So I went on vacation for my 18th birthday to an island on the gulf of Mexico. When I got there I conjured an idea for a movie after seeing how empty the island was. There were only maybe 9 cars spread out through the whole three days. So I came up with the idea to do a short film about being stranded. So I took a whole bunch of footage with the idea in mind that I would do interior monologues and record those when I got home. I also knew I'd have to make a beginning and end at home. Like all of the movies I do, there is usually a dramatic theme that shifts in limbo between comedy and abstract drama. I've been told every film has this aspect to it. So NOT for lack of a better idea, I choose the plot to be centered around a guy not giving a gangster his money and so the gangster puts him on a deserted island. When he gets off the island and makes it home. He pays the drug dealer and goes home with a newfound appreciation for the easy life he never knew he had. I could have thought of something more realistic, but I tend to be attracted to the obscure impossabilities in the major plot line for the comedic aspects, but then keep the situation serious and intense and the characters absurd and irrational. As of this moment, I have not filmed the beginning or the end. I have the island and the conversation when he gets back between he and the drug dealer. Except I don't have drug dealer footage because I will be playing the Indian Pimp. Basically I have island footage from three different days. But only about 20 minutes of film from each day. My family helped me film because they're awesome. However they did quit on me every day after 20 minutes because they wanted to enjoy the vacation; understandable. I wouldn't have wanted to spend my 18th any other way besides making a movie.
A lot of footage was unusable because my family didn't take certain aspects into consideration. I mean hey how are they supposed to know right? So sometimes there were other cars in the shot or telephone polls. So my usable footage in editing came to about 23 minutes. The idea now was to write a script for the beginning and ending with the pimp and my character and then interior dialogue throughout the island part of the movie. I have completed beginning and ending scripting, however, the monologue and cut editing needs work and structure. This will be the first movie that I ever wrote a script for. It still remains unusual though in that the footage on the island was all improv. I spent 15 minutes day before yesterday filming my character's half of the conversation post island. I don't think I would count that as a day. The ending will probably take a few hours and that combined I'd call a day. Three days of Island. Two days for beginning and end. However I have spent about a total of 3 days in editing. It took me 2 hours to put together the first teaser trailer. Editing I predict will take another 4-6 days. This also marks the first movie that I ever made taking more than one day. Every other of the 80 films I have on YouTube had a process.
Step 1: Have a scenario and asign characters 5 minutes max
Step 2: Randomly start filming the improv 1-4 hours
Step 3: editing 2-5 hours
Step 4: Uploading 10 minutes
The process was always the same, until of course this movie. I hope people like it a lot better than the other ones. I know the setting is more interested than the same old field or my house or Lukas's house that we always film in. Hopefully this gives it an interesting feel. It's a lot more work than what it looks like. However there is nothing I like doing more. If you have any questions about our videos or my new film "Marooned By An Indian Pimp" feel free to comment below or comment on YouTube. As I said as of this date the movie is not up yet but the first trailer is down below.
Once again this Kel's Insight, hope you learned a little movie makin' today. Keep an eye out for the film!
