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Hello,

I am wanting to direct a movie.. (just for practice)

But I need a script... I'm good at thinking of scripts but all I can seem to think of are fantasy/scifi and things that would be impossible for me to make... I lack equipment..

I was thinking about reading a book and then making a movie out of it... does anybody know the name of any good book that doesn't involve anything that would be hard to get on film?

Thank you

Peace

the first part of crash

Make a film like SAW, but more psychological and less 'hollywood horror' - I'm sure you could find a decent murky cell and base your movie around that.


Van-B

Do you have a budget to make a film. It doesnt come cheap you know....


If your serious though, I could come up with a script to fit your budget.

LOL yea that would be cool...

SAW was a crazy movie.. only problem is where am I gonna get some actors that will actually scream for their lives instead of jogging through the hallway muttering "ahh.. ahh.. it's gonna get me..." but if all else fails.. I'll make it into a comedy...

Peace

First be sure what you want to make.

I was talking with my 2 friends and I asked them if they wanted to be in a movie.. and they weren't too thrilled about it but they said they'd try it...

Anyways,

I might wanna make a mystery type movie..

Make a horror film rip off. Not like "Scary Movie" where it's just comdey, but where the viewer is led to believe something scary's going to happen but then something completly stupid and random happens such as a guy reaching for a doorknob in a haunted house, and the doorknob melts and turns into someone's genitels. (Dunno, I just read that in a funny online short sotry) Should be great.

My second idea is, don't make a movie at all. Begin work on a revolutionary invetion. Like audio speakers that also act as air-conditionars.

I've always wanted to make a short film when I was a teenager--- about a group of 3 or 4 teens who plan and execute the murder of another teen. The best part of that would be the locations, which would for the most part take place in various basements. Anyways, I didn't do it (surprise surprise) and if you catch the movie Bully, you'll see some inkling of what I had in mind (on a smaller scale of course).

you might want to ask your friends what kinds of roles they feel comfortable playng, and then you can decide on the genre and script knowing what characters you have.

Froogle has a point, your probably not dealing with professional actors, and they are also probably doing it for free, so you need to ask them what kind of characters they would like playing. I have an idea which has taken inspiration from Jekus idea.

It has a devilish twist however. What we need is a group of people, and then one person(preferrably female, quiet kind) that is comfortable acting on her own. That way I could come up with a good script. It would be teenage horror/slasher without all of the silly cliches that are associated with those kinds of films.

No offence, but don't get ahead of yourself.

Write it down on paper and storyboard it properly - before you begin. Otherwise you'll get nowhere and get disheartened. Keep your first film very short and very simple as well, and invest in some good sound equipment, such as microphones.

My two cents.

Drew has a point, if it isnt done as professionally as possible, then there is no point in doing it. A storyboard is not always essential, but it is certainly useful. I will write the screenplay in standard screenplay format.

make a porno

I'm sorry to be argumentative, but I do films for a living and have learnt that you do need to storyboard, you cannot make it up on the fly - because that produces crap results.

And by storyboard, I mean shot planning, sound planning and storyline. It should also include your screenplay details such as dialogue and screen directions - what your characters do and where they are. If you plan these in detail, then continuity shouldn't be an issue.

Your storyboards do not to be super detailed, just write down, in every shot,

Where you will film it from (the shot)
Will this shot move? how?
Who's in it
Where everyone is at the beginning of the shot and where they will be at the end - a good tip is; if you draw X's on the ground in chalk or put a small piece of paper, and tell the actor they need to be in that position by the end of the shot, then get them to start there for the next shot. This will make it continuitous (sp?).
And what sounds you need to include. ie: dialogue (It may be a good idea to record these again, seperately, and dub them)

Something alot of people do, and some advice to avoid it!

Don't be too keen on changing angle, let shots linger. You don't want a different shot for every single thing that happens, because that is gay. Reuse angles in the same scene as well. If possible, film the entire scene the same from a number of angles, then cut between these angles. I find a good tip is, in a scene, never use more than 3 different angles. Extra shots and closeups can be filmed seperately.

Good luck anyway, remember - keep it simple!

I would always use a storyboard anyway. I have successfully shot without a storyboard, but that was only because I had scribbled all of the details on to my script. It turned out ok but I would strongly advise making a storyboard.

You need to also visit potential locations and do sound tests. Is there a motorway nearby? is it near an airport? etc. etc.

I find storyboards are more useful for where you need to know *exactly* what happens all the time (like an animated film etc.) Yet more complex shots - well, a storyboard is a definite must

Most of the time a very well detailed script can replace alot of a stoyboard (for live action at least). But, what I said above - if its something complex/peculiar/has to be exact, then a storyboard is your best bet ("A picture can paint a thoasand words")

I agree with VanB make a movie like Saw, but make it more realistic and disturbing if you possibly could.

Also Saw is a suspense/horror movie so you could make one like that.

Here's a basic plot to Saw.
A doctor winds up in an ancient bathroom. There's a very nervous younger man across the room, both are chained to pipes and have no way to escape. In the middle of the room there appears to be a dead man lying in a pool of blood. The doctor will be killed at 6:00 if he doesn't kill the man across from him in the room by then, but his family will also be killed. A mystereious man constantly phones them giving them hints on where to find certain objects in the room. For instance to hand saws, one for each man to free themselves, but not by sawing the chains, that wouldn't work, only by sawwing of their...

feet. There's alot more to the movie then that and that doesn't even delve into a tiny bit. Be warned though if you get disturbed easily then don't watch the movie.

if this is your first movie or one of your first then it would be a good idea to make it short and simple. for some inspiration, go to a book store and pick up a book of short stories, try to find something that might have something you can do with your level of experience and your budget. to make it simple and readable i shall enumerate my advice:

pre production:
- spend time on writing a coherent script. describe actions, setting, etc very vividly. try going to the bookstore again or browsing the internet and looking at professional's scripts.

- make up a shot list. this is a list of every shot in the movie, organized by what scene they are in, and further by what degree of shot they are (from establishing shot to two-shot to extreme close up (and everything in between)), well, that's how i like to organize my shot lists. i also put in what the sound requirements are for that shot, is it MOS (without sound)? what lines are said here? is there music here? ambient sound? etc.

- once you have a shot list done, it would be a good idea to do some quick storyboarding, basically a visualization of the shot list.

- go through your shot list and the script and figure out when and in what order you are going to shoot everything. for example, if scene 4 , scene 7 and scene 11 all take place in the abandoned grain silo, it would be a good idea to film them all in one session. susie and max are both in scenes 4 and 11, but only susie is in scene 7, so film scenes 4 and 11 first, then scene 7, so max can go home early. same thing with shots, always do the shots with the largest amount of people in them first, generally you go from wide to narrow. this way you don't keep your other actors waiting around while you film take 14 of one character walking through a door (a shot that only requires one actor). the idea is efficiency. once you have it figured out, write it down.

- if it's even a little bit complicated, you will probably want a couple people to act as crew. for editting purposes, someone who will take notes on each take of each shot is invaluable. also, if there are many shots, you will want some sort of clap board (doesn't need to be a real one, you can just write down the scene number, shot number and take number of a piece of paper and have someone call it out). if you are doing anything special with lighting or sound you will want people to help with that too.

production:
- follow your ordered shot list very closely and have your script and storyboard on hand. if something has to be changed (maybe an actor keeps saying "i went to the store" instead of "i had gone to the store" and it's easier for him to just say the former) make sure everybody notes it on their copies of the script and in the storyboard. helps for continuity and editting.

- move the camera around as little as possible. remember that a shot is not the same as a cut. just because the viewpoint went from behind the guy to in front of him to behind him doesn't mean there are three shots, there are only 2, shot 1 (behind) to shot 2 (in front) and back to shot 1. keep this in mind also when ordering your shot list.

- shoot multiple takes. even if take 3 seems perfect, do a couple more for good measure (time and the patience of others permitting of course). there might be a small mistake in take 3 that you didn't catch, or maybe take 5 will be even better.

- be appreciative of the people helping you (your actors and crew). if they are not your friends or people who enjoy making movies and you don't have money to pay them, at least try to have something, like maybe sandwiches and soda they can eat after they finish for the day or something. if you ever want to do this again, you want to have people who have good memories of working with you.

post production:
i don't know how you are going to edit, so i will try to tailor this advice to be suitable whether you are editting by hooking up a million vcr's and your camcorder together (as i used to do) or if you are editting on the computer with premiere or final cut or something (as i now do)

- be patient. quality editting takes time.

- make heavy use of those notes that were taken about each shot. if on the notes it says the takes 1, 2 and 3 were awful but takes 4 and 5 were excellent, then you know where to go right off the bat.

- don't be afraid to construct a scene using shots from different takes. it happens all the time, the actor was doing great until he choked on a bit of spit, and in the next take it took a few lines for him to get back up to speed. it's alright to make a scene using Dr. Frankenstein's techniques.

- do sound last. get your video all editted and timed properly and everything, then go in and do audio (well, i guess this only applies if you are doing computer editting, with the vcr thing i always had to do video and audio at the same time, and by that i mean the exact same time, heh).

that's all that i can think of. drew says he does this professionaly, so i'm sure he could fill in some holes i left or whatever. if you got questions feel free to contact me. good luck.

walk to the mark, say the line, do it again... BFW

sorry i havnt read all the posts (my dad is ushering me off the computer) but I make films and Im getting bored of making the same old s**t. I too want to make a sci-fi film but I dont own a dedicated ranch like George Lucas. There is an alterative however - set up a green screen studio (or hire one out) and make a digital sci-fi film using super-imposed scenes and good costumes. BTW I had this idea well before Sin City was though of as a film.

But its cost effective and can look great if you do it right. Otherwise just make an Evil Dead effort - you\'l have a lot of fun making it even if the script etc isnt that great.