Small, big, or SMALL?

Today's technology allows filmmakers to do just about anything the pros do ... give an take. With progrmas such as Final Cut, DVD Studio PRO, and especially Photoshop, consumers are creating professional grade material whether it's a film, dvd, or promotional poster.

This is also true about the tools used on set of a film, such as the camera. The latest toy for filmmakers out there is prosumer grade HD digital cameras equipt with three chip color and built in booms; some even have interchangeable lenses! (wish i had one) As a result, the qauality of films are going sky-high from the serious filmmakers out there. On the other hand, there's the home-movie maker who films something funny and posts it on youtube or myspace. These people are annoying ... but they earn their laugh most of the time. My frustration with them is spawned from the content on myspace and youtube of this kind because it simply overcrowds the market and overshadows serious filmmakers. How many times have you heard someone ask about this great film on youtube? Rarely! It's always about this clip from the zoo when this monkey flung something or about the kid that ran around the bank naked threatening to "go potty" and ended up with four-hundred thousand dollars in ransom money.

Filmmkaing is getting easier and easier by the day ... especially thanks to the internet - and now, web 2.0! Storytelling on the other hand will always be a mixture of art, history, and craftsmanship and in my point of view, will set the truely talented apart from the youtubers.

So after you decide to make a movie, the next logical question is, what to make it about. For a producer doing everything themselves, like me, the first impulse is to get as many people on set as possible to bring this movie to the screen ... but after reevaluating the independent situation, budget or lack thereof, and schedule crunch - a producer realizes that it might be smart to downsize.

The key here is to downsize in production crew but preserve the production value of the film. I call this shooting SMALL instead of small. The things you project on the screen are what make the production value. It's what makes the movie worth seeing. Take King King for example, there's two major production values in this movie ... and the second is the empire state building scene. So to keep you from shooting boring movies in one room in the middle of the day with one character, keep the production SMALL. Impossible right? Wrong, as stated above, cameras alone are efficient enough now to scratch a few crew positions from the production staff. Soundman, gone. Camera operator, gone. As an example, allow me to describe what I'll be doing on my next shoot: two people, including myself at a secret location. Instead of bringing along the DP, AD, and those who make movies happen day to day, it's going to be me and the actress alone on set, performing the scene, together in one shot - no I'm not a ham, in fact I won't be caught dead starring in a movie.

Point is, the secret to creating a short film that stands out from the youtubies is to keep it SMALL - that way you're not spending 50,000 on a short like a student at USC, but you're keeping the production value up thus surprising the audience and giving them something to look at.