, is not allways feasible.

I''ve always had a fascination with film making and have always filmed the odd bits and bobs here and there, mostly with a good friend of mine who is as passionate as I am (gigs, events, little montages for friends which would interest noone except those in the vid, etc). Very early (i.e. not great quality) stuff can be seen here , here and here
The money I got from the first one went towards decent editing/encoding software and I built up good contacts for getting a hold of better equipment on the cheap. We also got asked to shoot a couple of promos for different companies. Work commitments and the classic 'moving to Glasgow' syndrome has thrown our plans of production company stardom just as we were increasing in professionalism but the experience we got was valuable and when I eventually move back to the vicinity, I'll be getting back into it for sure. (I promise I'll finish that project RockAustin!)

My advice would be this...

1) Read up as much as you can. There are tonnes of good DIY filmmaking books out there with great advice. Building a dolly/steadicam, info on the bureaucratic side of things, tips on techniques, etc

2) Get celtx... It's awesome, everything you need for organising a project from start to finish. Storyboarding, budgetting, location scouting... it has everything.

3) Invest in or make your own clapper board and use it for every scene... Something so trivial is vital for editing in post prod when you've got a mountain of footage to get through.

4) Networking - Like in music, the more people you know the better. You'd be surprised how many aspiring actors there are out there looking for a CV credit, however small the part, or how many people have a disused barn ideal for shooting beside their house. Give someone a hand on their film and they'll return the favour. That kind of thing. A lot of people have ideas for films but keep them to themselves... you gotta talk about it and get folk interested.

... Good luck. I'd be up for giving you a hand if i was in abdn!!