I’ve searched the web from wall to wall for inspiration from the DIY world. Barely a pot to piss in. We know the reason.
We’re not even DIY. God bless ya boys but we can’t relate. We immediately gloss over any blog posts involving money and/or budgets. Even the no-budget companies have budgets! Suggestions like “hire a cheap grip crew” or “barter with a catering company” fly straight out the window. You know our strategy? Ask a teenager from Mike’s landscaping crew if he wants to be a “sound engineer” and throw a couple bags of Doritos in the groceries for the week.
Look, we love what we do and how we do it. But is there anybody out there that is “no budget” in the truest sense?
1. DIY Filmmaking Sucks Great title. So true but we do it anyway. We love the wide spectrum of the topics. Advice on everything from coaching actors to methods of distribution. Favorite posts include:
Seth is not a filmmaker. His blog isn’t focused on filmmaking. He’s all about ideas. You can apply his thoughts directly to your DIY filmmaking world. Just make sure you’re wearing the decoder glasses when you’re reading his posts. A few recent favorites:
Everyone needs a manifesto. Here you’ll find volumes. Change this is technically not a blog. Instead it offers essays on uprooting the old oaks and planting the new breed. You may not see the word “film” but it’s rooted in revolution and inspiration. Manifestos on my wall:
We’re always thinking about new movie ideas. For our own amusement, Mike and I complement our ideas with pitches that would make a Hollywood exec lose his lunch. Without further ado about nothing, here’s the first.
Chinese Rock
As a horrific asteroid speeds towards earth, the world turns to their only hope: The Chinese. The ragtag group of misfits build a team amongst witty, bawdy banter (through subtitles, of course). As the team enters the space shuttle in slow motion, a moving montage starts with a Chinese flag and ends with a tear from an 8 year old boy working in a Walmart factory.
The space rocket shoots into the blue sky. We see glimpses of the world’s people looking up the sky like a bunch of waifs. Americans are deep in prayer and little farm boys salute the brave Chinese.
3 years baby. We’re happy considering we all have our own lives and grown-up jobs. As we focus on the future, we take a look at how it went down.
Success
1. Creating from nothing. Mike and I made a pact to create everything from scratch. The stories, dialogue, camera shots, sets and musical scores all come from our world (excluding songs donated by local bands). We’re proud as hell about it. Our equipment is pure DIY too. We used a basic hand-held home movie camera for our first two movies. The lights were from Home Depot. Mike utilized a microphone from his DIY home studio. You got to dig in the dirt to get it to grow! 2. Making a 26-minute movie. While I was writing Sweet Damnation I warned Mike and Trista that the characters were taking over. In other words, this won’t be a 10 minute movie. They replied “Just write the movie in your head.” So 33 pages later I gave them the script. They bought in. We definitely took our lumps since we tripled the cast from our previous film and shot over 5 weekends. But we did it. 3. Creating a tribe. Seth Godin talks about tribes on his blog. Over the last couple of years a Vanish tribe emerged. A core group of people (“Vaniards” as we call them) ask about our next flick, offer to be part of the movie (for free), suggest story ideas, and tell others about our endeavor. There’s even a Vanish language. We’re working on an online dictionary. Stay tuned.
Failure
1. No revenue. We liked the idea of generating a little dough to put into future films. Unfortunately, we got caught up in trying to be better filmmakers. On our previous website we tried a “donate” button and got a few gracious donations. However, we never brought it back. Who knows what the future holds? We’ll see. It sucks not filling a Vanish bank account but there’s something cool about having our backs against the wall too.
2. No entries to film festivals. Many Vaniards say we should submit our films to festivals. We looked into this too. Unfortunately, we don’t like guidelines very much. Vanish is forging ahead, making movies and posting them on the internet. Until a film festival allows us to do this and submit something for free, you will continue to be the premier.
3. Mishandling exhaustion. Filmmaking is hard. The time you put in is overwhelming. In our interview with The Legends they speak to it too. The dark days of Vanish occurred right around the release of Sweet Damnation. Both Mike and I were completely shot (see glimpses in the post-production). The deadlines were too tight. It was so bad that we disliked the whole cause as a result of the exhaustion. Only recently did we take a look at it and smile. Also, we’ve now decided that 10 minutes is a good length for short films.
Thanks for your support.
Here’s another place we’ve found inspiration.
Nothing generates creativity like an empty piggy bank. Don’t get me wrong, it sucks not having Richie Rich as a silent partner. But limited funding gives us the excuse to use whatever the hell we get our hands on. This is where you find the fun. So without further ado, here’s the Top 5 Free Resources for Filmmakers like us.
1. DVXuser Mike found this filmmaker forum and never looked back. He pours over suggestions, common filming mistakes and simple ways to handle complex problems with the camera. After we released “Sweet Damnation,” Mike asked for feedback and the forum members didn’t hesitate.
2. Skype Yeah, I know this isn’t an earth-shattering revelation. But it was when we came across it. I live about 60 miles away from Mike and Trista so the cell phone bills were smelling like Enron. Not any more. Now we can talk shop and successfully give the finger when the spirit moves us. No charge.
3. Vimeo YouTube is the popular vote and we definitely ride that train. However, when you have movies longer than 10 minutes, put your money down on this one. Vimeo’s also a great way to share casting videos among the Vanish think tank.
4. Freeplay Music Even though Mike and I create and record our own film music, we may need a funk-dubious jam and all we have is a harp and bongos. Freeplay Music provides a ton of options for you. If it’s not free, they’re going to need a new name.
5. The Public Library If this is a B.S. resource, then start shoveling. The place if full of stories. Find books about directing, producing, writing and even the DIY world of filmmaking. Move down the aisle to spot films like Chopper, Crumb, Ed Wood and American Movie. Finally, check out the eclectic music section. When I created a mix CD to inspire the cast of Sweet Damnation, all the songs came from the library.
Happy new one! We’ve been busy laying the foundation for the next year. We have 2 rewrites in the works as we speak. Hopefully we’ll be shooting our next short in February with another possibly this summer. Look for updates here, Twitter and YouTube.
Viva La DIY!
On that note, you should watch this movie. Ben gushes about it.
I’ve searched the web from wall to wall for inspiration from the DIY world. Barely a pot to piss in. We know the reason.
on his blog. Over the last couple of years a Vanish tribe emerged. A core group of people (“Vaniards” as we call them) ask about our next flick, offer to be part of the movie (for free), suggest story ideas, and tell others about our endeavor. There’s even a Vanish language. We’re working on an online dictionary. Stay tuned.
