No Budget alternatives to trailers and craft services?

K. Forman · February 3rd, 2004, 08:39 AM

John- Those rules were something to keep! I am still looking to provide SOME of the essentials, and keep the cast and crew in a positive mood.

On a side note, I have heard rumors of a $500 Winnibego. I'll look into this.

Kevin Burnfield · February 3rd, 2004, 10:55 AM

I think that considering most of the cast of Full Frontal aren't starving artists and this was a "novelty" thing it didn't bother them.

Plus they were getting paid.

I consider lunch / dinner / whatever a form of payment to the cast and crew. You've got to think of it that way but at the same time I've worked on student films back in school where everyone including the actors pooled our cash to order a pizza because the director had spent every penny of his on filmstock.

Keith: I still would try the old "who do you know and who do they know" networking. 500 bucks for a winnibego unless you are going to blow it up for the film is still 500 bucks you could put into lighting, make-up, equipment, ect.

K. Forman · February 3rd, 2004, 11:48 AM

Kevin- I definately agree, the money could be used for many other things. But, I have also seen the cost to rent a motor home, $400 for 3 days. If the RV is in servicable shape, I would then have a dressing room, kitchen, and the bathroom for the entire production. After production, I can then sell it, or keep it for vacations and future productions.

It all depends on whether it is decent shape or not. For $500, I don't expect much.

Kevin Burnfield · February 4th, 2004, 07:27 AM

I understand... I just didn't want you to dismiss the fact that you can get an amazing amount of cooperation and loan of stuff (including cars and trailers) with the promise of putting someone's name in the credits.

It doesn't hurt to ask around and bug people about it but when all else fails people do act better when they don't have to go to the bathroom in the middle of a forest.

Brandt Wilson · February 5th, 2004, 01:13 PM

I think a lot of this depends on the specific circumstances of the shoot.

I was lucky enough to be shooting in a house directly across from my parents house, where my wife and mother did the cooking for my group of 20. They cooked all day from 8am to 6pm for 9 days. Costco all the way! I think our food cost was $300-400.

We had a few rented tables in the basement for lunch...cafeteria style. The table and chair rental was expensive, but again, it was cheap compared to the cost of lost morale.

The house also had two bathrooms, so that was a definite plus.

I was lucky in that nearly everything was provided, just by the nature of the shoot.

Stuff I rented that I would probably buy off ebay or something would be airpots for coffee, chaffing pans and similar servers. You can recycle them and rent them out to your friends for their projects.

You can build tables with 4x8' sheets of 3/4 plywood ($35) and folding table kits ($17 at http://www2.northerntool.com/product/13223/) I rented these for $40/ week apiece.

Everyone seems to mention lasagna...I'd avoid it. Reason being is that it's heavy, and the noodles are a great contributor to carbo crashing, usually right when you need energy on the set. A lasagna dinner single-handedly reduced my cast and crew to a bunch of sleeping / sleepy non-functionals.
...and the director stood alone...

Keith, could you elaborate on your shooting situation? Maybe we can tailor our recommendations to suit.

K. Forman · February 5th, 2004, 01:54 PM

Brandt- At least 75% of the scenes will take place outdoors, in as secluded an area as I can find.

Brandt Wilson · February 5th, 2004, 04:54 PM

Hm. That does complicate, but it doesn't need to be horrible.

I agree that some sort of shelter out of the elements is essential. If an RV is available (even from a dealer) that would be ideal. Also, don't rule out SUVs. They are often nice to sit in for breaks. They have AC, ample seating room, and a stereo. My wife and I used to go for rides into the hills in the Yamhill County wine country in our Cherokee and sit and eat lunch and enjoy the view...

An RV can also provide an impromptu space for production meetings and a power port for a laptop.

Beyond that, surplus army tents that people can stand (or at least crouch) in are good. Portable toilets can be rented reasonably cheap. I'm not talking about the big units with doors, though. I'm talking PORTABLE. Short backless composting models. Just put a small walled unit around it. I think this was discussed earlier. Canvas walls. Military surplus stores have these, often cheap.

Chaffers are good for keeping food warm. So are crock pots in insulative carriers. If you can get by with a simple dish in the pot, such as a pulled pork or soup or...I don't know, everyone has their favorites. The simpler the hot part of the meal, and the fewer condiments the rest would take, such as pulled pork on cold buns and with coleslaw or something similar, the less it will take to keep the food hot and at the ready.

Oh, BTW, Trader Joes has some nice stuff that you can just heat up, and it's pretty cheap.

Also, if you have a local culinary school, you may be able to find a student who would like to cater the shoot just for the experience and something to put on their resume. Then all you need to do is provide food. They can also typically use school resouces for putting the meal together, so you don't need your kitchen. You just need to store the food until mealtime.

Brad Mills · January 23rd, 2005, 11:35 PM

Keith. I'm interested in this thread as it kind of applies to the situation I'm in right now.

I'm planning on shooting a feature in the summer, which will take place in the woods. However, I will have a log cabin.

What I'm wondering however, is what you did for power? Also, what was your budget? Mine is $40,000.00 CDN.

K. Forman · January 24th, 2005, 02:15 PM

Brad- Production never happened, mostly because I had no budget, and everything else just fell apart. Props fell through, actors replied with interest but never showed for auditions... etc., etc.

As far as power, I was looking at deep cycle batteries and power inverters, as well as the built in power outlets in my car or a quiet generator. I now have a 1000 watt Honda that is pretty quiet, but I would need to make a tent out of carpet or other heavy material. In the quiet woods, it would stand out too clearly even with a long cord.

Brad Mills · January 24th, 2005, 04:19 PM

sorry to hear it didn't happen. Just curious, how much was the generator?

K. Forman · January 24th, 2005, 05:26 PM

I think I paid around $900 US. It's a small thing, looks kind of like a red gas can, but it works. After the hurricanes left us powerless, it ran quite a bit. It would run for 7 hours on half a gallon of gas.

January 24th, 2005, 02:15 PM	#24
K. Forman Capt. Quirk Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle of the woods in Georgia Posts: 3,596	Brad- Production never happened, mostly because I had no budget, and everything else just fell apart. Props fell through, actors replied with interest but never showed for auditions... etc., etc. As far as power, I was looking at deep cycle batteries and power inverters, as well as the built in power outlets in my car or a quiet generator. I now have a 1000 watt Honda that is pretty quiet, but I would need to make a tent out of carpet or other heavy material. In the quiet woods, it would stand out too clearly even with a long cord. __________________ www.SmokeWagonLeather.us

January 24th, 2005, 05:26 PM	#26
K. Forman Capt. Quirk Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle of the woods in Georgia Posts: 3,596	I think I paid around $900 US. It's a small thing, looks kind of like a red gas can, but it works. After the hurricanes left us powerless, it ran quite a bit. It would run for 7 hours on half a gallon of gas. __________________ www.SmokeWagonLeather.us

February 3rd, 2004, 08:39 AM	#16
K. Forman Capt. Quirk Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle of the woods in Georgia Posts: 3,596	John- Those rules were something to keep! I am still looking to provide SOME of the essentials, and keep the cast and crew in a positive mood. On a side note, I have heard rumors of a $500 Winnibego. I'll look into this.

February 3rd, 2004, 10:55 AM	#17
Kevin Burnfield Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Princeton, NJ Posts: 363	I think that considering most of the cast of Full Frontal aren't starving artists and this was a "novelty" thing it didn't bother them. Plus they were getting paid. I consider lunch / dinner / whatever a form of payment to the cast and crew. You've got to think of it that way but at the same time I've worked on student films back in school where everyone including the actors pooled our cash to order a pizza because the director had spent every penny of his on filmstock. Keith: I still would try the old "who do you know and who do they know" networking. 500 bucks for a winnibego unless you are going to blow it up for the film is still 500 bucks you could put into lighting, make-up, equipment, ect.

February 3rd, 2004, 11:48 AM	#18
K. Forman Capt. Quirk Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle of the woods in Georgia Posts: 3,596	Kevin- I definately agree, the money could be used for many other things. But, I have also seen the cost to rent a motor home, $400 for 3 days. If the RV is in servicable shape, I would then have a dressing room, kitchen, and the bathroom for the entire production. After production, I can then sell it, or keep it for vacations and future productions. It all depends on whether it is decent shape or not. For $500, I don't expect much.

February 4th, 2004, 07:27 AM	#19
Kevin Burnfield Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Princeton, NJ Posts: 363	I understand... I just didn't want you to dismiss the fact that you can get an amazing amount of cooperation and loan of stuff (including cars and trailers) with the promise of putting someone's name in the credits. It doesn't hurt to ask around and bug people about it but when all else fails people do act better when they don't have to go to the bathroom in the middle of a forest.

February 5th, 2004, 01:13 PM	#20
Brandt Wilson Major Player Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 220	I think a lot of this depends on the specific circumstances of the shoot. I was lucky enough to be shooting in a house directly across from my parents house, where my wife and mother did the cooking for my group of 20. They cooked all day from 8am to 6pm for 9 days. Costco all the way! I think our food cost was $300-400. We had a few rented tables in the basement for lunch...cafeteria style. The table and chair rental was expensive, but again, it was cheap compared to the cost of lost morale. The house also had two bathrooms, so that was a definite plus. I was lucky in that nearly everything was provided, just by the nature of the shoot. Stuff I rented that I would probably buy off ebay or something would be airpots for coffee, chaffing pans and similar servers. You can recycle them and rent them out to your friends for their projects. You can build tables with 4x8' sheets of 3/4 plywood ($35) and folding table kits ($17 at http://www2.northerntool.com/product/13223/) I rented these for $40/ week apiece. Everyone seems to mention lasagna...I'd avoid it. Reason being is that it's heavy, and the noodles are a great contributor to carbo crashing, usually right when you need energy on the set. A lasagna dinner single-handedly reduced my cast and crew to a bunch of sleeping / sleepy non-functionals. ...and the director stood alone... Keith, could you elaborate on your shooting situation? Maybe we can tailor our recommendations to suit.

February 5th, 2004, 01:54 PM	#21
K. Forman Capt. Quirk Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle of the woods in Georgia Posts: 3,596	Brandt- At least 75% of the scenes will take place outdoors, in as secluded an area as I can find.

February 5th, 2004, 04:54 PM	#22
Brandt Wilson Major Player Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 220	Hm. That does complicate, but it doesn't need to be horrible. I agree that some sort of shelter out of the elements is essential. If an RV is available (even from a dealer) that would be ideal. Also, don't rule out SUVs. They are often nice to sit in for breaks. They have AC, ample seating room, and a stereo. My wife and I used to go for rides into the hills in the Yamhill County wine country in our Cherokee and sit and eat lunch and enjoy the view... An RV can also provide an impromptu space for production meetings and a power port for a laptop. Beyond that, surplus army tents that people can stand (or at least crouch) in are good. Portable toilets can be rented reasonably cheap. I'm not talking about the big units with doors, though. I'm talking PORTABLE. Short backless composting models. Just put a small walled unit around it. I think this was discussed earlier. Canvas walls. Military surplus stores have these, often cheap. Chaffers are good for keeping food warm. So are crock pots in insulative carriers. If you can get by with a simple dish in the pot, such as a pulled pork or soup or...I don't know, everyone has their favorites. The simpler the hot part of the meal, and the fewer condiments the rest would take, such as pulled pork on cold buns and with coleslaw or something similar, the less it will take to keep the food hot and at the ready. Oh, BTW, Trader Joes has some nice stuff that you can just heat up, and it's pretty cheap. Also, if you have a local culinary school, you may be able to find a student who would like to cater the shoot just for the experience and something to put on their resume. Then all you need to do is provide food. They can also typically use school resouces for putting the meal together, so you don't need your kitchen. You just need to store the food until mealtime.

January 23rd, 2005, 11:35 PM	#23
Brad Mills Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Sydney, NS / Toronto, ON Posts: 41	Keith. I'm interested in this thread as it kind of applies to the situation I'm in right now. I'm planning on shooting a feature in the summer, which will take place in the woods. However, I will have a log cabin. What I'm wondering however, is what you did for power? Also, what was your budget? Mine is $40,000.00 CDN.

January 24th, 2005, 04:19 PM	#25
Brad Mills Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Sydney, NS / Toronto, ON Posts: 41	sorry to hear it didn't happen. Just curious, how much was the generator?