Hey guys,
I’m trying to make an a crazy ass movie, my writer called it, “Caved In”, but its a working title and it will change…
Its about uh… this island pretty much… 4 marines are sent to an island to go investigate some disappearances that have occurred… When they get there, they find something that will change their lives forever. They eventually find themselves surrounded by “Test” subjects who are trying to kill them. In this moment, they make a break to a cave where the walls collapse, and they are now stuck in a cave and must depend and live on each other in order to survive. Thats all I really have to say about it. Its a survival drama I guess you could call it. But it needs to get done, its one of those projects that I started and then kinda drifted away from it… back in like 2010 lol. But seriously guys hop on board with me, I wanna bring it back from the dead. We need animators, texture artists, whatever the fuck. Lets make it happen, email me. [email protected]
You uh… kind of lost me… with the ellipses and the I guesses…
Do you know what a tag line is? One sentence, fifteen words or less, that describes the story in such a way that people are convinced they want to watch the movie. You need a tag line.
The good news is that you probably have one buried somewhere in your post. But you need to do the work to dig it out, partly to convince people that you have what it takes to be the producer for that movie you want so badly to make, but mostly because during the process of cutting all the blather down to a minimum, you discover what is important about your project, and lets you focus on the good stuff and avoid the boring fluff.
If you need examples, check the Now Playing section of your local newspaper, or the Movies section of your TV guide.
This sounds like it would be easier to just film live action, in my opinion. You’ll have a ton of work just making environments that you can film ready-made outside. If you “drift away” for 3 years before starting, you’ll probably have a hard time getting everything together within a reasonable time (reasonable meaning the amount of time anyone would volunteer for a project).
But it needs to get done, its one of those projects that I started and then kinda drifted away from it… back in like 2010 lol
You had better not mentioned that one. It sounds like you dont believe in your own project.
And you dont even have a story,… just the idea of 4 marines, which are getting stuck in a cave.
And finally,…
We need animators, texture artists, whatever the fuck
sounds very unprofessional and it also seems you have no idea of what it takes to lead a project for a movie.
Wow. Just realised the volunteer section is full of these kind of ambitious projects. Not trying to be an ass but you are setting your hopes extremely high for the outcome.
Exactly right, Gwedin. And if you search in Finished Projects you’ll find… none of them. That’s why the replies have been, shall we say, skeptical?
This is a classic example of how to NOT get a team to work with you on a project. Poster claims to have a writer… three years ago. He needs a team with all relevant CG skills to realize the project, which implies he has none of these skills himself. He has no history here at BlenderArtists, thus no track record of his own work we can look at to judge his skill level. If he’s got anything, anything at all, to indicate he knows the first thing about producing his movie: log line, script, storyboards, concept art… he doesn’t mention it. And, finally, he’s abandoned this thread, I suppose because he is discouraged by all the skeptics. If a few less than enthusiastic replies is all it takes to discourage him, well, this video will never be made.
As they say in Texas: all hat… no cattle.
Just a few guidelines for what would be good to have
-Website. Is there a website?
-Character names/Personalities/Sketches?
Script, or at least an outline?
-Approx. Length? (30min? 1hr? 2hr?)
-How will we, as the people who work on it, be rewarded?
-Professional tone; not “whatever the fuck”.
-Sound more confident in your post. No more I guesses and ellipses.
That’s all I can think of.
Let’s focus on ONE area of improvement. It can be very intimitating for someone with low energy to get pummeled by all the downsides of the project OR the presentation which sometimes is not the same.
I have been there. I have projects that have hundreds of hours of thinking and finding time in them and they don’t come out because the presentation sucks. And I’m one of these “Anti - lone soldiers” that work like a Steam Train in a team of two and barely crawl when being alone with the project. To illustrate it: 3 hours of teamwork gave me 2 full days of juice to power through stuff. Without team work, draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag.
This approach: “Nice, but do you have a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m…” is discouraging further. It’s called overwhelm.
It’s so easy from the outside to convert every feeble attempt to turn the tides into the baseless dream of a crazy one. And sometimes that’s all it takes to make absolutely sure that the remaining juice evaporates and the project rests another length of time. At least with me it has been that way.
So, what’s one single step towards making it more interesting to the public?
Hm, How about dedicating a very conservative 3 hours per week block time for development? You announce when you will work on it (steady schedule, same weekdays), declare this time and space as untouchable, no one’s to enter or disturb you even IF the house’s on fire and you present the results when you’re done.
I promise to be nice and helpful, trying to use solution based communication instead of criticising every flaw.
Cheers
Haunt
Rereading my post, I realize it came across as really mean. I’m sorry to the OP. Work on it a bit more and I’ll be happy to help. 
Cheers
Haunt[/QUOTE]
Eww, formatting error, sorry. >_<
I tried, haunt_house. Take a look at reply #2. I said he needed a tag line. I explained what a tag line is. I told him why a tag line is important and useful. And I gave him two sources for examples. That was it. No long laundry list of things to do. One thing. And it’s the one thing that professional script writers recommend be done first, before even beginning to write the story.
His response? Crickets.
Quite frankly, as Gwedin noted, these “Join my team and make my movie” posts are a dime a dozen, and worth every penny. Sure, I’m skeptical and that probably came across in the tone of my first post. And I meant to be discouraging, not to him, but to anyone else that might think to get on board with someone who hasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of getting anywhere with this project.
I sympathize, haunt_house, with your need for a team with the attendant deadlines and peer pressure to keep things moving. But I’d suggest you look for someone who has an actual scope of work in mind, other than “let’s git er done! Gyrenes! Survival! Fuck yeah!”
This is the kind of project that, if it begins at all, ends quickly and badly. Don’t waste your time.
(@nopinky: your post was not mean, just realistic.)
Orinoco, your response wasn’t the only one. I have my own projects to build and get respectable. But I still feel bad if I treat others like I get treated. Because with me, the reason are different. Maybe they’re different here as well. Just maybe. I like slim chances if they’re the best option.
Anyway. A new way of approaching the project is the most basic and most needed change here. And most beneficial.
Cheers
Haunt
Possibly, although honestly, just “one” fix isn’t going to carry the project.
Oh, okay. Thanks. ^^
Glad I’m not coming across as a bully.
Very true. That’s why I’d consider it not the only fix, but the first fix. Trying to fix everything at once is, especially if you are left alone, quite possibly a recipe for desaster.
Most people would start building the foundation before building walls & windows & doors & the roof & floors & carpets & stairs & wallpapers & power sockets & plumbing.
It’s good to plan that in, but the first step can be to have a creative time once a week to improve stuff or plan things instead of going into overwhelm.
Cheers
Haunt
P.S.: About wasting time on people: even if Jones doesn’t improve his output, maybe someone else reads this thread and maybe my advice helps. Being negative seldom improves anything. it just poisons the mind.
More power to you Ian. By the way, this is how almost all Hollywood movies are made, but it is usually a more professional pitch for money. And there are many movies made that suck because of this process.
Ian, I would suggest refining your pitch then go pitch to people with money so you can pay the artists.
In the meantime get your script finished.
Good Luck. 