Festivals & Markets
I've enjoyed submitting, winning, placing and being accepted into quite a few film festivals. The biggest benefits come from feedback that has demonstrably enhanced my work. I'm grateful for that. I also like some of the prizes, especially screenwriting software like Final Draft. Unfortunately a lot of these festivals make the promise of valued networking with producers and directors who are looking for material. I have found, even in the festivals where I took the top price, that doesn't really materialize.
Interested in everyone's thoughts.
Financing · Reply to “No Budget Movies - What are your favourite examples?”
Going back years, there was The Blair Witch Project which was one of the primal "found footage" films, shot on a shoestring but picked up funds to supplement it after a cut was circulated. Still, it was a microbudget. Of course there was Paranormal Activity shot as a microbudget that was a big hit and Paramount distributed it.
But in terms of microbudget films I liked the most, Clerks is right up there. Christopher Nolan's debut film, "Following", was very good and had a budget of $6,000. Kind of a baragin for the career it launched for him.
But in the modern day, it sure seems like horror and darker films are the genres that succeed best for microbudgets. They can use a central and unusual gimmick as the core to build tension and fear and often can just use single locations or minimal locations to tell the story. Technically, dramas could use the same single/minimal locations, cast, effects, etc. but they can't offer something different from bigger dramas where horror and darker films can find an edge or unusual approach to offer something different from more expensive films.
Something to consider for folks deciding on a genre to shoot as a microbudget film, how can you offer something different from bigger-budget films?
Industry News & Discussion · Reply to “Doctor Who”
@sarah-rebecca-levy I think a majority of Doctor Who actors, or at least close to a majority, have been Scottish so it would certainly make sense.
I think the lesson learned from the Disney and Gatwa misfires is that the success of the series is not bigger-budget effects or novel casting (if an actor won't commit to the role and to promote their own series, it's simply not the right actor to cast as The Doctor) but the enjoyable relationship between The Doctor and his companions and portraying The Doctor as a dedicated hero. The best episodes seem to be ones that put the characters in moral conflicts.
It just doesn't seem that complicated to follow what has worked for decades. Reinventing the wheel as a hexagon may be "new", but that won't make it work as well.
SR
Sarah Rebecca Levy6d ago
Industry News & Discussion · Reply to “Doctor Who”
I hope so too! I heard they’re looking into Scotland as a potential home location for filming, and I for one would love to see another on-screen Scottish Doctor! I have high hopes for the new season, especially since its engine allows for such a high cast and plot line turnover rate.
