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9 minutes ago, Tyler Purcell said:

What's the distribution method? Give it away? 

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.

Edited by Josh Gallegos
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1 minute ago, Josh Gallegos said:

If deciding to wear a gun makes me something of a villain

Nobody is saying that you are a villain. For most people outside the US it is just a peculiar thing that people feel the need to carry a weapon. And maybe saying that people outside the US who do not need to worry about wearing a gun are less free isn't such a smart comment.

I do wish you good luck with your low budget film and look forward to seeing it one day.

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Just now, Uli Meyer said:

Nobody is saying that you are a villain. For most people outside the US it is just a peculiar thing that people feel the need to carry a weapon. And maybe saying that people outside the US who do not need to worry about wearing a gun are less free isn't such a smart comment.

I do wish you good luck with your low budget film and look forward to seeing it one day.

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.  
 

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22 minutes ago, Josh Gallegos said:

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. 

Yea, with a lot of money. E&O verification/insurance (requirement) is $7k. The finishing process to get a workable file that passes all tech specs for Amazon is very expensive/time consuming. So yea, I mean if your post budget is an additional $15k then sure, it's possible. 

The only reason Paranormal Activity was released theatrically is because they spent $215 thousand on post. 

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30 minutes ago, Josh Gallegos said:

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. 

If you don't carry 12 hours of everyday (time on set) then when DO you carry? Isn't the whole purpose of open carry, to carry every second of every day? Again, as someone who has guns and has done a lot of weapons training, I fail to see the validity of open carry, if you don't carry all the time. It's 100% legal to keep a hand gun in the car with you at all times here in California. It's 100% legal to have a gun at home here in California as well. The only thing you can't do is carry and that was your first concern about moving here. 

Also... about the comment about being hispanic, California has a huge hispanic community. I don't think you'd have any issues what so ever. 

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2 hours ago, Tyler Purcell said:

Yea, with a lot of money. E&O verification/insurance (requirement) is $7k. The finishing process to get a workable file that passes all tech specs for Amazon is very expensive/time consuming. So yea, I mean if your post budget is an additional $15k then sure, it's possible. 

The only reason Paranormal Activity was released theatrically is because they spent $215 thousand on post. 

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.

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5 hours ago, Uli Meyer said:

Freedom? You live in a place where you are so afraid that you feel like you have to carry a gun for self defense and you call that freedom? You are a slave to your paranoia. You're not free at all.

No, not fear. In many parts of America, people "wear" a firearm daily, just as one might wear shoes.

It's a choice, not a need.

This is supposed to be a Cinematography form, not an anti-gun forum.

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7 hours ago, Josh Gallegos said:

It believe Paranormal Activity made a festival run and it was picked up for distribution.  The filmmaker didn’t spend that kind of money.

Correct, the studio spent the money. Again, it's a very rare example. In my lifetime, I can only think of 3 occasions where complete nobody filmmakers, made a no-budget product that the studio's risked for theatrical release AND were very successful. 

7 hours ago, Josh Gallegos said:

I don’t believe it’s impossible to make a good movie

Is Paranormal Activity a good movie? 

I've been at this rat race for a minute and have met some immensely talented filmmakers. Guys who make REALLY good movies. Yet they all struggle to get eyes on their content. This is what confuses newbies to the industry. They think content matters and sure a professional product is required, but what really matters is understanding your audience better than the next guy and getting the most amount of eyes on it as possible. If you truly want to be a successful filmmaker, how many qualified people physically see your film, means a lot. 

7 hours ago, Josh Gallegos said:

when I started going to Lakewood Church I discovered that it’s better to walk in faith.

Faith in yourself is good, I think everyone can agree on that! 

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6 hours ago, JD Hartman said:

It's a choice, not a need.

What on earth would make anyone choose to wear a deadly weapon? 

 

6 hours ago, JD Hartman said:

This is supposed to be a Cinematography form, not an anti-gun forum.

Nor a pro-gun forum.

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12 hours ago, Josh Gallegos said:

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. 

Yes but you guys are lucky that there is no car theft in the US.. it very seldom happens , sadly in Europe cars get stolen .. this is probably why guns are not allowed .. 

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Europeans always get triggered when the Americans boast about their freedom compared to ours. I wonder why that is but this is not the first time on this forum ?

the thing is, social problems create insecurity in many ways. and if those problems are not fully addressed first hand then an individual would need to protect oneself in some way from the insecurity of the society. In some European countries the social problems are addressed other way than in the US and this makes the whole society behave differently. Maybe it can be safer to individual citizens in some ways for this reason. More safety nets for persons who are financially unlucky and so on. Public healthcare, free education etc. which can help preventing  poverty and help even the poorest ones to archive something in their life if they just work hard enough. You can become a lawyer or a doctor even if you are from the poorest family there is and have no dime to spend on education. This can lower crime rates in the long run and even if there is someone trying to rob you (extremely rare here) they will only have their fists or a knife or something so you can just run to safety. You can get shot only if you get very involved in the drug business the motorcycle gangs are handling. they are carrying guns of course like in any other parts of the world...

Hunting weapons are very common here though. People love shooting deers and birds and such. Every now and then someone shoots their friend or a family member when being depressed or drunk or just generally snapping. One can't protect oneself from this kind of stuff and if there would be no hunting weapons then they would use a freaking axe or something. Very different from the stuff you need handguns for

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9 hours ago, Tyler Purcell said:


I've been at this rat race for a minute and have met some immensely talented filmmakers. Guys who make REALLY good movies. Yet they all struggle to get eyes on their content.

It's so true.  It's always depressing when I watch some obscure indy movie I heard about on a podcast or whatever, and really love it.  Because when I do the research, I find out it won a bunch of festivals like four years ago and it took more than five years for the filmmakers to get the movie made.  Which means from the time it took writing the script to the time it took the movie to make it's way in front of me, the director could've have gone from their thirties... to their fifties.  Then nobody I recommend it to has heard of it.

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1 hour ago, Justin Hayward said:

It's so true.  It's always depressing when I watch some obscure indy movie I heard about on a podcast or whatever, and really love it.  Because when I do the research, I find out it won a bunch of festivals like four years ago and it took more than five years for the filmmakers to get the movie made.  Which means from the time it took writing the script to the time it took the movie to make it's way in front of me, the director could've have gone from their thirties... to their fifties.  Then nobody I recommend it to has heard of it.

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,. 

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1 hour ago, Josh Gallegos said:

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.

Honestly, you can't compare the 60's to 2020, there is literally no comparison film industry wise. 

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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.

Right, but you can't make a great film if you won't listen to people who have made great films.

There is a formula to being successful, but beginners never follow it because it's too much work. They look at the 3 - 5 year journey and say "na I can do better" and guess what, they never do. When I say never, I really mean never. Again, I can come up with 3 examples of no-budget productions that made money in the last 30 years. Mind you, none of those filmmakers really became successful however. So in the long run, their little Indies made them some money, but did it really forward their careers? Not as much as you'd think. 

The other road is to work your way up as a crew person first, get to be known in the industry. Make a few shorts. Do the festival thing. Post gobs of content online and work up your image. Again, it's a long-term process, it could take a decade or two, but once you're known, the pieces will fall together and the next thing ya know, you'll be making something bigger. 

Honestly, you probably have better luck getting eyes on your content through YouTube than you do through the no-budget indy scene. If you had a full time job and you put every penny into making a short-film series, you could get some serious viewership. Again, in the long run it does come down to how many eyes you get on your content. 
 

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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.

Los Angeles a bad place to be? WOW how you got that from the writings above, I have no idea. Out of the people who responded to this post, I can only count 3 people who currently live here full time, outside of myself. There wouldn't be 4 million people in Los Angeles county if it were a "bad place to be". Los Angeles is just a stop for many people. They come here and are either successful or they're not and they move on. Successful people generally don't live here full time because it can be overwhelming for them. Simply walking down the street can be met with paparazzi and stares. No thanks, it's much easier to put your family in a small town somewhere not to far away from an airport and fly in when you need to be here. With todays tech, you can do pretty much everything but production remotely. I've even been on set where producers logged in via zoom. This is becoming the new norm, so the point of living here full time for already successful people, is dwindling. 

Yes Los Angeles is expensive, yes it can be dirty and gritty at times, but there is no place in the US that has such perfect weather, that has so many attractions; excellent food, some of the best theaters in the world, mountains to climb, beaches to walk, oceans to surf/swim, canyon roads to drive/ride on, skate parks to tear up, endless trails to ride bikes on, ski resorts an hour from downtown, dozens of national parks including Yosemite just a few short hours away, the list goes on and on. Just think about the resources for filmmakers from multiple film labs, to low-cost rentals, to post houses, to industry standard screening rooms, to amazing places like the New Bev and American Cinematheque. You just don't get these anywhere else in the US, you may get one or two, but not all. 

Honestly, Los Angeles is a great place, but ya gotta pay to play. If you have a steady full-time job, then it's easy to make it work. Shoot your films on the weekends and spend the weeknights prepping/writing. 

On a side note, I do plan on moving back to the east coast, but mostly due to helping my parents, not because LA is a bad place. 

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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,. 

Have you done shorts? Maybe the first thing to do is get some content out there. 

Crowd funding features is hard these days, but if you don't need much, it maybe possible. 

 

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13 hours ago, Uli Meyer said:

What on earth would make anyone choose to wear a deadly weapon? 

 

Nor a pro-gun forum.

Your posts demonstrate a very one track or narrow mind.

Guns are used for defense  and (hunting, target shooting too ), not just to commit murder, robbery or homicide.

Maybe there wouldn't have been as many deaths in the terror attacks in the UK and Europe, had some of the citizens been armed?

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47 minutes ago, JD Hartman said:

Guns are used for defense 

 

47 minutes ago, JD Hartman said:

Maybe there wouldn't have been as many deaths in the terror attacks in the UK and Europe, had some of the citizens been armed?

Make up your mind. First you say that wearing a gun has nothing to do with fear. Now you argue it is for defending yourself? You must live in a terrible place if you are that worried for your life. Thank you for validating my earlier argument. Out of interest, how many terror attacks have been prevented by gun carrying civilians?

And how many people have been killed by civilians with easy access to guns?

I’m sure you can see my point, no?

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29 minutes ago, Uli Meyer said:

 

Make up your mind. First you say that wearing a gun has nothing to do with fear. Now you argue it is for defending yourself? You must live in a terrible place if you are that worried for your life. Thank you for validating my earlier argument. Out of interest, how many terror attacks have been prevented by gun carrying civilians?

And how many people have been killed by civilians with easy access to guns?

I’m sure you can see my point, no?

Don't make out of context replies.

You assert that guns are used for murder.

 

What I posted was, " No, not fear. In many parts of America, people "wear" a firearm daily, just as one might wear shoes. "

In a few parts of the US, persons obtain a carry permit for protection because of their line of work, Jeweler for example.

Is that hard to understand?

Private citizens, farmers excluded, few own firearms in the UK, especially handguns.  Is gun violence zero?

Edited by JD Hartman
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20 minutes ago, JD Hartman said:

Don't make out of context replies.

You assert that guns are used for murder.

 

What I posted was, " No, not fear. In many parts of America, people "wear" a firearm daily, just as one might wear shoes. "

In a few parts of the US, persons obtain a carry permit for protection because of their line of work, Jeweler for example.

Is that hard to understand?

Private citizens, farmers excluded, few own firearms in the UK, especially handguns.  Is gun violence zero?

I knew you would dodge the answers to my questions. You are saying that only a few people like jewelers and others who need protection because of their line of work buy guns in the US? You know full well that this is not true. US civilians alone own 393 million guns, which is 46% of the worldwide total of civilian held firearms. That's 120 firearms for every 100 residents. Gun deaths in the US in 2017 amounted to 39000 while in the UK there were 60, that does include suicides. You can keep sticking your head in the sand or do the math.

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If my neighbour had a nuclear missile you'd be darn sure I would want one too!  For self defence of course ?  But if every person here would own a nuclear missile or two there would be much higher probability that one would make a murder with a nuclear missile or just snapping and starting to shoot missiles around. 

See the point?  Guns used for violence because guns are easily and readily available. But violence is not caused by guns... if guns would not be available, people would use something else for violence. But if the social problems which lead to violence would be solved instead then there would be less violence and less lives lost, even if guns were available. Guns are just tools and people use the best tools they have available. The less bad stuff they have to do the easier and nicer it is for us all so one should change the society instead of just taking all the guns away and thinking that people would magically stop killing each other then.

Ever think why there is massively more serial killers in the US compared to other countries? It is the society which hammers to your head very early on that you have to be very unique and talented and special and publicly known to be worthy as a human being. Certain types of people try to archieve this by killing other persons in the most horrible and unique ways and patterns to get media attention and to raise widespread public fear. The same pattern leads to certain type of mass shootings as well. Rejected and depressed people trying to get themselves noticed and respected even once in their life. 

I blame the pop culture, the media which feeds you mostly negative news even if there is equal amount of good and bad news available  (giving the impression that 99% to 100% of the stuff happening in the world is negative in general) and the whole society which pushes you down because you don't have enough money/talent/skills/fame/good looks/whatever they think it is that a ideal human being should have (the "stars" have it all and the pop culture feeds you the mindset that every single person has to reach all that as well). And on the other hand telling you that everyone is perfect and talented as is and can do anything without skills if only having a chance of getting noticed (the talent shows etc) .  No wonder people flip and do unimaginably horrible things when the whole culture messes up their heads this way. Or most of them just get depressed and passive and get stuck in front of the screen watching lazily made entertainment without any hope of making anything meaningful in their life

 

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4 hours ago, Uli Meyer said:

I knew you would dodge the answers to my questions. You are saying that only a few people like jewelers and others who need protection because of their line of work buy guns in the US? You know full well that this is not true. US civilians alone own 393 million guns, which is 46% of the worldwide total of civilian held firearms. That's 120 firearms for every 100 residents. Gun deaths in the US in 2017 amounted to 39000 while in the UK there were 60, that does include suicides. You can keep sticking your head in the sand or do the math.

Uli .. guns make society safe , its very obvious .. just look at the very low gun murder rate for the US compared to Europe ..  oh hang on  ...  deaths from guns per 100,000 people .. US 12.21. UK 0.20  Sweden 1.31 Spain 0.57 Holland 0.42 Ireland 0.87 Belgium 1.4...   JD do you see a trend here .. all those Americans with guns seem to be killing other folk, rather than protecting all the bleeding heart commie wimps without guns ..  

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9 hours ago, Josh Gallegos said:

My only ambition is to make a great film. So all these stories don't discourage me,

I don't mean to discourage.  I actually think these hard facts are kind of encouraging.  As long as you aren't flat out lying to investors about what they're getting into or knowingly and purposely ripping anyone off, then I think ultra low budget filmmaking is very freeing and possibly really satisfying in terms of creativity.  

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1 hour ago, Justin Hayward said:

I don't mean to discourage.  I actually think these hard facts are kind of encouraging.  As long as you aren't flat out lying to investors about what they're getting into or knowingly and purposely ripping anyone off, then I think ultra low budget filmmaking is very freeing and possibly really satisfying in terms of creativity.  

How is it ripping someone off? I’m not using the money to buy a car, he wants a film made, I said I could make one and provided an example of what could happen. I think if I had a more experienced cinematographer on my side, decent sound, an actual crew, I could make something good. There are all sorts of small horror festivals all over the country, I’ve seen them on film freeway, it can be seen, even if it’s just a small room with 15 people. I’m not interested in marketing or whatever it is you’re talking about, maybe someone else should be in charge of that? A producer maybe? I don’t see how that relates to filmmaking. 
 

note. I know the edit I posted is bad, I usually just add music on rough edits and remove it all on the second edit. I probably won’t have any music on the final edit. But it’s been a while since I’ve used Adobe Premiere Pro, so I won’t be lost when I make my third short this Sunday. 

Edited by Josh Gallegos
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