A friend of mine posted a video about what actors should consider before making the jump to L.A. and it struck me that there were some things I did before I decided to start doing my own productions more "full time". If you follow my blog you know I've gone back to a "day job" sort of lifestyle in recent years. It's more of another business, but something more stable and slightly more lucrative than filmmaking alone.
This is just ADVICE. Whether or not it applies to your life is up to your best judgement. None of it guarantees success (I mean, you're taking advice from a guy who drives a 24 year old rust heap of a Jeep), so take it or leave it at your own risk.
Anyway, it was a long time ago, but the principles will still be the same. Really, it comes down to money. I'd suggest making several short "weekend" films before diving into a feature. Even with those, work on making each one larger in scope before venturing into a feature movie. If you can, start with one character and one location like we did in "X-24". Then, still keeping the movies short, move up to more characters and perhaps more than one location. Perhaps add outdoor and/or nighttime shots to work on your lighting. Use these films to get a feel for what you're comfortable doing yourself, what equipment you need to own and what you'd like people you work with (such as a sound recordist) to bring with them.
I wouldn't suggest venturing off on your own in order to make a feature as your first film, but it might be a good time to decide to take a vacation. If you're lucky enough to be able to get everyone scheduled for the same 10 day to two week period you may be able to pull off a small opus with a bit of consistency. Shooting most of your days in a shorter period certainly helps with continuity and with keeping cast and crew involved. A movie that takes six months to film can see people gain weight, change hairstyles drastically or even relocate. (Life happens.) If you're still not comfortable doing a feature, but tired of only having short films, consider doing an anthology. Find something that relates your movies and either use a host or wrap around in order to bind them together. My first 3 larger movies were all Anthologies hosted by a character I created just for Debbie Rochon. "The Lunar Pack" was the first and it was all werewolf stories. Then we moved on to "Death Plots", which deals with the Grim Reaper and finally "All Wrapped Up" is a group of mummy movies and incorporated Debbie's character, Misty, into a story that takes place 4000 years in the future, indicating the immortal nature of her character (established previously in "Death Plots"). These movies allowed me to make feature length presentations while keeping my casts and shoot schedules for each segment under control. We shot most of the shorts over a two or three day period. (The first werewolf movie we shot in two nights at two locations with only two characters.) But we ended with movies ranging from just under 60 minutes to over 2 hours.
So, lets's say that you've decided that you do want to give making movies for yourself and others a shot. This is where the saving, spending and planning for moving to L.A. crosses over with your business prep. Make sure you have the basics of your equipment purchased or attainable. Camera, audio and editing equipment should be at your fingertips. If you're renting, be able to rent them even when clients are scarce. Have health insurance either paid for, through a spouse or parent or planned out. Car paid off, six months of rent and bills (including your pets' care and vet bills) set aside, demo DVDs or Blu-Rays at the ready and a marketing plan set up. Have your website ready to go online. A social media presence either built on your previous movies or ready to launch. Pay off your credit cards and try not to be carrying student loans anymore. (We paid off everything but our house before Hocus Focus Productions went "full time".) I do wish I had built up a better marketing plan first. This falls under you learning from my mistakes instead of making them yourself.
Here is the video from Michelle Tomlinson, thespian and acting coach, about prepping before taking the leap to move to L.A.
This is just ADVICE. Whether or not it applies to your life is up to your best judgement. None of it guarantees success (I mean, you're taking advice from a guy who drives a 24 year old rust heap of a Jeep), so take it or leave it at your own risk.
Anyway, it was a long time ago, but the principles will still be the same. Really, it comes down to money. I'd suggest making several short "weekend" films before diving into a feature. Even with those, work on making each one larger in scope before venturing into a feature movie. If you can, start with one character and one location like we did in "X-24". Then, still keeping the movies short, move up to more characters and perhaps more than one location. Perhaps add outdoor and/or nighttime shots to work on your lighting. Use these films to get a feel for what you're comfortable doing yourself, what equipment you need to own and what you'd like people you work with (such as a sound recordist) to bring with them.
I wouldn't suggest venturing off on your own in order to make a feature as your first film, but it might be a good time to decide to take a vacation. If you're lucky enough to be able to get everyone scheduled for the same 10 day to two week period you may be able to pull off a small opus with a bit of consistency. Shooting most of your days in a shorter period certainly helps with continuity and with keeping cast and crew involved. A movie that takes six months to film can see people gain weight, change hairstyles drastically or even relocate. (Life happens.) If you're still not comfortable doing a feature, but tired of only having short films, consider doing an anthology. Find something that relates your movies and either use a host or wrap around in order to bind them together. My first 3 larger movies were all Anthologies hosted by a character I created just for Debbie Rochon. "The Lunar Pack" was the first and it was all werewolf stories. Then we moved on to "Death Plots", which deals with the Grim Reaper and finally "All Wrapped Up" is a group of mummy movies and incorporated Debbie's character, Misty, into a story that takes place 4000 years in the future, indicating the immortal nature of her character (established previously in "Death Plots"). These movies allowed me to make feature length presentations while keeping my casts and shoot schedules for each segment under control. We shot most of the shorts over a two or three day period. (The first werewolf movie we shot in two nights at two locations with only two characters.) But we ended with movies ranging from just under 60 minutes to over 2 hours.
So, lets's say that you've decided that you do want to give making movies for yourself and others a shot. This is where the saving, spending and planning for moving to L.A. crosses over with your business prep. Make sure you have the basics of your equipment purchased or attainable. Camera, audio and editing equipment should be at your fingertips. If you're renting, be able to rent them even when clients are scarce. Have health insurance either paid for, through a spouse or parent or planned out. Car paid off, six months of rent and bills (including your pets' care and vet bills) set aside, demo DVDs or Blu-Rays at the ready and a marketing plan set up. Have your website ready to go online. A social media presence either built on your previous movies or ready to launch. Pay off your credit cards and try not to be carrying student loans anymore. (We paid off everything but our house before Hocus Focus Productions went "full time".) I do wish I had built up a better marketing plan first. This falls under you learning from my mistakes instead of making them yourself.
Here is the video from Michelle Tomlinson, thespian and acting coach, about prepping before taking the leap to move to L.A.
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