Josh Gallegos

This is nothing new. When George A. Romero made Night of the Living Dead, no one even watched it, it made no money and worst of all, they didn't copyright the film. He spent two more years making commercials to cover expenses, he used his own money with other partners like John Russo. The film was rediscovered and he made no money because the film was public domain, but that didn't stop him. It takes a special strength to do this, and if you go in with unreal expectations you'll be disappointed. Remember, I only used Paranormal Activity to convince someone to fund it, to me, it's a gift from god to be able to make any kind of film. My only ambition is to make a great film. So all these stories don't discourage me, it's just part of what you go through when you take a risk. I have nothing more to add to the topic, I think many of you made a point that Los Angeles is a bad place to be in, and it's true, a lot of people have left the city, even big celebrities like Joe Rogan. Ironically, I'm beginning to see more and more California license plates in Houston. I'm trying to stay on track so that this opportunity doesn't fall off. I've been writing for ten years, since my early twenties, so this would be my first feature that would be produced. I could even partially fund it myself and try to crowdfund, so I know I have something to work on,.

It believe Paranormal Activity made a festival run and it was picked up for distribution. The filmmaker didn’t spend that kind of money. I don’t believe it’s impossible to make a good movie, when I started going to Lakewood Church I discovered that it’s better to walk in faith. My only concern is to make a great film.

Yes, this thread took an odd turn. Perhaps I should come back and post when I have real concerns that relate to cinematography. There’s countless knowledgeable artists and technicians on this board and it’s being wasted on this discussion. I really do apologize, I have the habit of going off topic too much. And I apologize to Londoners. It wasn’t a very smart comment.

I know some local producers who have managed to get their low budget content on Amazon. I’d advise them after I write and polish the script and show it to professional readers so they can evaluate the work. I really don’t get why everyone is making a big deal for supporting the 2A. I’m Hispanic, I’ve never been arrested, I’m really an outstanding citizen. I’d be great on a film set, I learn fast and I respect everyone who makes films. If deciding to wear a gun makes me something of a villain then I would say most of you are jumping to conclusions that are unfair. I only wear it on my own free time, not when I’m at work, I would be fired if I wore it, it’s just common sense.

Who ever said about carrying it on a set or any job for that matter? Why would anyone take a gun to their job? There’s a glove compartment in your car and you leave it in a lockbox. You follow safety rules, you take classes for a license. It’s a sign of responsibility.

That doesn’t discourage me. I’m fulfilling my destiny either way. And there’s always an audience for horror, I know sites, Facebook groups where many fans will watch anything. So I know it can be seen. Plus it’s only 15k dollars, it’s not a budget that can ruin anyone, and I know I can make a great film.

I’m not a conservative, I deeply embrace the ideals of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, I just don’t see how supporting 2A makes someone an undesirable person to work with, it’s just short-sighted and discriminatory. You all seem to have this idea that we go around shooting at things. I’ve never even drawn it from my holster in 2 years. I mean I do practice at the gun range twice a month. Maybe I should make a documentary to make people see how it’s not a bad thing.

I really didn’t want to get into that subject it was brought up. As a filmmaker, you have to travel to a lot of unknown places and maybe even sleep in your car if you can’t get a hotel. I think it’s better to be prepared for any possibility. It’s an unpredictable and dangerous world. And London has had thousands of stabbing incidents and multiple terrorist attacks. No one is really immune to random violence. Since this doesn’t relate to filmmaking, I’ll just stop right there, but I don’t see how anyone can be offended by embracing our country’s second amendment. We are a country of patriots, we can overcome anything and anyone.

Well, you’re from London. In America we have a little thing called freedom, so things are a lot different over here. But that’s beyond the point, everyone says Los Angeles is a bad idea, and maybe it is, but I get this nagging feeling to go there at some point in my life.

We were talking about Los Angeles, since I was thinking of moving there and how dangerous of a city it is (for poor people). In Texas lots of citizens are allowed to open/conceal carry for self-defense. Of course you can’t wear it in government buildings etc, and I was thinking how California has banned the 2nd amendment in their state. I was weighing in on the pros and cons. In Louisiana lots of people open carry, it’s just normal in the south; and yes I have a license, so I was thinking about how I’d lose this amazing privilege. But I’m beginning to discover that I can just drive from Louisiana to the heart of Texas, and work my way up from here.

Aapo, your short film looks great by the way. But I’m remembering everyone like Robert Rodriguez who shot El Mariachi for 5k, the whole Rebel without a crew concept. But I think I can make something that can be shown on VOD, I remember one of my great heroes George A. Romero who created such iconic films with very little money. I do love the horror genre, so I think I can make something worthwhile. Of course it would have to be around a 77-80min movie, because of the budget. I realize good sound is expensive, and talented actors- some of them are willing to work for almost nothing to get their names out there, so I wouldn’t go after SAG-AFTRA , which have very high rates.

No! I wouldn’t DP! The young pastor has multiple cameras, he has a BMPC 6k which has a Super -35mm sensor . I told him that would be the camera to use for a 15k horror film project. I’m writer/director, but I know I need to get a more experienced DP. I already see the film, the blue color temperature. It’s titled “ Ophelia”, and it’s about college students who are famous YouTube vloggers/paranormal investigators who stay in an old house where a young girl murdered her family. I would shoot it in Louisiana if it all goes according to plan. So I’m writing so much so he doesn’t change his mind. It’s only a 15k budget but I’m confident I can stay on budget.

I don’t get how everyone talks about how expensive LA is, and then you claim to make 25k a year. That’s $2k a month. Just doesn’t make sense how anyone could afford rent, gas, food, etc Some good news today, there’s a chance I will be able to make a feature debut. I pitched an idea to a young pastor in Louisiana who has been offering me to work in his company, he bought about $50k worth of equipment and he was also interested in making films. So I mentioned how Paranormal Activity was made for $15k dollars and ended up making millions. So I convinced him I could make a horror film for that amount and he agreed. Of course things might fall apart, but I started on the script anyway. Wrote 25 pages today.

Those are pretty daunting non-union numbers, but it's better to walk the path you know you were meant to walk as opposed to doing something else just to exist, I guess not everyone is willing to take those risks. I noticed with most DPs that it takes them about 15 years to land that one life-changing film. For Roger it was Barton Fink around 1991, though Sid and Nancy has become quite popular today which was made in 1987, but I remember hearing about Northfork because I always watched Roger Ebert review movies, so I know I was in the 9th grade when it came out, I wasn't a huge film fan then but I was into Tarantino movies and Roger Ebert.

Did you mean $20,000? You shot quite a lot of films in the year 2000 according to IMDB. And I saw your early trailers you can see the talent right away, a lot of younger filmmakers don't have the skillset right away.

Of course, I mentioned I was planning to make the move when the COVID-19 lockdown ends, and I'm going to keep saving money. I've wasted too much time, it's really an act of desperation, I thought maybe I could increase my luck in a city full of filmmakers. I'm also waiting to receive my degree and I'm just going to shoot whatever projects I can here in Texas. I just need to finish what I started, I can't just move on to something else. But I understand the circumstances in LA right now are dire, I know it's not just LA, it's the whole state of California where many have fallen into poverty, there are rising crime rates. It's the only state where you have to have a plan in case you become homeless, I mean you don't really see that in Texas, "shanty towns", starvation, high crime rates. It's insane something like this is happening in the US.

Well, AJ, I’m not a fan of the Duplass brothers, and those kind of filmmakers are generally raised in a privileged environment. They surround themselves with white actors and a white cast, I like filmmakers who are trying to break that way of thinking, and I’m not making this into a race thing, but maybe subconsciously they think white actors are better actors and that’s not true. When I saw “Yellow Rose”I saw a cast of diverse talented actors, I never even heard of them but they were all equally amazing. I think there’s enough room for everyone and I’m really sick of seeing the same trope of “elite” actors take over cinemas with their superhero junk . I also haven’t seen many Hispanic female directors or DPs, and I know it’s all about who’s the most talented, but I just can’t accept there isn’t enough diverse talent out there, most of them are ignored and aren’t even given a chance. I’m just going to say it, it’s a racist industry.

I know I’m off-topic, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that a lot of LA homeless people are stranded in that city. So many of them are attacked and robbed, and once someone steals their ID/Driver License etc. They can’t travel or get a job, and because of that they starve in the streets and have to beg for money or find food in a trash can. Then they’re forced to move to Skid Row to get benefits and free food. They walk around in piss, feces, and used up drug needles and they become infected with disease and serious infections. A lot of them are raped and forced into selling drugs by notorious criminals. I know for a fact that county prisoners thrive in that area where sex trafficking and drug dealing is rampant and the police doesn’t do anything about it. I hope a kid who is reading this realizes that LA has a dark-side, I really wouldn’t walk around that city without a handgun. Of course all the rich people are shielded from the awful underbelly of this insidious city. But...I haven’t set foot in that city, but I’m well informed.

I know it’s none of my business, but how are people on this forum keeping afloat, seeing as there’s nothing being made? I mean, even if you have savings, that dries up very quickly. I know LA has a serious homeless problem and I even read a story about a working screenwriter who became homeless for several months and he had to sleep and write in his car. I think the writer was someone named Todd Farmer, a horror writer. I know what I’m up against, I know LA isn’t a fairy tale city. That’s why I said LA was a tough city.

I know, don’t want to end up in a tent, right? Fighting off old pervs trying to sneak in with no pants on. Scary.

I’m definitely doing it, just as soon as some normalcy returns, so I would estimate around summer 2021. In the meantime I can save up some more money and think about how I’m going to sneak inside the ASC clubhouse and live off of cocktail shrimp and martinis while I find a job. This way I don’t waste money on a hotel and restaurants.

Maybe he was referring to being able to offer a particular talent/skill that made you useful? Maybe not. And I don’t think anyone can live in Los Angeles, I hear it’s a tough city to get by, and I enjoy certain perks in Texas like the ability to conceal carry a firearm for protection, I know California won’t even allow conceal carry, so my permit would be invalid and I’d be taken to jail. I always carry a small Sig Sauer P365 9mm handgun in a kydex holster, I’m small in stature so I keep it for self-defense. But I’ve always had a fascination for Los Angeles, I know it’s an old ugly city for the most part, and it’s overcrowded but I see myself there. I agree that films can be made anywhere, but the filmmaker will usually hire their own friends and you need to know how to raise money to make any kind of film. I know that independently, you either have to crowdfund or know rich people to get anything made.

I think at this point in my life I’d rather be in a film set as anything, I’m not really learning anything on my own and I’d try and volunteer to shoot student projects, it seems a lot of filmmakers make their connections through film school, that’s the worst thing about the industry, is that you have to know people who actually like you enough to make movies. I know most of the equipment grips use and I think I’d learn crew work a lot faster. I’m also something of a screenwriter, I’ve placed in the semifinals in several contests, and Houston just doesn’t have an industry. I might just move there next year, I’ve been saving up. I have 7k, which isn’t much considering how expensive LA is, but I might as well just try and work as a crew member and continue writing scripts.

I feel it’s degrading and humiliating work, in the beginning you’re most likely laughed at and it feels like you’re going nowhere in life, but it’s really just about that satisfaction of having created something that makes the pain worthwhile. At least that’s how it’s beginning to feel like to me, there’s just nothing fancy about indie filmmaking, and I’m not knocking it or anything, it’s just the truth that no one cares to tell you.

I’ve come to realize that filmmaking is a lot like independent wrestling, there’s no money in it, only the 1% who manage to become professionals are able to make a living from it. It’s an elusive pursuit if you don’t have the connections to land more assignments. And I’m not really chasing after money, even though we all kind of need it to buy food and rent out a room to sleep in, but I feel cursed with this caged up passion that has been eating me alive for the past several years. It feels like I’m chasing a unicorn! And indie filmmaking is really just a free for all, something you do on the weekends after working a 9-5 job. This is why I despise this mirage that Hollywood creates. It doesn’t work that way. I like guys like George A. Romero who were real, he just found a way to make iconic horror films on his own, I don’t think he ever set foot in Los Angeles, but sadly not everyone can be as clever or talented as a George Romero. To be a filmmaker you need to be a presence, like George who started out filming commercials in Pittsburgh, he managed to get the entire city to help him make Night of the Living Dead. You have to be something of an entrepreneur, which is why Orson Welles said something that filmmaking is really just a hustle, because you need to know how to raise the money to make a movie. im not saying it’s impossible, but I was too delusional to realize that filmmaking is a mt. Everest !