Indie Film Advice!

One time, this guy asked me to give him advice about filming an indie film. I was hesitant at first, but I still squirted out a few pointers. Here's what I wrote:

For starters, let me just say that I'm not the best guy to talk to about this. Not because I don't know a lot about cinema, but because I do things my way, which sometimes isn't always the best way.

My first movie, Affinity Point, cost around 680$ (400$ of that amount were in train tickets). The reason for my budget being miniscule: I'm good at cutting costs. I also wanted to prove to myself that I didn't need any grant money. Because, frankly, grant money is a form of control. Especially in Canada, when the content/plot of the film is what gets you the money. Unfortunately, my film is a little too controversial and would fall through the cracks, while a boring Inuit film, for example, would easily get funding. So, if you plan on making an expensive movie, get funding from friends and/or family or even yourself.

Here are the things I learned while doing my first movie:

1. The most IMPORTANT thing is the script. Period. If you have a sucky script, it won't fly. When I started my movie, I had written a second draft of my first unfinished screenplay. I thought filming it would make it all come together. BIG MISTAKE. My script needed at least another draft. The problems this caused were many and the only way we could solve them is with 11 re-shoots.

2. Make sure your principal actors are good. If you're making a zombie movie, the acting is not THAT important. But if the screenplay has complex emotions, you'll need people who really know how to convey something other than fear, happiness and anger. A bad actor can fuck up a screenplay. I made the mistake of casting myself in one of the lead roles in my movie, but that was something I had to do because I was/am reliable. So, one less guy to call. BUT, directing and acting is difficult when you're doing it at the same time. Especially, the first time. So, if you plan on having a big role in your movie, make sure you have a good director/friend who can direct you. Or give yourself a smaller role (like Quentin Tarantino does in his movies).

As for the other actors: Just ask friends and family. 75% of people can act if they have a director who knows what he wants. Just work with them. Casting is also important in the sense that you should cast people who are at least close to the character you want them to play. You have to visualize them saying the dialogue.

3. Overshoot everything! If an actor is saying a line of dialogue, make him repeat it various ways. Make sure you have enough takes to at least have a good one. One of the mistakes that indie films do is not focus on the acting. But the acting is what makes the audience believe. (Thank god Kevin Smith's 'Clerks' had a great script, because the acting was terrible) Because of my mediocre acting ability, I had to re-shoot a lot of intense scenes. Those re-shoots were the rehearsal I should of had, but was too confident to do beforehand. Acting is not easy for a lot of people, and they should not take that stuff lightly.

4. Make sure your camera is good enough for what you want to do. Sure, a camcorder looks alright on tv, but try blowing it up on a huge movie screen. It's ugly as shit. You don't need an amazing film camera. Just make sure it's not from Radio Shack. You can rent awesome cameras, but if you plan on using it a lot, I would recommend buying one. It'll cost you something between 2000$-10000$. But it'll be worth it. If you DO rent, make sure it's for the weekend. Because on the weekend you get a good deal (an extra day).

5. Use a boom mic for the dialogue scenes. Not using a boom was one of my biggest mistakes. I recorded all the scenes with the camera's shotgun mic, which is good, but not good enough. Always use a boom mic for dialogue scenes. Especially if it's outside.

6. Keep your crew small and trustworthy. Don't pretend to be a big hollywood production. It'll only end up pissing you off. If people are not getting paid, they don't care as much as YOU do. So I recommend doing as much as you can yourself.

7. Make sure your first movie is not to hard to make. Keep it as simple as you can. My film was a little too overly ambitious, which was sometimes annoying, but iI knew I could do it. Know your limitations.

8. Don't bother asking for permits, just film where you want until you get thrown out. THEN ask for a permit. There's a lot of ways to do trick shots. So try to film as many close ups as you can elsewhere, and when it comes time to film on a risky location you'll just have the wide shots to do. (this is when storyboards come in handy)

If you plan on shooting in a cafe, for example, just ask the owner. Most of the time, they're ok with you filming there. A lot of immigrants love cinema, so it's usually very easy to film in corner stores and shops owned by arabs and hindu people. They love to promote their businesses. (of course, this is generally speaking)

9. Always do storyboards. It helps. Sometimes you'll forget a shot, and then you'll have to call all the actors and the crew back to film that one shot. Storyboards also help cameramen to see what you want in a shot. I usually storyboard on location before a scene, because I'm a fast drawer and the location sometimes effects the shots.

10. Don't treat the audience like idiots. Most of the time, the audience is WAY ahead of you, so keep the story moving and complex. Audiences don't use their minds as much as they would want, and when they do, it's like a brain orgasm!

11. Make sure you know how to shoot and edit dialogue scenes. This is in fact the hardest thing I learned while making my movie: dialogue scenes are hard to do. Even more so than action, because everything is relative. Make sure to watch movies to see how they edit their dialogue scenes. It's not easy.

12. Don't be scared to improvise every aspect of the production. (acting, camera movement, editing. etc) Sometimes reality presents a better option than the ideas you had in your head. Hear people out too. Sometimes actors and crew members have better ideas.

13. Let the characters determine the story and not the other way around. It quite obvious when the screenplay is tugging at the plot. If you want a character to start here and end up there, you gotta find a way to make that transition smooth. People need to forget that the characters are controlled by a script. A good example of a bad 'character controlling' script is Jon Avnet's '88 Minutes'. EVERY scene is plot driven and fake. it's so annoying!

A good example of blurred plot strings are the fantastic movies are 'Jacob's Ladder' and 'Primal Fear'. Both need to bring you and the characters at a certain point, but do it in an entertaining subtle way.

14. Make sure you have good lighting. It's easier to darken a scene that is too bright, but almost impossible to brighten a scene that is too dark. You don't need expensive lights to accomplish what you want. Just test out various ideas you have. I like to use as much location light as possible, but sometimes there's not enough light, so make sure to bring your own. A Kino Flow comes in handy sometimes too. Make sure to use the right bulbs: Blue is for outside, yellow is for inside.

15. Make sure the action in the movie is realistic. Indie horror movies tend to show the action way too much. Example: when a zombie gets his head cut off the shot should be a half a second, but since they're proud of their special effect, they leave the shot longer to make sure the audience sees the details. Fuck that! Human brains can handle fast cutting, so make the action in real time and as realistic as possible. (if you plan on making a serious film)

16. Schedule right. Start off with the easy stuff first, then as the shooting progresses, it should get harder and harder. For the first month of shooting my movie, we only shot characters walking around and doing physical stuff. (non-dialogue scenes) By the time we got to the hard scenes, the crew and the actors were prepared.

Film as many scenes as you can in a day. And if you have 5 scenes in one location, try to shoot them all in a day.

17. Finally, the biggest mistake filmmakers do is WAIT. That's a big mistake! Don't wait! Pick up the camera and film. Once you get the ball rolling you'll gain momentum, and you'll be less scared to take chances with your movie. Don't even wait for money or even the actors. Just start. At least you'll have something that you didn't have the day before: footage.

STARTING THE NEW YEAR WITH A FEW CHANGES!

I haven't updated in a while! I've just been too busy. Where to start?

- The Festival du Nouveau Cinema went well. I attended one of the screenings with my mom and was terrified that the film would traumatize her. It did, but not for the reasons I thought it would. Still, watching it with her was unbearable, but I think she was ultimately impressed.

At the screening, I also ran into the FNC president. He said he personally picked my film and called it 'gritty'.

I hung out at a few events/shows that the FNC was organizing. Had fun but didn't meet a lot of people. (I'm shy that way.)

Here's some footage of the two weeks I experienced at the FNC:

- I've been finishing my new screenplay. The film will surely be called 'Do You Truss Me?'. I've also bought myself a Canon EOS 50D and some sound equipment for the next film. A natural evolution.

- Last month, I decided to do a last minute recut Affinity Point. I was happy with the film, but there was still some things that bothered me. The film is 6 minutes shorter and quite a few scenes are different. Now, I can truly say the film is my vision 100% and more powerful in general. I can't wait to unleash this sucker to new audiences.

The FNC, fears and Insecurities!

Affinity Point is making it's festival premiere this week at the FNC (Festival du Nouveau Cinema de Montreal)! I plan to show up at one of the screenings and I also hope to see at a dozen of other films that are playing in the festival.

The showtimes for the film is October 15th and 16th here in Montreal. For more info: http://www.nouveaucinema.ca/programming_results?search&cid=18

Now...

I'm going to be almost embarrassingly candid about my insecurities and paranoia. Some artists are insecure to the point of total mental breakdown. They question their artistic relevance and creativity. Others are more relaxed and comfortable with their art. I'm surely the former.

You see, I enjoy creating, but sometimes the process is excruciatingly hard. I never think I'm good enough. And when I do, it's years after the fact. I find it strange that some 'artists' aren't tormented like I am. Of course, using the word 'tormented' sounds pretentious, but it's an accurate description of the way I feel. There's NEVER a day that goes by when I don't look in the mirror and think 'you're not good enough'. Being a struggling artist doesn't help either. You sometimes don't get the respect you deserve or NEED. I've never lived off of my art completely. I've never gotten anything handed down to me. All the artistic respect I've gotten was earned to the point of excess. I feel drained most of the time. The frustration makes me a little edgy some days and I have done the cliched 'I get no respect' rant before.

Of course, I'm not original when it comes to artistic struggle. Many artists go through it. I know a lot of them. Some of them even get jealous to the point of disrespecting other fellow artists. (Something I try not to do) Unfortunately, arrogance, insecurity and jealousy surround most artists to some degree. I have all three, but I try to keep them in check. I've gotten better at it over the years, because I've been humbled (and have humbled others) many times. When a fellow artist succeeds in his art, I try to praise him. The only times I've been jealous and arrogant, are the times when I don't respect the artist's work ('Why is he popular and not I?!').

I take my 'art' very seriously because I know that there's a risk of polluting/wasting people's precious time. There's so much bad shit out there that I refuse to be a part of it. If my film/music is bad, it was because I tried my hardest but didn't succeed (in your opinion). You see, I do art for myself, but I feel there's an obligation to entertain whoever is open enough to see/hear it. Sincerity is key. I try to be sincere with everything I do which sometimes is not enough. Which scares me.

For the more 'relaxed' artists, they seem to embrace the whole world and let the universe flow through them. I never understood that. Maybe that's why my favorite artists are usually of the tortured kind. I think the 'tortured' artists tend to use their insecurities as fire. I surely do this. (This is not necessarily healthy, but it makes things interesting most of the time.)

Now, I have new artist insecurities lately:

My film is being shown at the FNC this week. The press will probably attend the screenings. Some will review my film. Many people have loved/praised the film already, but I'm just waiting for the bad reviews cut me down (yes, I'm that cynical). I don't really mind bad reviews if they are respectful and intelligent (constructive criticism), but some tend to aim bellow the belt. This sort of frightens me, for two reasons:

1. Affinity Point is such a personal film that I will feel personally attacked.

2. Affinity Point is an easy target:

- I directed and acted in my first film which can be viewed as egotistical. A vanity project. But in truth, the only reason I gave myself the main role was to make sure that nobody would arrive late or quit halfway during production.

- The budget for the film is ridiculously low. Some might not like the low production value.

- The film is sort of long for a first feature. Again, it could be viewed as egotistical and self-important.

- The acting, sound, image is inconsistent at times.

- The controversial subject matter will turn some people off. (Although, I really do feel I treated the material with maturity and respect)

- My character (and others) is not likable.

Another thing that adds to the stress: Affinity Point is nominated for the Focus award for best Canadian feature. I am honored to be accepted for this award (let alone, being accepted in the FNC) but I can't help but feel like my film is a wedding home movie compared to my competition. Of course, winning an award does not validate your art, but I can't help but feel like an impostor.

Reading this you might think that I've gotten bad reviews before, but you would be mistaken. I've never gotten a bad review in my life. I've also had plenty of great experiences in the past because of my art. It's not all bad. But sometimes I just have to focus on the bad. Which sort of proves how pathetic and hard I am on myself. This is all artist insecurity and fear. I loathe it. But I guess that's what I get for not letting the universe flow through my body.

AFFINITY POINT: What's real, what's not

A lot of people have asked me if Affinity Point was autobiographical. The answer to that question is 'somewhat'. I like movies that have documentary feel to them. I also only write about what I know or/and have experienced. So, yes, Affinity Point does have many 'real life' elements.

Here are some of them:

- A lot of actors are basically playing simplistic or exaggerated versions of themselves.

I'm more outgoing than Jake is, Danielle is not as fucked up as Skylar is, Set is not as sadistic as Carol is, and so on...

For my character, especially, I decided to make him 'flat'- an empty shell- to let the audience focus on what was happening around him. I basically, made him up to be a loser. An anti-hero. Unlikable. Chubby. Awkward. Selfish. It was important that he didn't have anything going for him. Even his guitar playing was bad. This decision was tough, because I didn't feel like playing a loser. But it was the only way to get what I wanted out of the story. Jake was in part, inspired by one of my close friends who let his own adoption destroy his life.

The only two characters that aren't at all like the people who play them, are Jake's half-brother and Simmy.

- Locations, venues and apartments are real.

Places like the Cleo club, Circus after hours club, L'Absinthe, the cafe, apartments, Skylar's dance class and outdoor locations are real. We didn't change a thing when we shot in those locations, so the feel is very authentic.

- Many scenes actually happened in real life.

Almost every scene, except the obvious ones involving the main plot, happened in real life. The most shocking being a certain scene involving a used toilet.

- The extras weren't extras.

We just shot everything without asking permission most of the time. So a lot scenes have a real environment with real people reacting to our characters.

- The Scroll exists.

The band that performs in the film is really my band in real life. We used to wear masks like the ones in the film.

Festival du Nouveau Cinema!

Good news!: Affinity Point will be playing in Montreal's Festival du Nouveau Cinema in October. This will be the film's first festival showing. The dates have yet to be confirmed.

Thank you Roland for letting us use your cinema for free! Thank you Maria and Louis-Eric for helping with the presskits and the driving! And thank you Festival du Nouveau Cinema for accepting the film!

Here's the link for the festival: http://www.nouveaucinema.ca/home

Affinity Point Premiere

Three weeks ago Affinity Point had it's 'premiere' (I'd rather call it 'the first public showing') at Montreal's famous Cinema Duparc.

During the night, I was very nervous- I hate watching myself on screen.

I tried to make a speech before the movie started, but I chickened out for a few reasons:

1- I didn't have a planned speech,

2- I didn't want to ruin the mood of the movie (getting everyone laughing and excited before a fairly serious movie isn't the most intelligent thing to do)

3- Mike, my partner in crime, wasn't there. (he showed up late)

So basically half of my speech was me jokingly playing with the microphone ("Is this thing on? Check! Check! CHECK!") and then saying something like:

"Thank you all for being here! The film cost 680$. Sometimes it shows, but that's what I like about it. Enjoy!"

The worst speech ever, I know. But I didn't know what to say! But I'll be ready next time, you'll see! hehe.

Sooooo how did the night go? Well, it went great! A lot of people showed up. Even most of the cast.

When the movie started, I sat down next to a friend in the last row in the back and tried to watch without getting too nervous. Three people in the row in front of me were obviously drunk, so they were very talkative and somewhat critical (positive and negative). This would of normally pissed me off, as I hate people who talk during movies, but I wanted to hear what these people had to say about my 'oeuvre'.

At first, I could tell that they were ready to dismiss the movie even before it started. But I soon noticed they started to get into it as the movie progressed and by the movie's 2/3 mark they were hooked- which led me to a fortunate conclusion when I observed the audience: Affinity Point plays the audience like a piano. And I mean that in a good way- the people laughed when they were supposed to, and they cried when they were suppose to. I'm so surprised that the film is as effective as it is. The audience reaction was perfect!

Of course, there could of been people in the audience who didn't like the movie, but I didn't sense that at all. Everyone seemed pleasantly surprised about how good the movie was. Even Roland, the manager of Duparc, complimented me on the beauty of the picture. (He was especially impressed with the cinematography and the music) He seemed sincerely impressed and excited, which is a great compliment considering he's been going to Cannes every year for the last 30 years.

It was a great night, and I hope more audiences will connect with it like that in the future!

Here's some interviews with the cast and crew at the premiere:

PART 1

PART 2

Affinity Point done!

So, I finally decided to post on this blog. I was suppose to start posting when production of the film started. But I realized how time consuming updating a blog would of been, so I just put this idea on hold until... NOW!

A lot has happened in the 2 and a half years it took to complete this movie. It basically took a year to finish the film and another year and a half to 'fix' it. Affinity Point was my (our) first film, so it was a huge learning process on how to do things right. So, a lot of re-shoots and re-edits were done to get where the movie is now (in it's 10th cut!). But now I am pleased to say that Affinity Point IS what I hoped it would be.

Here are the websites for the film:

www.affinitypointfilm.com

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=30168239992&ref=ts