Do I tend to overthink things in filmmaking?

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Including myself. I have a career in video but I need to earn money and pay bills. I still take on small creative projects but no feature films. I had a small interest but listening to Ryan's struggles eliminated all desire to make one without any regrets. Not that I don't think I could make a small short for a film festival, I just don't feel the need to put myself through the wringer. I have a better understanding of the process where as it used to be shrouded in mystery and appealing in that respect. Ryan to me represents the extreme of recklessly and doggedly pursing something despite lacking the aptitude. But I'm frequently pleasantly surprised by the creativity and great work by other small "unprofessional" film makers. There's never been a time that you could do so much with so little. A golden age of amateur video.

[Ryan Elder]

Well I am trying to develop my aptitude further as best I can, hoping that will help.

[Josh Bass]

You know what the best way to do that would be? GO OUT AND MAKE MORE SHORT FILMS, ANY POSSIBLE WAY YOU CAN.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh well it's just that I feel they will turn out the same way, and with bad acting and bad cinematography, if they are no budget, with hardly any money spent on them though. So will they improve if I do not have more actors or a new DP to choose from? I was advised by other filmmakers not to bother if I cannot get better actors or better cinematography, if they have a point?

It's just I thought it would be better to save up more money for it, and wait for covid to be over more, so actors a people will want to make it more.

[Paul R Johnson]

Surely a good small budget movie would work better for you than a big budget flop?

[Ryan Elder]

Oh are you saying I should make it a zero budget pretty much?

[Brian Drysdale]

You could spend a bit more on your short films, so that the quality improves. However, even with that, you may still be stuck in a cycle.

The problems you have on your short films are going to increase by an order of magnitude on a feature film. Currently, from the questions you keep asking here and on other forums. you don't seem to have yet grasped many of the basic skills and the judgment required to make a no/low budget feature.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay, well I thought that having more actors to choose from and more DPs to choose from would make it better. Even in the casting calls, I need more options I think before I can do something better, or at least that is what I feel.

[Brian Drysdale]

Where did I suggest otherwise? Allowing some budget on a short for actors will increase the options..

[Ryan Elder]

Oh I just meant I am not sure how to solve the problems I am having if they are going to increase in magnitude, other than by hiring more people, and having more options. I thought that my problems would reduce on a feature if I did that as well.

[Brian Drysdale]

The problems only increase, to believe otherwise is naive.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay, because I thought that on the last short film I had less problems, and things went along smoother than before. There were still things that went wrong of course, but I felt it was easier than before and things were more organized, based on new approaches. Things will get harder with as the challenges get bigger, but I thought that was normal.

[Brian Drysdale]

Yes, but you're still a long way from having the skills needed for making an acceptable feature films, especially on an extremely low budget.

[Ryan Elder]

But that is where I thought having more actors to choose from and a better DP would help out with that, especially since I was told it was the acting and cinematography that were my biggest issues.

[Brian Drysdale]

Your biggest issue appears to be a lack of judgment in how to put together the elements involved in making a film. Casting actors correctly for the roles is just one part of the jigsaw that needs to be put together,