Matthew W. Phillips

Not saying I don't believe you but I have yet to get any examples to explore for myself. Maybe it is the college boy in me but I like evidence before coming to conclusions.

If your argument is that filmmakers should have SOME level of experience by having made one or more shorts before, I am in complete agreement. But there is a big gap from saying one needs some familiarity with filmmaking before shooting a feature and saying one needs to have a 1.5 mil budget with all union cast/crew. If one wants to make the latter statement then there are too many good counterexamples to disprove that.

Care to share any names so that I may check them out? If you do not feel right about calling them out publicly, I welcome a PM.

Apparently, according to IMDB, Napolean Dynamite had a budget of 400k...not much more than you mentioned and that was a wildly successful venture.

If I had $250k for a feature and I wanted to hire a DP, I would pay them well. In my thinking, you take care of the DP and the Sound Guy first. Then you allocate money for the final sound mix. Then you worry about everything else. I realize many low budget films worry about trying to squeeze some A-lister or B-lister for one scene at the expense of the whole production. I do not feel like $250k is an unreachable goal to make a quality feature with a well paid, albeit modestly sized, crew. Of course this depends on the script and how grounded the Director is in reality about the expectations of the project.

Tyler, I do not see why it matters to you what someone "churns out?" Is this an axe to grind because you do not feel you are compensated well enough? You are able to turn down work if you wish. Funny enough, the industry has always had tiny budget films. When you factor in film costs in years passed, I imagine the working budget (after stock + process) was about as low as some nowadays.

Richard, I was not jumping into this to defend Batman vs Superman. I was jumping into this because Tyler sounded like he was implying that indies should not make films. I know he didnt say it like that but the implication was there. You of all people should know that we need MORE indie films, not less.

More like a few months ago and, no, I never said Dark Reprieve was a POS. I just didn't understand what was going on. I was fond of the visual style though. And those two months grew me up a great deal too which is why I apologized to you.

Tyler, the viewing public doesnt agree on everything and you know this. Even Academy pictures are sometimes argued about by the public because some feel certain pictures got snubbed while others are viewed as not worthy of what they got. What defines a "good" picture anyway? Good technicals? Good acting? Even acting is a charged word because different people feel differently based on who they connect with. Some like the more subdued approach of actors while others like the "larger than life" performance. I have worked with people who come from play and musical backgrounds and those are other approaches to acting as well. Maybe a "good" picture is something that helps you unwind after a long day. Maybe it is a movie with unintentional humor but still a pleasure to watch? Who really ever defined what a "good" movie is? I suppose I missed the memo. Edit: Next, we will discuss what "good" music is and who fits the bill.

That may be so but you are coming across as a bit bitter lately. Perhaps some rest is in order...not to mention considering your professional reputation before you make controversial comments.

Pardon me but that is BS. You do not get to dictate to me what a good film is just because you repeat yourself. Just because you have an inflated opinion of yourself, your work, and your opinion doesnt change the fact that EVERYONE is entitled to decide what they want to watch, like, and create.

I hope this is not out of turn but your post sounds extremely condescending. I used to talk to you about two months ago and you seemed like a friendly and down to earth guy...what happened?

I love how the term "bad" is being thrown around in this thread as though there is some universal standard about what is entertaining and what isnt. If speaking technically and comparing to Citizen Kane, practically every movie is bad. If speaking of what gives people a good time for 90-120 minutes then that becomes a whole different matter. I derived entertainment from some pretty "bad" movies in the past. But I didn't care what others thought of them because I thought they were fun flicks to pass the time. Not everything has to be a "Birth of a Nation" type film to be worth watching. One of my favorite such films is the original Warlock with Julian Sands. Not a masterpiece by most any definition but I would have more fun watching it than 90% of new releases out now.

Thank you Rob!

I took your advice, Landon, and removed the MPAA screen from the trailer. I do not want to do anything to anger a group like that. I appreciate you and a few others on here who are looking out for me on some issues.

Thank you, Richard, for the help. I will just remove their branding and not worry about it unless it makes sense. I was hoping to host my local premiere using the Tugg service...does anyone know if you can still screen your film at a multiplex through Tugg without an MPAA rating?

I figured not. If I read the page correctly, it will be $3k for my budget bracket.

Thank you for that. I do plan to get it rated but I am not sure of if I am required to get permission to use the not rated. I will look into this issue.

David, if you are out there, I picked up on your distaste for my previous transitions. I discovered Resolve's built in Fades so I used those instead to the liking of some of my cast. Hopefully this version will be a bit easier on the eyes. https://youtu.be/kC9nN0ehRMA

Not yet, friend. Am working on getting a local screening in my hometown first.

Haha, you noticed that people do that as well? I thought that was just a local quirk because no one in Northern California pronounces anything correctly, it seems. :lol:

Thank you , Tyler, for watching and giving your opinion. I appreciate it.

Rest for a bit and then make the final cut as polished as I can with what little budget I have left. I am holding a hometown screening for it here in Sacramento in October. I am hoping that I can appeal to the "cult film" niche like David mentioned because I was sortof going for that from the get-go since I have always liked those types of off-beat films since I was a kid. I admit though, I lack your savvy to know how to actually realize contacting the right people to make a go of it. Thank you Justin. In that case, I suppose the film may be cheaper than modern University tuition!

I admit that I am not usin a calibrated monitor to grade. Didnt have the budget for it. I was using manual transitions in Resolve by manipulating the parade color curves to create a manual "fade in/fade out" effect that was more unsettling than the polished ones that come standard in many NLEs. I am worried about the black levels because they look fine on my monitor but you arent the first person to say they look "not black" on theirs.