idea set, preproduction begins

this weekend, my goal was to choose one of two ideas i had for my next short. after thinking about it some more and and reviewing the feedback i got from friends, i decided to go for the disease story as opposed to the superhero story.

i wrote a very rough draft of the script and it comes in at 6 pages, and would like to keep the final script under 8 pages if possible. but before i even finish the script, i need to start thinking of production.

first, schedule. i want to shoot end of june/early july. that gives me 6 weeks of preproduction before i shoot. i got stressed out just writing that last sentence.

second, budget. my last short was funded by atomfilms, but this one will be paid for out of my own pocket. i have to decide how much i’m willing to spend, and how i will spend that money.

camera:
– i can shoot it myself on DV with my dvx100.
– i can rent an HD camera and shoot it myself.
– i can hire a DP that has his own HD camera.

actors:
– i can use non-union actors that work for free.
– i can use the SAG short film agreement where salaries are deferred.
– i can use the SAG ultra low budget agreement at $100/day.

i will have to do more research, especially with the different SAG agreements. it might be worth the time and money to be able to work with better actors.

the thing that has always been one of the biggest hassles is finding a location. locations are expensive and it takes a long time to find one that looks right for your story. the short takes place in an office with cubicles, and there’s also a scene at a doctor’s office. i need to start looking for those locations immediately. if i’m lucky, maybe my work will let me shoot there on a weekend.