Comments on: The Good Machine No-Budget Commandments

By: Susan B Anthony Coin

Susan B Anthony Coin — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 13:21:00 +0000

Other personalities I admired and my life was influenced by them and play in my mind as role models, felt proud in their times and mine to know are: Martin Luther King, Muhammad Ali Klay and Malolm X, While the three were non-white, they have similar qualities of the previous persons. Other personality I was fond to read for was two western philosophers: Both British: George Bernard Shaw, and Bertrand Russell (later on the second became American). They all look for what the author was looking for in his early years, justice, identity, and dignity of human being.

By: Jason

Jason — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:19:24 +0000

- Avoid large night exteriors, if possible. These shots always add crew and equipment to the day.

- Try and shoot on city / municipal owned property as much as possible. Always cheaper.

By: MARK11

MARK11 — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:31:59 +0000

Just...thank you, thank you.

I'm one of those writer-directors...who is just so glad I'm living in the digital age.
So many walls are breaking down left and right, but it still comes down to me
doing the work first and foremost, especially in pre production:

write and rewrite
storyboard
digital camera and lighting tests
digital editing software tests -- see what I can clean up in post
long before I even have a table read, let alone cast

Table reads
More rewrites
More storyboards
More camera, lighting and editing software tests

Ignore all the film only people
Ignore the experienced crew only people
Open doors for unknown, raw talented but hard working
actors/actresses, digital image makers and crew workers

Give them all a piece of the gross pie

Create website for project TRAILERS, SHORTS, etc.
I'm telling stories for the same audience I come from.

Simply, write on...right on.

MARK11

By: Hankblumenthal

Hankblumenthal — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:45:38 +0000

You gave a version of this to my SVA students years ago – and I still use a battered old xerox in my production class at Georgia Tech!

By: John Bush

John Bush — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:52:50 +0000

This is timeless advice offering a good insight into the process.

By: Bohush

Bohush — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:15:50 +0000

Those who have already made a movie have likely learned these commandments the hard way. Those who haven't yet made their movie will probably think they're immune to them. Ha, just wait.

About the time Ted Hope made “Happiness” I jumped onto the new digital bandwagon, buying a miniDV camcorder, a used boom pole and a mic from Radio Shack. Set out to write and shoot a little 10-minute showcase video with two characters called GEEZERS. When it was finished it was a mini-epic with 29 locations, including a pivotal scene at an active turnpike toll booth, and half the movie took place in 1939 with cars and costumes. Talk about breaking the no-budget rules!

Well we shot it in 6 days for $1,000, mostly spent on food and an insurance bond required by the state to let us shut down the toll booth for filming. It's no Avatar, but I'm still proud of it. The digital files have held up, and I am completing a restoration of it in widescreen, adding in some previously deleted scenes, and finally doing the color correction I always wanted but didn't have the computing power to do until now.

http://www.writerdirector.com/index.php/watch-g...

So I'm a firm believer in memorizing the first 13 commandments, but living by No. 14!

By: leo1973

leo1973 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:56:55 +0000

I will use as many of these as I can on my next feature. Depending on how it works out, “Olive & Mocha” may just give you a thank you on the credits!

By: Miles Maker

Miles Maker — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:24:35 +0000

LOVE it!

We broke #6 but our story works with few locations. I'm REALLY digging this it's a MUST SHARE for the financially-challenged. After all, #11 says it best so I can stop talking NOW.

By: ericbuist

ericbuist — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:47:10 +0000

I was laughing quite a bit at most of these points, simply because I could easily think of a short film I made that used at least one of them. Great to see a list like this though!

By: nwrann

nwrann — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:24:42 +0000

#4, #5 and #8 went a long way toward heloing my 2nd feature, Burning Inside, be a success. Of course I've ignored #2 on too many occasions, including my current project.

By: mrbarnard

mrbarnard — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:59:29 +0000

When I tell everybody that I wrote a script that violates all the rules of indie filmmaking (and I do tell EVERYBODY that), THESE ARE THOSE RULES! Awesome. I love them. I've stuck to them before. I wish I could've written a great script that fit them. Damn me, I couldn't. A FATHER AND SON violates every one of the rules, except No. 14.

By: Michael Walker

Michael Walker — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:41:35 +0000

This is the most useful thing you've written here. It's hard not to look at a low budget and not feel sick with what's not possible, so it's very nice to see such a positive way of looking at low budget. I'd love to see more stuff from your days at Good Machine.