Getting Started

[mattias]

> Hitchcock's 'Rope'. One take (sort of) - for the WHOLE film.

i'm pretty sure he did several takes and selected the best one. time code did 15 takes, and the one we get to see is the last one.

/matt

[Scott Spears]

Regarding "Rope" it was shot in something like 12 minute takes with hidden cuts to get between takes.

Speaking of budgets for 16mm, the cheapest feature (90 min.) I even shot and was finished averaged about $333 per finished minute. It was a shlocky horror film. That was a very small, but paid crew and actors getting very tiny pay (most likely a flat rate of $500-ish for leads for the entire film.) It was edited on video and went straight to video stores. Actually, I've done three of theses and the cheapest they could get away with for a professional product was $30,000-ish.

I'd say for Super-8 you might be able to get that figure under $200 a finished minute if you owned all the gear and didn't pay hardly anybody. There's always a way if you're smart and are willing to work hard. If you owned a Workprinter that would save you a bundle.

My final advice, is pay the cinematographer (being a cinematographet do you expect me to say anything else, but honestly, it's well worth it) and the sound operator. Screwed up sound is the bane of all low budget productions. Then if you can a find a buddy who's willing to work cheap, hire them as a either an assistant director or assocate producer to help you carry the load.

Scott

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