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

[Josh Bass]

Please do not shoot your movie with everyone wearing masks unless you rewrite it for that to make sense. No one will want to watch a bunch of covered faces for 90 minutes. Think of how ridiculous that would look. If safety concerns are that much of a problem for people (which is totally understandable especially given the probably very low pay), then just dont do the movie right now. It was already likely to not make its money back, I would think everyone in masks would guarantee that.

[Brian Drysdale]

In real life people don't wear masks all the time. so shooting a film with the actors doing that wouldn't make sense. Also, it's not just an add on, having a pandemic is part of the world, so the whole approach to telling the story changes.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay thanks, I don't have to make it now, I just wonder if this covid mentality will even go away anytime soon, or if I should just accept it and try to make the movie. If I can get people who are okay with not wearing masks of course.

But would it be weird if the movie takes place in modern times, yet we are pretending that it takes place in an alternate timeline where covid never happened?

[Brian Drysdale]

It depends when the film is set. You can set it pre covid or during covid, you could set post pandemic, but you don't yet know the nature of that world, if there is a vaccine or if people taking other measures.

All this is stuff you need to work out. Unfortunately, it goes with being a producer/director/writer, so don't expect people to give you all the answers. Being creative involves creative thinking.

[Paul R Johnson]

How many TV programmes do we watch at the moment, or movies, where people are wearing masks? The public accept what they are given. Unless it references specific dates and times, they don't care. It could save you a fortune on live sound capture though? You could add dialogue with no lip sync issues, change chunks with no reshooting, and it would be unique - You'd be the only director brave enough to do it.

Remember that in aviation movies like Top Gun, they got slammed by the flying fraternity for constantly taking off their masks when flying, which real pilots don't, because that is where their mics are! (and oxygen) . They daren't go for realism, they had to fake it because that's what the audience need.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay thanks. Yes I remember that in Top Gun. And I also thought of the sound advantages as well. It's just I am worried that if all the actors wear masks, that it can get in the way of emotion and be awkward.

If I have to use my creative choices, my instincts tell me that this would be so awkward it will ruin the movie. But at the same time, actors don't want to do without the masks in the majority I don't think. One person suggested to me that the actors will be good as long as they social distance during shooting. But then I will have to shoot in a wider aspect ratio, or heavily compromise the shots, and need much bigger locations then.

[Josh Bass]

....oooooooooorrrr just wait so you dont waste $10-50000.

[Ryan Elder]

Wait for what?

[Brian Drysdale]

Logic would suggest until the Covid issue is over.

Film making is always a compromise, so don't fool yourself.

[Ryan Elder]

Well I just wanted to get started sooner if possible with no more waiting or delays if possible. I also thought I could do it as an animated movie as well, because then of course, the actors do not have to interact with each other in covid times. Could animation possibly work better therefore, as long as I get a good animator on board?

[Brian Drysdale]

I assume you're talking about a short rather than a feature film. There are a number of animations currently being made during the covid outbreak, although, I don't know why an animator would want to work with you rather than their own short projects.

[Ryan Elder]

No I meant a feature film. I thought I could possibly get an animator interested if they liked the script, or at least trying to be optimistic about it.

[Brian Drysdale]

Are you serious!!!

You really don't have a clue about the amount of work and time involved in making an animated feature film.

If you want to do it, animate the film yourself and spend the next few years making it. You may learn something along the way instead of going around in circles on forums.

[Ryan Elder]

Well I'm just trying to think outside the box on how to get around the covid issues. But maybe that is my problem because if whenever I try to go outside the box, my ideas are too problematic, and I should not try to think outside?

[Brian Drysdale]

No problems about thinking outside the box, but you do have to have critical judgment and know when to reject things. There's nothing wrong with an animation, but unless you've got the skills to do it yourself ,it's a non starter for a low budget feature.

Reading your last message about your script on the other forum leaves the impression that you're way out of your depth and are totally lost. If you can't work out a way for a character to dramatically get an item yourself, why are you wasting other people time? This is what writers do, it's part of the job, it may take a few attempts to come with a really good method, but you don't need to keep asking on a forum. You won't get a solution to the problem there, it's between you and your keyboard.

The people on that forum haven't read your script, they know very little about it, so how can they give you a meaningful answer.