Sleep Always nears 200 sales - a special offer

[npcoombs]

except the uk witch i've heard is the least productive country in the world or something like that.

Unless of course you film is about a black, disabled, lesbian asylum seeker

then you'll have no problem accessing the few grants there actually are

[filmamigo]

I know so many gifted filmmakers who are stalled because funders won't trust them on a feature without a substantial track record.

that's not so strange now is it? that's why you should find a producer with a track record that will take you under their wings and vouch for you. 99% of all "successful" debuts happen that way. a producer will not pay you to make the film, which is also why it's easier for them to believe in you, but he or she will find the money for you.

/matt

I second this. A strong record in shorts and a great idea and you should be able to get an experienced producer behind you. Of course this is only the start of things, no guarantee of success, but will help you start to meet the right people.

Its pretty obvious that this is all a lot easier and more chummy in a small state like Sweden than the UK or USA though. I have started my own production company and am going into production with experienced co-producers in established companies to get my foot in the door. Opportunities are never advertised you have to force your way in.

I agree with both of you. That was why it was important to me to prove my chops on a feature. Especially as digital-everything has increased the volume of competition, I wanted to prove my ability to helm a bigger show.

Not to mention the pleasurable side-effects of having a finished feature. I have worked almost as long and hard on shorts, and they are much more difficult to share with people. Even though they have to sit through 90 minutes instead of 5 minutes, they seem more willing to take the time to watch a feature. Their interest level is much higher.

Anyway, I hope I have displayed the tenacity and skill that will make finding an experienced producer a little easier. You need to really keep your game at a high level, especially in a city like Toronto where everyone has a script in their back pocket.

[tlatosmd]

Unless of course you film is about a black, disabled, lesbian asylum seeker

You know, that phrasing reminds me of why our German but internationally renowned weekly, The SPIEGEL said we don't need any leftist law against discrimination, as according to this weekly's reasoning, all discriminized minorities would add up as a majority in society. Little do they seem to realize that minorities don't add up in authoritarian societies but only seek to outdo each other in sado-masochist conformity while the repressed tolerance they're granted at best nonetheless prevents them from being seen as equal no matter might they die trying...:roll:

[Mitch Perkins]

Is there a trailer?

No, and we are complete idiots for that. No excuses.
Rick

Speak for yourself, Rick; I have a 17" peduk splinter lodged in my forehead. That's my excuse. And no, I will not pull it out.

As for the titles, I couldn't agree more; they look TV showish and could negatively affect first impressions. Mayhap we'll re-do them some day.

I want to make another feature on the new negs. A physicist gets bonked on the head and unifies the four forces...in a coma.

Super 8 is perfect for down-to-Earth human drama. But so often it is relegated to the lesbian vampire thingy. Why is that?

Mitch

[reflex]

Super 8 is perfect for down-to-Earth human drama. But so often it is relegated to the lesbian vampire thingy. Why is that?

Mitch

Because S8 users find lesbian vampires strangely alluring. :twisted:

[Taelon]

My apologies if this has been asked before (I didn't bother to read every single post in the entire thread).... but this is beginning to drive me crazy. So I have to know:

How come Sleep Always is NOT available as a super-8 print??

I mean... c'mon... isn't that the whole point?

[Scotness]

How come Sleep Always is NOT available as a super-8 print??

I mean... c'mon... isn't that the whole point?

Probably because it would be very difficult and expensive to do.

It crossed my mind with In My Image once - and I did sucessfully do a transfer of the trailer to Super 8by shooting it off my monitor. But just the size of a feature makes it hard. Don't know how long Sleep Always is - In My Image is 1hr 32mins - Sleep would be about the same - so for let's say a 90 minute feature:

90 mins of Super 8 at 24 frames per second
= 36 cartridges
let's say stock + development could be done for $25 each
36 x 25
=$925

So are you going to pay $925 for a print??

And you'd have to chuck in labour charges as well - after all, all those 50 foot lengths would have to be spliced together.

You could probably pay for a pro transfer to 400 foot lengths somewhere but I reckon it would cost more.

Put it this way if someone was to offer me around $1500 for a print of In My Image I'd seriously look into it.

So unless Rick, or I, or anyone finds a bunch af hardcore collectors I wouldn't expect a print of Sleep Always or any of the new Super 8 features for quite a while!

And of course then there's the sound striping to be done as well....... Probably $2000-$2500 is a more realistic figure.

Scot

[ECNtoo]

not that it probably matters too much but super8 print film would probably be a bit cheaper than that and doing the print would mean less splices since the stuff comes in 400 foot rolls. even at a grand for a print, id be happy. theres enough church halls, community centres where id be happy to bug people into watching my film at a few bucks a pop. i think with a little persistance the thing would pay itself back. i also know somebody that might be offering such a service making release prints at very low cost from neg or reversal. nothing like exhibiting your own work hehe with the rattle of a projector hehe.

[Scotness]

Oh I look I agree - it'd be great - i'd love to have a print of my film - and be able to screen it - "four wall it" - but I really can't see it being done for any cheap amount - I don't know abot Sleep Always- but In My Image couldn't be an optical transfer from the original stock becasue of all the post processing - it would have to come from the computer based master - where do you think that could be transferred? Any links? It'd be interesting to budget it - could they do the sound as well??

Rick or Mitch did you ever look into this with Sleep Always??

Actually now that I think about it, it wasn't the trailer for IMI I transfered, it was a segmnt of the film - I have thought about doing the trailer and selling it, since it would be relatively easy and just fit onto one 50 foot roll - it would be fun I think

Scot

[Mitch Perkins]

My apologies if this has been asked before (I didn't bother to read every single post in the entire thread).... but this is beginning to drive me crazy. So I have to know:

How come Sleep Always is NOT available as a super-8 print??

I mean... c'mon... isn't that the whole point?

The original business model was to make a feature for little enough money to actually make a profit on the average crumby TV deal - about $50,000.00. Initial xfer tests convinced us the film would look just dandy on TV.

Then we just *had* to go make a quirky arty little film a la Lynch, which guaranteed instant financial failure...for us, because we're not Lynch.
But, as Rick says, over time maybe we can get it paid off, and celebrate with some cups of coffee from the profits. Not Starbucks coffee though - too expensive.

Meanwhile, call me a bad, conceited artist, but I'm quite happy with the little thing. Still get a kick out watching it now and then - the music, the poppy 7240, and those mistakes, which make me laugh.

As for a Super 8 film print, it never crossed my mind for a second. We did look into a 35mm blowup, with which one could actually *do* something, but we knackered ourselves shooting at 18fps. Live and learn folks.

mitch

[Rick Palidwor]

Never imagined a super 8 print. The cost, and the hassle, and all the sound issues... never crossed my mind, and was certainly "never the point". As Mitch said we had a 1 min. test blow-up from TAPE to 35mm, for shits and giggles (transfer company didn't charge) but having shot 18fps (shits and giggles of a different kind) it was never going to work, but was never the point either. We shot for a video finish on the small screen from the get-go: it's one of the few things we got "right".

Rick

[tlatosmd]

In case you already have it on tape, it shouldn't be that hard to get it to 25p (PAL) or 23.xxxfps (NTSC) if it ain't already. From there you could go by slightly speeding up or slowing down to exactly 24fps that you could print to 16mm or 35mm.

Only said thing would be the loss of original S8 resolution if you're working with an SD scan.

[flatwood]

....I'm quite happy with the little thing. Still get a kick out watching it now and then - the music, the poppy 7240, and those mistakes, which make me laugh.

Right, I watched the DVD again last night. Yall did a heck of a job putting that together. This and In My Image should be in every super 8ers dvd library IMO.

[Taelon]

Just wanted to say thanks to Scotness and Mitch for answering my question in such detail. I'd kinda already figured that an actual super-8 print would be expensive (though I know collectors who have no problem paying a grand for a brandnew feature print)... I just somehow felt it strange that so much was being made out of the fact that this particular movie originated on super-8, yet there was no way to screen it from super-8. That's just me, though - I think it's awesome, of course, that super-8 can be used to shoot and telecine, then edit digitally, but I'm very old-school in that it's all about the cinema experience for me, i.e. both shooting and projecting super-8. In fact, I'm pretty unlikely to ever use any negative stock... have grown up with reversal (K40, what else) and old habits die hard.

Anyway, now I'm just rambling.

[ropbo]

Hey Rick,

I just wanted to say I got the DVD last Monday and watched it yesterday. Very well done. I was impressed not only by the image quality but by the story as well. I'll be recommending it to some friends.

Anyways, I wish you good luck and hope you sell more DVD's.

Rodrigo