The Making of a Short Film - Part 3

With script in hand I set out to acquire the other elements necessary for my film. I needed one location that might prove to be difficult, a courthouse. I also needed equipment, namely a decent camera. I had never considered filming in any format other than digital just because of the availability of cameras, cost, and the convenience of editing. There are a plethora of other things as well but I had to start somewhere so I figure these would be my biggest two hurdles.

I started by speaking to an acquaintance of mine who is a professional videographer. He had mentioned that he had shot a short film before and had entered it into a festival. I figured if I could get him on board it would make the other things a little easier. Plus, I would have someone with a lot of camera experience to make things look the way I wanted. I sent him the script first, which he liked, and said he would be willing to donate his time to the project. This was great! But, he also said we should rent an even better camera than what he had which would cost about $100 a day. He also said, after looking at the script, that it could take a little as three days or a long as five days to shoot. That's potentially $500! I left the meeting both happy that he was willing to help but, also little saddened by the thought of having to spend so much money.(Did I really need to spend the extra money? Or could I get by with something else?)

Not to be dissuaded, I made some calls to the local courthouse which might serve as one of our main locations. I was told that since 9/11 no filming was allowed in government buildings blah, blah, blah. I didn't believe that for a second. I called the state film commission who confirmed that yes, certain things have become more difficult since 9/11 but, the county has the ability to allow whatever they want.

But, even if I did have the location, all the people involved in the film would be dedicating quite a bit of time plus with over eight speaking parts and 25 or so extras and getting a courthouse, I was looking at a logistical nightmare. (Not to mention that I would have to feed all those people too.) I finally realized that I had chosen the wrong story for the wrong time. I needed a to start over with a new story that was less complex if I wanted to film anything in the near future.