Indie filmmaking can be a lot of fun, but can also be a real pain in the ass at times, however, nothing annoys me more than people who churn out something that shows a complete lack in style and execution... not too mention the most annoying soundtracks ever heard by man.
While I am not the best indie filmmaker out there, even my first feature teeters on schlock to decent, why can't other people take a moment to at least put forth an effort. One of the most slagged of genres in indie film is horror... especially zombie horror. I am truly sick and tired of watching these low budget zombies films where the creative team behind the film felt it was required to have some obnoxiously loud death metal soundtrack in there as a way to set tone and pace for a movie.
Also, when doing your make-up fx, do me a favor and cover up your fucking actors with some make-up. If I have see the back of someones neck, arms or ears uncovered one more time I am going to scream. How fucking hard is it to take the make-up applicator and apply it to those areas. Seriously, a little dab will do it.
If you plan on making a zombie horror film please follow these simple rules:
NO DEATH METAL - All you do is lose what little audience you will have because the music is too friggin' annoying to begin with.
USE MORE MAKE-UP - Nothing takes you out of a moment faster than poorly applied make-up. In my current production I have over 100 zombies and my total make-up budget is $900.00 if I can cover 100 people head to toe on $900 you should be able to do the same for 10 people on $50.00
Get a DP and a decent camera - So many indie productions are starting to take a lot of heat because of cinematography. With a slew of 3CCD camera on the market starting at $799.00 you should not have a problem finding and using one of the bad boys. Also, if you cannot light the production hire someone who knows what they are doing.
Sound - Sound is everything to an extent... they say it is 70% of your movie. Bullshit, Sound is maybe 50%. Viewers can forgive sound issues when you have a good story and good cinematography, but if the first 2 are nowhere to be found you better have a stellar sound mix. Sound is one of the hardest elements to accomplish. I myself struggle with it on a daily basis when we shoot, but you have to make an attempt to do something useful with your sound.
USING FRIENDS - Hey friends are cool people. They may help you move, help you get through a rough patch, and even wanna try to be in your movie. Here is a fact I learned when making my first film... You can use your friends, but you have to know how to direct them and motivate them into giving a somewhat believable performance. If you have to work with them on the side, do it. It is better to spend that extra 15-30 minutes coaching them than sticking a camera in their face and saying ACTION Mutherfucker. Not everyone can act, but everyone CAN take direction. It is how you as a director communicate with your cast and crew.
well... this is just going to be part 1... I am a little under the weather right now, but I will be back to rant and rave more about this subject later.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
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