Do filmmakers tell the cast and crew where the money is coming from in these cases?

[Ryan Elder]

Okay thanks. Well one of the biggest things to get around is also the covid thing, so do I just not follow the laws and make the movie anyway? But it all gets caught on video then of course.

[Brian Drysdale]

It takes time to get through pre production and get a team together. You can then worry about the rules when that's in place, there are now film making guidelines, which people will want to follow, unless they're all drunk party people. You could even set it in the time of covid and see how that affects things.

I shouldn't worry, by the time you work out your script it'll be months away before anything can be done, given how long it'll take by going though a rewrite by using forum messages that you seem to have difficulty in following.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay. Well my biggest concern is the seasonal change, and since a lot of people can only work weekends, I need enough weekends to last a season such as summer, otherwise winter will come and make the season inconsistent of course. So I may need to start next year to get more shoot days if people can only work weekends but I would like to shoot it in a sooner amount of time if possible.

One filmmaker I worked with before got a lot of actors and crew to shoot it all in 14 days straight, but I don't know how he talked them into it.

But as far as the script goes, I made changes based on people's advice, so hopefully more people will like it better as a result.

[Brian Drysdale]

If you plan it out, you can shoot the exteriors all in one season and the interiors as and when you can. If your film is set in a city the season changes tend not to be that obvious, unless you've got snow on the ground or a lot of trees in the shots.

You''re allowed to make script changes, even on the day of shooting, the editing in post is basally another rewrite. However, you don't seem to be picking up the points (and possibilities) being made in the forum messages that quickly, You seem to reply without really thinking. Going for long walks is one of the best way to work out how you can use or reject things. You can't expect a forum to make decisions for you, they can pose questions, but you have to come with the answers.

[Paul R Johnson]

The trouble with extended schedules is that the cast might not be available, and of course will have things like haircuts, diets or excess burgers to mess up continuity, plus even crew with different equipment.

[Ryan Elder]

Yeah for sure, I've had to deal with extended shoots before, but a lot of people are only available on weekends they say. I can try to talk them into taking time off work maybe?

But on a prior short film for example, an actress lost 20 pounds halfway through shooting. We had her wear a baggier shirt, and people said they couldn't tell, unless they paid attention, but still a risk, for sure.

[Brian Drysdale]

I've done extended shoots, you do have to be flexible about no shows and be careful about reliability issues. It's easier with younger people or singles, who don't have other commitments, like family

It's a bit like doing evening classes, everyone shows for the first couple of lessons, but the numbers tend to drop off as the course progresses.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh really? Actually in my experience so far, it's the older people who show up a lot more, but that's just been my experience.

[Brian Drysdale]

Older singles are probably going to be more reliable, the younger ones will depend on how driven they are and if they're part of the group.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay. Another reason may be is that the older people's kids are older to look after themselves, where as the younger people of course need babysitters. In fact, I have a shoot right now that's been delayed because of the same reason.

But that is just my guess. The script I want to for a feature though, does have quite a few parts for older people, if that helps though.

[Brian Drysdale]

Selecting people would depend on their commitments, even on a two week shoot babysitters would be an issue,

There are other ways, you can do it one week blocks for example. However, in the end, if it was easy everyone would be doing it.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh you mean shoot an actor in close up, with no one else, there, then do another one? I've tried that before, but I was told later, the performances did not match or play off each other correctly, and so I didn't want to do it again after that. Plus doing that means I can't have a master shot for safety. But if I absolutely have to, I can try to do that again and hope it goes well.

[Brian Drysdale]

Well, you could do that, but I meant filming for a week and then having a break for a period and then doing another week's filming.

Alternately, you could film for one day a week or you could just film each night or any other breakdown, As long as it's regular you will get the production done within a few months.

Again looking at your writing thread, are you actually writing this thing? Can you not work anything out and the implications of following a set of actions for the characters? Do you actually know your characters? There are a lot of suggestions in there that you don't seem to be able to apply in your head, seemingly, they're just messages that you reply to with more questions. These are decisions that you, as the writer have to make.

Go and read William Goldman's screen trade books, they're easy reads and you'll learn more about screen writing there than you will writing messages on forums.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Good to see we actually got him to drop his professional pretense and make the best of the current situation. I’d imagine there are many actors out of work looking for something to do. Scenes that don’t involve groups could be handed during the week while reserving the rest for weekends. If he worked efficiently and knew what he was doing he could knock this out in a month.

[Ryan Elder]

Hopefully a month, if everyone is available. I was advised by another filmmaker that actors would be more willing if they got to wear masks, because of covid, but I feel they will not be able to show much emotion on camera, if they all wore masks though.

I could work with what I have, it's just when I did that before, the products didn't turn out well. So I thought I had to go above and beyond the people I know currently, to have better and cinematography, if that is what's needed. But I can try to work with what I have and still do make it professional level, if that's possible.