Blogging about producing a short film

[Jacques E. Bouchard]

I've been keeping a blog about my misadventures as I jump through the hoops of trying to get a short film made: getting financing, dealing with the unions, untangling red tape, taming the bureaucracy, etc. If you're an independent filmmaker in Canada - or even if you're not - you might relate to my trials and tribulations, and you might even learn to avoid some of my mistakes.

"Producing at all cost: the blog of an independent filmmaker caught in the Kafkaesque bureaucracy of the production world."

(in French and in English)

Right Brain Productions

[Andrew Smith]

Just had a read through the first page (English bits). My goodness ... really makes you wonder why someone would want to go through all that to make a film.

Andrew

[Jacques E. Bouchard]

What kills me is that even if you decide to forgo all public funding and finance your own film, the system is designed so that even more doors are closed to you. It's a lot like having to deal with organized crime: either you go to them for money, or you don't make a film at all.

[Chris Hurd]

"...only mail orders or certified cheques were accepted – no personal or business cheques whatsoever."

Just curious; that's a perfectly reasonable and fairly standard business practice, and I'm wondering why it's an issue for you. At my bank (which is a credit union), I can draw one counter check (same as a cashier's check) for free each day, otherwise they cost only 50 cents per check. How much would the service charge cost you? I'm not clear about your problem with the amount, either -- you said it was $62.08. That's about what it costs to put gas in my truck, and it's less than a third of what we spent on our groceries run yesterday. If anything, filmmaking is even more affordable now than it ever has been.

[Jacques E. Bouchard]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

"...only mail orders or certified cheques were accepted – no personal or business cheques whatsoever."

Just curious; that's a perfectly reasonable and fairly standard business practice, and I'm wondering why it's an issue for you.

An "issue" is a bit much. I thought it was a whole heap of trouble just for an amount that's less than gas for your truck, as you said. Would you expect to pay at the pump with a cashier's cheque?

I've never had cash or a cheque refused - only in production. Hence my tongue-in-cheek remark about producers being a trusworthy bunch. ;-)

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

How much would the service charge cost you?

About $8 for a postal money order or certifiedc cheque, although I haven't checked for sure. But it also entails a trip to the bank. It all sems so much trouble for an itty bity $62.

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

I'm not clear about your problem with the amount, either -- you said it was $62.08.

You got it backwards. It was the APFTQ that seemed to have a problem with the amount by showing suspicion at such a low budget. I thought it ironic that someone with a low budget asking to pay cash seemed to elicit such skepticism, as though you needed to overspend to gain trust.


J.

[Cris Hendrix]

You can find money orders cheaply at places like Walmart if your bank charges a lot or you don't have an account, just for future reference.. hope the funding comes through, I'll be checking out the blog

[Jacques E. Bouchard]

Thanks, but the next round of funding would take me to March or April before I could start shooting. It's already been a year since I started this project, so I decided to drastically cut the budget and finance it myself.


J.