The Company We Share
The Company We Share, isn't it time you found out who your friends are?
Fortress Empire Entertainment
TCWS
THE COMPANY WE SHARE a Keith Jackson Production written produced and directed by Keith Jackson with Greg Vega as 1st AD and many other fantastic people who helped make Keith's awesome story come to life was made with no-budget and at the time we thought this was the coolest thing about it. The reason we thought it was so cool was because we had gone above and beyond what anyone else we knew was doing in getting their film made.
We found better ways
of doing expensive type things like special effects and live action stunts for little or no money. THE COMPANY WE SHARE is a quality Indie film with currently no sponsors. This is why you need to know how this no budget feature was made because if you think it’s cool to be able to make a film with no-budget, think again.
No-budget
means you probably paid for most of whatever it took to produce the film in the first place. Let’s face it, you may not have to pay actors who are willing to work for additions to their reel or even crew who are willing to work for experience or even locations who can get so excited about Camera, Lights, and Action.
However, there are many other costs which don’t seem that bad at the time but when you look back you wish someone else took care of that. I will not list all those other cost for the sake of not boring you with my tedious writing but the bottom line is that there is no such thing as a no-budget film project. Just because you didn’t account for expenses doesn’t mean it cost nothing to make your film. Our no-budget feature was made in this way.
Looking back
having gain valuable experience from this first feature project I know for sure the next one will have a budget; a real budget that will drive me to get sponsors, grants and donations. The reason I would do this differently is that with a budget you are making a totally different kind of statement with your film. You are saying this is serious enough to get others to buy in. If you can get others to buy in at this stage you won’t be at the stage we are in right now with our no-budget Indie project. We have no buy in at the moment. That does not mean it will never happen but it really would have made a big difference if we had sponsors. I am sure everyone who worked on the project would agree but who knew at the time? The beauty of growing pains leaves scars which later I will appreciate and use as a reminder but for the time being I settle for honking my horn.
It’s a good lesson
to learn but we wished we didn’t have to learn it on a film that we believed had so much value. It’s one thing when your first project is kind of crappy but THE COMPANY WE SHARE is not crappy. It’s full of angles and sequences and action scenes and music and talent that most newcomers would have taken years to develop. We took this first project to a whole new level for new comers but we missed something and it hurt the project. We still believe and hopefully someone will see this and see the same thing we see in it and move it forward.
The Kicker
To be successful with an independant project like The Company We Share, get sponsors, get buy in to your vision. Adding those sponsors on your media kit will give your project more credibility and other prospective sponsors might be more motivated to work with you. It’s not enough if you did a fantastic job on your first film. This one critical first step is important if you want others to see your work. Learn from experience like we did on this project. Also be weary of everything you read, just because it happened to someone does not mean it applies to you. If it’s helpful, great, if it’s not, get what you need somewhere else; that’s the beauty of the internet.
-Greg Vega
Update
The above was written at that time just coming off one of the biggest projects of my life. A lot has changed in the industry since then. It looks like now anyone with a decent phone can call themselves a director, put the camera on a passerby and create a reality TV show called "People Walking" and Bang! there's an audience for it, a channel somewhere for sure. It's an amazing time for anyone who loves this art form. The way social media and the internet work today I think if you just have enough money for a decent camera and a data plan you may be on your way to a big hit…However, if you don't have a Keith Jackson or Greg Vega or all the other dedicated special talent we had, well….who knows.
-Greg Vega
We found better ways
of doing expensive type things like special effects and live action stunts for little or no money. THE COMPANY WE SHARE is a quality Indie film with currently no sponsors. This is why you need to know how this no budget feature was made because if you think it’s cool to be able to make a film with no-budget, think again.
No-budget
means you probably paid for most of whatever it took to produce the film in the first place. Let’s face it, you may not have to pay actors who are willing to work for additions to their reel or even crew who are willing to work for experience or even locations who can get so excited about Camera, Lights, and Action.
However, there are many other costs which don’t seem that bad at the time but when you look back you wish someone else took care of that. I will not list all those other cost for the sake of not boring you with my tedious writing but the bottom line is that there is no such thing as a no-budget film project. Just because you didn’t account for expenses doesn’t mean it cost nothing to make your film. Our no-budget feature was made in this way.
Looking back
having gain valuable experience from this first feature project I know for sure the next one will have a budget; a real budget that will drive me to get sponsors, grants and donations. The reason I would do this differently is that with a budget you are making a totally different kind of statement with your film. You are saying this is serious enough to get others to buy in. If you can get others to buy in at this stage you won’t be at the stage we are in right now with our no-budget Indie project. We have no buy in at the moment. That does not mean it will never happen but it really would have made a big difference if we had sponsors. I am sure everyone who worked on the project would agree but who knew at the time? The beauty of growing pains leaves scars which later I will appreciate and use as a reminder but for the time being I settle for honking my horn.
It’s a good lesson
to learn but we wished we didn’t have to learn it on a film that we believed had so much value. It’s one thing when your first project is kind of crappy but THE COMPANY WE SHARE is not crappy. It’s full of angles and sequences and action scenes and music and talent that most newcomers would have taken years to develop. We took this first project to a whole new level for new comers but we missed something and it hurt the project. We still believe and hopefully someone will see this and see the same thing we see in it and move it forward.
The Kicker
To be successful with an independant project like The Company We Share, get sponsors, get buy in to your vision. Adding those sponsors on your media kit will give your project more credibility and other prospective sponsors might be more motivated to work with you. It’s not enough if you did a fantastic job on your first film. This one critical first step is important if you want others to see your work. Learn from experience like we did on this project. Also be weary of everything you read, just because it happened to someone does not mean it applies to you. If it’s helpful, great, if it’s not, get what you need somewhere else; that’s the beauty of the internet.
-Greg Vega
Update
The above was written at that time just coming off one of the biggest projects of my life. A lot has changed in the industry since then. It looks like now anyone with a decent phone can call themselves a director, put the camera on a passerby and create a reality TV show called "People Walking" and Bang! there's an audience for it, a channel somewhere for sure. It's an amazing time for anyone who loves this art form. The way social media and the internet work today I think if you just have enough money for a decent camera and a data plan you may be on your way to a big hit…However, if you don't have a Keith Jackson or Greg Vega or all the other dedicated special talent we had, well….who knows.
-Greg Vega
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