5 Things That Make A Movie Look Low Budget - Shane Stanley

Film Courage: What are some of the things that  independent filmmakers skip over thinking Oh   I don't need to spend a lot of money on that?  But actually that's dangerous for them to do? Shane Stanley, Filmmaker: I always say there's  five things that really make a film look   low or no budget and it's it's cinematography  it's the sound it's the actors you choose   it's the editing and it's the locations and if you  can step up in those five arenas and get the best   that you can and then really try to get better  you're going you're going have a project that is   just a step above I spent a lot of years judging  different film festivals obviously the workshops   and things that I do with different schools so I  see it all and when you start a film and it's shot   just so bad and there's no thought to framing or  composition or anything it's it's just you're done   and the sound it's bad sound is is so easy  to get and it's one of those things that   I i watch more people chance on and getting a good  sound sound recording on the set everybody likes   user friends and lovers in their movies chances  are your friends and lovers are not good actors   there are so many film schools there are  so many acting classes that you can call   and say I'm doing a student project I'm doing a  spec film I want actors that are good and know   their craft and what they will sign up to do it  because they need tape you you ask your girlfriend   or your friends either because you're afraid to  ask real talent and they may not like your work   or want to do it and that's where you're wrong or  b because you're afraid your girlfriend will leave   you if you don't put her in your movie and that's  I read about that in the book it's kiss of death   I mean if your girlfriend's a good actor give her  a role but I would be very careful in in casting   and editorial is important editing is everything  I spent many years in the edit bay before I   considered myself a filmmaker and I learned what  not to do in the edit bay and it really it makes   me sad when people I think about his writing  or their their cinematography real or the end   result without thinking about the most important  result in the filmmaking process which is really   the editorial and also the cinematography I think  they work very much hand in hand locations are key   because anybody can shoot in their house anybody  can shoot in their kitchen anybody can shoot in   their car our job as storytellers to take people  places where they can't go where they wish to go   or where they're afraid to go and if you  give them locations that are just interesting   and break break the monotony of every other  low-budget film I think you'd be surprised how   much more success you can have with your  film I had a wonderful drama teacher and   I always quote him Mr. Kilpatrick from high school  and his favorite saying was come up with three   ways to do something and go with the fourth and I  wish I remember that more often I'd probably have   better movies that were more successful if I did  but especially young filmmakers hey I can shoot   this at my house okay scrap that there's one idea  you're not doing it I can shoot it in my garage   okay that's even worse it's still at the house but  no you're not going do it shoot it in the car why   does I'm all for keeping dialogue scenes moving  so putting them in a car is a good way to do that   but where can you do this that's different  that's just going to make the viewer feel like   they're watching something fresh and I think  locations are key the most important thing   is where people put money where they  shouldn't is it seems to be the wrap parties.   I'm a big anti-wrap party guy it's just money  that's never going on a screen it's money that   you're more interested in the social media aspect  of people cooing over you wrap party and I think   it's important to have a gathering of the people  that have worked hard for the film but do it smart   it's like when we do a film we try to schedule our  biggest cast days on the last day and something   centrally located so people who aren't involved in  the last day can come visit the last day and we'll   spend a little extra money on the catering we may  go and buy 10 bottles of champagne for the day   not expensive ones but and put a simple day  for the last day so we can end early no stress   and then party right there we don't need to go  rent out bowling alleys we need to go rent out   all these places it's just money that doesn't go  on the screen and when you're making especially   independent films every dime counts why are you  going to blow it in one night that's never going   to go on the screen think about it I know  people that have spent 25 grand on a film   and they'll spend five grand on a wrap party and  I'll watch the film and say why didn't you get a   real editor we couldn't afford one really you  could have gotten so and so for three grand to   do that look at so-and-so's resume oh they've cut  15 studio films that went number one they've cut   18 sitcoms that are like top tier sitcoms that on  their off time will happily moonlight and gladly   get involved and get their hands  dirty for fun for a little money   and that's always the excuse well we couldn't  afford it but it's always something else that   they can afford that just doesn't matter  and I think they just have to re-prioritize   sadly I think social media has become the  driving force but behind what people do   I look I know when I'm shooting a movie  18 months later when the movie comes out   nobody's going to care about our set pitch look  people want to post on instagram and facebook   hey we're on set look at us great it's not going  to sell one ticket it's not going to sell one   dvd it's not going to get one download it's about  how you build up to the end and it's release and   there's something you don't want to give us you  don't want to give people overexposure you don't   want to make people punch drunk on your pictures  of the same same same with no results or no   output so we try to be very careful when  we promote our films and not do it for   years of social media hype and and likes it  doesn't sell any movies it's not going to work   I want to go back to something that you said that  was really interesting you said you wrote about   it in your book and that is using a girlfriend  you could also fill in boyfriend family member   co-worker cousin right whoever how do you have  that conversation with that person because you   want to keep the relationship with the person or  maybe you don't but let's suppose you do want to   keep the relationship how do you say listen do  you audition them the way everyone else does   I think it's a lose-lose I say if you're  a young filmmaker don't date an actor   I'm married to an actor and we have a  great relation she did four years on   general hospital she's been in a lot of fun  movies and there's never a person like for me   I always try to put my wife in and and just have  her there to be a ball but she produces with me   she's involved in the post-war we work on  a film together for eight to twelve months   having her be a part of it on camera is something  I like to let her flex that muscle and have fun   and she's good she knows her crap she's good at  what she does but she doesn't have expectations   for me either she understands it's a business I  don't like having her in front of the camera as   a director I just I am not as gracious with her as  I probably could be I could be better as a husband   to a wife who's acting and that's just probably  my fault it's just I just it's not a dynamic that   I love but we found a way to make it work and  she's been in every film I've done over the last   15-20 years and it's worked but to get back to  your question I think you have to decide are you   in this to showcase a whole bunch of friends  or are you here to make a career and if you're   going to become a doctor you're going to become  an architect if you're going to become a lawyer   are you going to spend all those years in  college and bring your friends along with you   while you're studying taking your tests and  learning the craft of medicine I don't think so   so I think filmmaking communities are important  and yes relationships build you're going to meet   women in film school or actors on the set that  you're going to fall in love with but I think   you really have to think above the shoulders  and think what is what is the purpose of this   project and what do I hope to gain out of it and  selfishly you have to build what's best for the   project there's nothing harder than when you've  got somebody you love who's in front of the camera   that is just atrocious and they just sink the  ship what I always try to do coming up is I would   I would find ways to utilize people's gifts in  ways that wouldn't sink the ship I always say   to somebody well you want to work in the industry  anyway if you weren't going to act what else would   you want to do well why don't you produce this  with me I need somebody to handle sag paperwork   I need somebody to handle our locations and  then what throw them in under five throw him   something expendable or if god forbid it's  awful get rid of it and I'm sorry to talk so   so straight the only way to get rid of a  problem is to not have a problem or to be able   to get yourself out of a problem and if you're  starring your girlfriend who can't remember a   line or hit a mark or understand the the craft  of the the respect the craft of acting enough   to know it why are you wasting your time it  just doesn't make sense I don't have much much   grace or I'm not very soft harder when it comes  to that I say just don't even don't even go there   yeah I think it's not just girlfriends though  I think if there's friendships that are built   around people whatever it is being in films  together that's great and I think it could   just be a really difficult thing for people to  handle yeah I mean Ed Burns was very lucky with   Brothers McMullen I mean he had some very talented  friends but I mean that happens once in a while   Shane Black he grew up at that coming off overland  in west la and he kind of lived in that famous   house with writers and actors and storytellers  and these guys all kind of helped each other   out and built the machine it's very rare the  Wilson brothers Owen and the other one got   him blanking Luke! Yeah I mean talented and they  ran did Bottle Rockets and all their friends and   there's ways to do it Napoleon Dynamite did it too  but by and large you think about how many young   filmmakers are out there and we always go for  hey mom do you want to play the mom in my short   when you were Steven Spielberg and Seven that  worked but when you're in film school you're   trying to make a career for yourself again  call the acting schools there are a lot of   acting schools that have some decent talented  people that would sure love to be a part of your   film and they will take it seriously and they  will learn to learn the role and the craft is   there and the talent is there and uncle Vinnie  planned dad is not always the best idea just it   I mean now look I'll often use an owner of a  location if I know they're a sag actor and they're   good like I have I have friends that own locations  that are actually working good actors I'll say hey   I'll trade you off I want your location but I'll  give you I'll give you a few lines in this movie   like oh yeah sign me up but they're working actors  also so I think you always have to try to put the   right people in when you can with the exception  of with locals in certain films especially if it's   like a certain region of the us or other part  of the world there's just people that you just   can't you can't get that from central casting it's  too good and and you can you can definitely tell   but it works in the film so we're talking about  getting some some people that you just you   just find just the gems oh it's casting is it's  interesting I say as filmmakers you want to make   friends with a lot of different agencies to this  day I will reach out to friends that own boutique   agencies you've never heard of and say I'm doing a  film I need a cashier at a country store I need a   hipster who can play guitar at a campfire I need  somebody who can be a drug dealer on the corner   or I'll call a drug dealer on a corner and say hey  you want to play yourself in a movie I'll give you   50 bucks I mean sometimes you got to do that I  find the people that are the best together the   people that do what it is you want them to do if  you're not hiring an actor again to me it's always   about getting the best person you can in front  of and behind the camera so if you need something   and you're not getting it with what you're  auditioning go find somebody who does it   and tell them I just need you to be yourself I  want you to be a part of this I'm not going to   embarrass you I just I need and you'd be amazed  I mean I learned that from my dad we worked with   probated youth for a lot of years and we had a lot  of of kids in our life that we knew that had done   a lot of crooked stuff and I remember one time  we got a pilot for I think it was Time Warner   Television or Warner Cable Court TV something like  that and they wanted a bunch of reenactments of   burglaries and assaults and all that and at  the end of the day we ended up I think hiring   eight or nine of the kids that we worked with  that had done time in real prison to play parts   and they did better than anybody they knocked  it out of the park because it's who they were   and look at Homeboy's Industry, Inc. is that  Father Boyle yeah I mean you got Father Boyle   at Homeboy Industries I mean we I first learned  about that when we were shooting great iron gang   half the extras you walk around you go you just  know when you've worked around real inmates most   your life like I have the the swagger the way  they walk the way they talk the way they move   and I remember saying at one point I said where'd  we get all these guys because I know they've done   time and said oh this great thing going on called  Homeboy Industries, Inc. you've got to check it   out all these kids have done time and I was  like that that makes sense that's so cool and   so I'm a big fan of that yeah sure yeah there's  nothing worse when someone is supposed to play   someone in the underworld let's say and  they're so squeaky clean and it just   takes you out and and there are these there's  mannerisms there's just different signs and   yeah watch a lot of music videos from the 80's  because they would put a lot of the rock stars   girlfriends in when they were supposed to be down  without homeless girls and you'd see these like   not Tawny Kitaen on the Jaguar hood but you  would see supermodels literally with like   shoe polish on their face digging through a bin  looking for food and you're like, Oh come on man! Questions For The Viewers: What's the sixth  thing that makes a film look low-budget?

Channel: Film Courage

Views: 159,196

Keywords: Screenwriting tips, screenwriting advice, screenwriting 101, screenwriting for beginners, screenwriting techniques, writing a screenplay, how to write a movie, Filmmaking tips, filmmaking 101, filmmaking for beginners, filmmaking techniques, making a movie, what you don’t learn in film school, Shane Stanley, filmcourage, film courage, interview, producing a movie, gridiron gang

Id: SySuowyE9ME

Length: 14min 19sec (859 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 13 2021