Epic Fail

Well, I learned a few things from the filming way back in September, and they seem so dire that I am going to share them with everyone.

This is hopefully useful information, so what happened to me won't happen to you.

I have been planning, writing, and tweaking this film idea for over a year now. It's got a great, solid script, that has gotten good review from everyone who has read it.

I finally got all the supplies I needed for shooting, and organized a day to film it all.

It went horribly wrong, the actor's didn't want to act, stuff was broken, and the whole thing was taken very unseriously (not a word).

We hardly got anything done, and all the shots we got where hardly usable.

And I can now recognize what the biggest problem was.

The biggest problem I experienced was who i chose to fill the roles, and the way I acted. I chose my closest friends to play the main characters and film. Sadly, only one of them had the actual desire to work on it. The other two messed around most of the time.

So this is what I have to say. If you are going to try to make an indy film, choosing friends is often a great and easy option, but may not always be your best. If your friends don't share the same passion as you do, it is generally unwise to choose them. Unless you have some really great friends who are into whatever you need them for, I would highly recommend choosing someone who may not be so close. Choose the person you know is best for the job, not the easiest.

The most important thing to remember when filming is that everyone has to WANT to be there. They want to make this movie nearly as much as you do, or at least understand your passion about it and want to help you. Especially when the people you're working with don't have the motivation of being payed (or the fear of being fired). They have to want to do this, but not just as a favor. Otherwise your filming will be filled with issue and problem.

I hope you can learn from this, as I now have.