In real terms it would have cost me approx £40-50k

I pulled a few strings, got a few favours and most cast and crew worked for just expenses and food, so it cost me a little less.

Biggest expense was the camera and grip department, followed closely by the lift set which was built in a studio.

I Used an HVX200 and an SGPro with flipper unit.

Edited with Final Cut Pro.

Here's a vid of the camera rig:
youtube.com/watch?v=ieRe_GRPFVI&feature=channel_page

Storyboard and actual film print comparisons

youtube.com/watch?v=5-sRjHvilUM

I used Frame Forge to Pre-Viz the film, made a cut of it, which I liked then went out and got the shots!

Here's some behind the scenes video and stills.
youtube.com/watch?v=KUpP5wB1fOo

Thanks and pass it on!

good picture. Great job !

Nice job there, buddy. I love the comprehensive coverage of pre- and post-production on the website, too.

Looking forward to your next project. :-)

Looking back it was a ridiculous undertaking and I really wish I had the money to have farmed out a lot of the work. 'Tis done now and my next undertaking in narrative film will be a much more scaled down event, I'm thinking 2 actors and 1 location, possibly 3 mins long!

I'm going to Cannes next week to see how it fares in the short film festival there. I'm under no illusion about winning prizes but I would like some feedback.

I have a DVD available that has a ton of extras including behind the scenes video, production stills, Time lapse set build, storyboard comparisons and more!

Thanks!

Fantastic work!

2 actors and 1 location must seem like a pleasant walk on the beach after making that film!

A cut of this film is now on the UK DVD release of Paranormal Activity...Brilliant!

What Stedicam did you use and do you have the setup for this? I have an HVX200 & Redrock, but looking for a great Steadicam that can support it all and is easy to use

Hi. It was a Steadicam Master system owned and operated by Jason Torbitt at Steadi Facilities. Jason is one of the top Steadicam guys in the country and I use him on all my shoots if it's required.

Check him out:

steadicam-facilities.co.uk

I just watched the movie and it was really stunning. I am reading up on prepairing for making my own video's in the future, but a budget of 40-50k is out of the question (did you get sponsors for a part of the amount of money or did you save it up with just normal days job?). Got tips how to start a (scaled-down) project yourself? I know there are plenty of recources on the net, but your movie and effects are the thing i would love to do in the future myself.

Hi Joris, I funded it mostly myself and had some help from an investor to get the film actually in the can. My only tips are really just sit down and work out how on earth you're going to pull off such a huge job on your own, or get people on board who share your passion. My wife helped out a lot during development and pre-production as did my business partner Dave Hallett. I found a great stylist/costume designer Raquel Azevedo who worked very hard to dress all the actors. Take each scene at a time once you have a script and just break it down into each department and then go and find yourself some crew. Finding crew is easier than finding production partners. I have spent probably 15 years learning the software (not just to make this film!) and to a standard where I can make convincing effects. There are hundreds of FX shots in that film and I did them all - it took me 6 months.

If you can't afford to pay people, you just have to do it yourself, if you're passionate about it, you'll put in the hours but this is what it takes to get a good looking film for zero budget - relatively, of course no film is ever zero budget.

I've had lots of little projects this year and I hope to make another film next year with much more emphasis on feeling and cinematography. Watch this space.

Nicely done for a low-budget short. Keep ut the good work:)