Filmmaking with Obstacles

[The Silver Bullet]

On Saturday I'm starting a project where I have to make ten short films in ten weeks, overcoming obstacles set by readers of my blog [and other people too]. The idea was inspired by  The Five Obstructions, the new film from Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth.

Read the blog entry, and if you have any ideas for obstacles or themes, let me know.

[meatwad]

obstacle: only one person can be in the film, and the theme is:love

or

obstacle: the camera can not move at all. Always has to be on a tripod


i can't think of anything else at the moment

[Link]

I dig the idea

[mutinyco]

You're a fool if you're intentionally creating obstacles for yourself. You're going to run into enough of them as is.

[coffeebeetle]

I disagree.  If nothing else, it forces the filmmaker to sharpen their handling of crisis.  Plus it does sound fun and quite challenging.

[mutinyco]

If that's what your experience tells you, then believe that.

[The Silver Bullet]

Oh, shut up! Who cares?

[mutinyco]

The point is, it's a clever idea and I wish you luck. But with no money and no real production you should keep things as simple as possible. Seriously. Things will complicate themselves enough without making 10 films all with different handicaps. It's just advice to take or leave.

[coffeebeetle]

If that's what your experience tells you, then believe that.

I have no experience.

But it sounds like something I will try.

[mutinyco]

Good. Don't listen. The only way to learn is to try things for yourself. Experiment. But don't be so brash as to completely ignore advice.

[The Silver Bullet]

At the risk of sounding arrogant, I've made enough short films with no time and no money to know what I'm doing. I'm not out there shooting with a VHS-C or anything.

By the way, Mutinyco, that "shut up" wasn't aimed only at you.

[mutinyco]

You are sounding arrogant. Doesn't matter who you were telling to shut up. You're coming off as an asshole. In that case, here's an obstacle for you to overcome: yourself.

[The Silver Bullet]

What the Hell? You come in here telling me that I'm "a fool if you're intentionally creating obstacles for yourself." Someone disagrees, you say "then believe that", and the whole thread looks set to go down the usual road of:

"Think that then."
"Okay then, I will."
"Good."
"Good."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Idiot."
"Asshole."

And I tried to stop it before it happened, that's all.

I have enough experience to want to try and do this, and you automatically assume that I'm either not experienced enough to do it, or that it's beyond my technical capabilities. So be it.

It doesn't matter. Let's just get on with things.

[mutinyco]

Okay. It's dead. I love to be proved right.

[The Silver Bullet]

I love to be proved right.

Yeah, that.