Helping Hands from 2005

[K. Forman]

Yep! I know how y'all like that snow and stuff, and it must have been awful for you ;)

[Nicholas Bartleet]

Hi there, I am making a short, very high production quality film called Riddle. You can find the unfinished title sequence here www.pixelloft.com/riddle_title.htm and my showreel here www.pixelloft.com/showreel.htm . I have some actors from London sorted, a couple of crew members to help me out, but I am still looking for interested or enthusiastic people in the midlands or with transport, to help out, on any level, including camera, sound etc. I have some fantastic equiptment including a dolly and track, a long valley equiptment Jib Arm, a sachtler video18p fluid head, carbon fibre tripod legs, loads of tungsten halogen lights and tripods, and most importantly a motorised mini35 style 35mm adapter with several fast prime nikon lenses, a matte box, rails, xl1s camera and 7"tft with a hoodman hood. The rig is excellent, and th finished piece will of course have that fantastic 35mm look. I must add that none of the work on my reel used this system, and this project will therefore outshine any previous work by far. Please email me if you are interested.
There is no budget and no money however if the piece wins, a share of the 5000 pound winnings will go to whoever helps out, aswell as the piece being shown on BBC.


Thankyou for your time, Nick

nicholasbartleet@hotmail.com

[Ian Stark]

Hi all,

I'm sorry if this is posted in the wrong forum.

I am urgently seeking some footage of a child in a pedal car, ideally an old fashioned one but that's not essential. Quality is not important as it will be scratched up and made to look like very poor cine film from the 1960's. Duration up to about one minute but anything acceptable. If it's a concern, the child will not be identifiable as the footage will be displayed out of focus and with lots going on in the foreground.

I need it to act as a backdrop for a trade show video wall and I am running out of time to go and find a car, a kid, a location and to shoot it!

I could offer a sensible payment if required.

If anyone has any such footage, would you be kind enough to let me know - also, give me an idea of what you would like in the way of recompense. If you'd like to email me, my personal email address is ianpstark@ntlworld.com.

Many thanks.

Ian . . .

Note to moderator: apologies if this is in the wrong place. If so, could you move it to somewhere more appropriate please? Thanks.

[Nick Hiltgen]

Yohann i'm sorry to hear about your predicament. I think everyones advice here is great. You seem to be the resourceful type so I'll toss out a theoretical situation.

When I was in NYC I noticed there was a lot of turn around, and quick, in fact the guy who hired me when I interviewed, was no longer working that job when I got there two months later and the girl who replaced him had left the day before I showed up. Things can move fast there.

So let's say that your a guy working at a production company in NYC One day while your crashing to get your deadlines someone shows up and says they're here to work the internship. You don't recall hiring an intern but then you've only been there a few months. The intern explains that he has come from overseas and that he spoke with someone months ago about working there and they gave them the OK. Well that could be anyone. Are you going to turn away a guy here to work for free who's come from such a long distance, and he's working for free, oh yeah and he's working for free? No. No one would. You tell the new intern to go make copies the intern works his butt off and impresses you and everyone's happy.

Is this a plausable situation, yes. Is this a morally questionable situation, yes. If the intern hadn't actually spoken to someone in the company and made the whole thing up so that he (or she) could get a job at the company, would it take a lot of guts to do something like that, yes. But then you've travelled all that way, what more do you have to lose, the worse they can say is no, get out of here.

So that's a last ditch possibility if beating down doors doesn't work, I'd give it a 75% chance of working.

Production is picking up there from what I can tell and I assure you you will find something to do if your're open to doing it. I say go for it. I did, I enjoyed the heck out of my time in new york, and going there will definitely give you stories to tell.

When you get there remember, Don't point, you'll look like a tourist. if you have a wallet get a smaller one, and keep it in your front pocket. The absolute best thing you can do is learn the subway system in NYC as it is your best friend. if you're really up to it the bus system but in manhattan the subway gets you anywhere you want to be. If a place gives you a wierd feeling either get out of there or get drunk. (both worked for me) Try to stay south of 120th street and between 1st and 7th avenue. If you can help it don't wear sneakers. Dress nicely (this doesn't necissarily mean super nice, just button up shirts and what not. If you can try and find a place to live before you get there. it may be too late for that now, but check the nyu dorms and as a last resort school of visual arts. If you can once in a while where a bowtie, but only if you can pull it off or can make it seem like you don't want to. Oh and Jim Sofranko is a swell guy and if he gives you advice you should follow it.

The quote "once you make it in new york you can make it anywhere" is probably not quite that accurate, should be more like "once you make it in new york... you can make it in new york."

[Bob Costa]

Nick, that was amazing, until I realized you are from Hollywood.

[Nick Hiltgen]

Ha! I assure if I could be in NYC I would... Had to go where the work was at the time.

[Michael Wisniewski]

Just like in D&D - every dungeon is rated for different levels of experience. New York City is designed for characters with high levels of experience.

That's not meant to stop you, it's just the warning above the door. Beware all ye who enter here.

If you're just starting out, I'd say, don't come to New York City. If you don't have serious friends who can help you out with a place or job, don't come to New York City. If you don't have a job lined up, then don't come to New York City.

On the other hand, if you've built a reputation in an industry and have real work experience, then I'd say, come to New York City. If you've got serious friends who can help you out with a place or job, or you can afford one without worrying about it, then come to New York City. And of course if you have been offered a paying job or you're independently wealthy, then come to New York City.

Heck if you just wanna visit, then come to New York City.

I've had this conversation with so many, aspiring film people, that had to leave New York City, and I'm trying to give you an idea of what seems to work and what doesn't. FYI: I initially came to New York City, because I have good experience in another field that's highly sought after in NYC.

I've also had the pleasure of these aspiring directors, actors, DPs etc. contacting me later from Los Angeles or wherever they went and telling me how much better they were doing, and that they were being sent BACK to NYC because of the great experience they acquired elsewhere.

Just more to think about, again, I'm not trying to stop you, just making sure you're reading the fine print.


Here's another website to check out: http://shootingpeople.org

[Yohann Kouam]

I perfectly hear you michael, I went to NYC several times before and i have a little idea of what awaits me there. I peferctly agree with you that coming to NYC without a prior reputation is like suicide but i'm NOT moving to NYC or anything. i'm just coming for 2 month for any stupid non paid job that is film related and even though i never worked in NYC i don't think it's asking too much. like i said to Bob who advised me to save money and make a movie in NYC, i sure intend to stay in france right now where grants can easily be obtained,where i got phone numbers, and especially where the competition is much less fierce. But in the meantime I just wanna have a little idea of what might await me later by doing this 2 month internship in the big apple...

cheers

[Michael Wisniewski]

Well shoot, if you're just coming for a couple of months, then come to New York City. It's totally worth it for 2 months of experience, film, video, or otherwise.

[Joshua Provost]

Hi,

I need some help from DV shooters in Italy!

Matter of Chance Productions is working on a new short film. It stars an Italian friend of mine and the dialog will be in Italian, subtitled in English. We are shooting in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. However, it is mostly interiors and a few exteriors at an Italian cafe in town. Our goal is to play the film as though it were in Italy, probably Roma.

Can anyone help out with a few shots or with stock footage they have around?

I am looking for:
1. Shots of the cityscape, preferably from an elevated position, day and night
2. Shot of an old hotel/apartment building
3. Shot of any other interesting building you like, such as an old grocery store, warehouse, etc.
4. Brief shot of a sunrise or sunset over the city (tramonto, I know that word)

Looking for still, tripod shots, just five to ten seconds long, as inserts for the film. Timeless locations that don't necessarily reveal that it is the modern day. High quality 16:9 that can be uploaded to me as DV-AVI, as I am short on time.

I don't have much to offer but help I can help you out if you ever need it, and, of course, major credit in the film.

Contact joshprovost@yahoo.com

Thanks,
Josh

[Jim Sofranko]

I love Nick but whatever you do don't take his advice for finding a film job!!!

Unless of course, you can shoot the entire episode and make a great film out of it. Sounds like a great script for a Preston Sturges-like screwball comedy!

[Rob Lohman]

Moved to the helping hands forum. I hope someone can help you out Ian!

[Mike Cavanaugh]

OK - Maybe the title of the thread is misleading - I don't need short interview shooters, you can be tall or short, male or female, skinny or fat. It's the interviews that will be short in duration (under an hour depending on your setup time)

Still looking for shooters in the Seattle, WA; LA/Burbank area (Sierra Madre, CA) and maybe Cleveland OH (Cleveland Heights). I got one response from the Cleveland area, but he did not leave me contact info and hasn't responded to my last e-mail yet (John H - if you are out there send me an e-mail with contact info - I'd Like to talk to you.

Reasonably modest pay for a good shooter/interviewer.

Thanks to all.

[Ian Slessor]

Hello Yohann,

I cannot give you any advice. Well, relevant advice. I have to say that even though I could not understand the dialogue - sadly, even though I am Canadian I am only minimally aware of French - I found your short "Freres" to be quite interesting.

What camera did you use? Just wondering as there was quite a bit of shallow focus occuring that worked nicely.

BTW. All the best to you with your career.

sincerely,


ian

[Yohann Kouam]

we used the dsr-570. cheers