ASK & DISCUSS

Hi all
One of my feature scripts is about to be turned into a short trailer for the film, with the aim to gain funding and interest to produce the full feature.
I've been asked to…

I agree with Paddy there. Sounds like what you want is more of a teaser than a trailer - not meaning to pedantic :) The reason I say this is because you can treat it like a separa…

Hello Shooters, I'm going out to Cannes this year but don't want to spend the entire two weeks out there. Will be pitching a few projects with a small team at the Marche Du Film a…

Hello Venus,

Been once before in 2010. Didn't get much out of it then.

Hey there,

Wondering if anyone has a pointer or suggestion for me?

I'm looking to film a short piece in a library or library like room that's not overly modern - ideally a lot o…

Hi,

I found the UK pavilion interesting (2014) but seemed a little limited at times. Is it worth registering for the American Pavilion? If you've registered in the past were the…

How did that happen?

Hi,

I signed up here as a composer looking for a project but I'm very interested in film in general.

In other work I do I've worked in recording studios and live venues as a so…

I had no experience in sound and learnt on the job, starting in March last year. It seems to me that you are more than qualified but you will need to learn film set procedures an…

Hi all,
a potentially very basic question. Howtosellyourfilm.com is one of those websites offering ebooks for $$$ promising you all infos about distribution. As I few people point…

Bit of a punt, really. He's offering you the 'secrets' of putting your film on a website and charging for views, not selling through conventional channels. Conventional sales ar…

This is a great extract from a Woody Allen interview and it sums up for me the importance of what I call the Mental Game. That talent or – despite the X Factor – wanting to be suc…

Great advice as usual Charles, having been on one of your courses I know you encouraged us to be do'ers not just hearers. I'm Trying to do with very limited funds and having some …

Hello all - just wanted to share our blog, where we've been writing up the process behind our microbudget feature DON'T. STOP. RUNNING. Hopefully lots there that will be useful f…

Ha! Sorry - I'm on a shoot and a little bit sleepy... The website is www.dontstoprunning.co.uk

It's for a documentary i'm doing using hyperlapses to show off some of the most beautiful buildings in Edinburgh. It's a very unique project. There have been a few hyperlapse shor…

Chris - nice site and your Big Orchestral Heroic Theme sounds exactly as you would expect :-)

Hi, there doesn't seem to be much data published aside from DVD Top 100. Are there (affordable) services that track DVD and VOD sales for any titles? All I could find is websites …

I have just stared developing a feature film project. Due to lack of funds I need to get a team together on a collaboration basis to get this project going.

So the team will get …

Thanks for your view on this Paddy. The thing is that if I do this for him then I have to do this for the others as and that is only fair. One team member joined me about a month …

We are a community film making organisation and have just been allocated some funding (YAY!) for a new camcorder which we will spend around £3,000 on. We are looking for recommen…

try Hiscox Business Insurance - I was surprised how good value they came out, saved a lot over some other brokers.

Hi!

We are looking for a medium to large 2-3 bedroom house with a fair bathroom and staircase in/or around the Sheffield area for a short Horror film (no blood).

Filming will ta…

Looking for a rooftop Location with a view of the city lights for upcoming music video. Quite a small budget so looking for something that would be affordable for an indie band. A…

We have a great idea for a tv comedy from which we are in the process of filming a TV pilot for. We would like to speak with someone who has experience with pitching shows to tele…

You might need to find yourself a well-established production company who is a preferred supplier in that genre in order to get established yourself - certainly the BBC will proba…

I'm an experienced freelance designer and photographer and have developed an interest in film and film making over the last couple of years, gaining experience on several shorts a…

You should still be able to excerpt it?? I would, anyway :-)

I know it's a common problem but cannot find any information regarding it on google, etc

Thanks..
Nic

'Bias Sound Soap', if you can find a copy, is surprisingly good at cleaning audio with very few controls and a pretty dodgy interface. If the noise is mains hum, you need to look…

Does anyone know of sound technicians in the Midlands to repair/service mixers and location sound kit.
Hard to find I have an account with Richmond films but would be good to have…

I will of course, if there is a local spark or gaffer maybe who knows someone...
As far as sound kit goes there is Audio Developments who of course make
great mixers but tend to …

Hi,
I've recently been involved in creating a documentary and got in touch with a camera operator who filmed me interviewing several prominent figures. My partner and I signed a …

Thanks everyone, Really helpful advice. It's been a sharp learning curve, but I've definitely learnt to be more cautious in future about the legal aspects of filming.

Hi everyone,
can you recommend "real" microbudget success? I mean, we all know the story of El Mariachi and Clerks, but since the digital revolution, what real success have there…

My first feature "Boy Meets Girl" 1994 was shot on film for £13,000 which was about as micro budget you could get before the advent of digital camera's.
http://www.imdb.com/title/…

I have some experience self-shooting for TV companies but would like to develop my skill with the camera informally so am willing to help out with small projects if needed.

Hi George - I too am looking to build up my portfolio and have some ideas for ads, videos, short films/docs which I'd love to get your help on. Please email me on cindy@thisiscind…

Hi everyone.I am about to start a feature and I was wandering if anyone can give me any info on insurers for my micro budget film. As it is my first major project and the first on…

I used Essex for my recent London shoot, and being an American I had certain obstacles to overcome as far as getting insured in the UK. Essex made it headache free. I highly recom…

We'll be looking for all grades (camera, design, costume, makeup, lighting, sound, etc) for a 4 week shoot in May in and around Bristol. Paid NMW, with fee balance deferred. Great…

Recommend Dan Read (camera - Sony FS7, Canon C300), dan_read_video@hotmail.com

Hello

I have recently been using some software called Lightworks to do a spot of editing of some footage captured on a DSLR.

I edited the footage - made it look nice using Light…

Yes, SUPER is good and it's free although, as you say, the information is gone. I've decided that, next time I have footage to edit and colour, I will transcode first. I might use…

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to do a test shoot in a couple of months, tips you feel may be invaluable would be appreciated.
Ref to lighting: Is there anything as too much movemen…

Experiment, play, try, test. Shadows are a major issue - you need to light the screen evenly, then turn that off, light the foreground (a good meter or two away from screen) for …