One Film a Month for a Whole Year?! Wow, That's Crazy!!!

First off, Happy fvkn new year! Happy fvkn new decade! I'm excited for the journey I'm embarking on this year...the #BC12for12 challenge that I created for myself.

The #BC12for12 challenge requires me to release 1 film per month, every month during the year of 2020. Yes, I'm releasing 12 films over the course of 12 months like a mad woman.

So what would possess me to do such a thing? Glad you asked! Well, to be honest, I'm not the first to do it. A young bloak named Harry Sherriff did it back in 2016. Here is his interview explaining how he got it done. Read it!

https://directorsnotes.com/2017/03/13/harry-sherriff-12-shorts-12-months/

Although I found it interesting, and even inspiring when I read it, I wasn't quite ready to take the leap. I had convinced myself I wasn't the prolific type, but the idea never really let go of me.

In 2019, I'd taken a grad class about producing, but geared toward directors. What it was really about was how to be a force as an independent, microbudget filmmaker. This is what really lit the fire under my ass. I started looking at filmmaking differently, especially short films.

Before, I always thought, the next one had to be THEE one. The problem with that is, NO FILM IS PERFECT! And if you've invested so much in the process, just to find mistakes, you begin hating the project and consequently find it almost impossible to finish, if you finish.

Also, short films don't make waves in the way that features do, so why invest so much time and money into them? I spent around $3500 on my thesis and guess what, IT'S NOT COMPLETE! It will be, but it ain't as of now. I know of people who've spent upwards of 20k for a short film. 20k?! That's more than I paid for my car.

So I said, eff that! If I know that I'm going to make mistakes, I might as well get as many of them out of the way as possible. Not only that though, there are numerous benefits to doing this.

THE PROS:

I'll have 12 finished films at the end of the year. That's an accomplishment within itself.

I will have a hearty portfolio and substantial footage for a reel, which I can use to shop myself around because, honestly, I want to make money from this.

I'll have learned a crap ton! I'll have learned about myself as a person and a filmmaker, about others, about the craft, and so much more that I can't currently foresee.

I'll have built and nurtured a network. A network of actors, and film crew that I can hopefully call on down the line.

My platform and presence will grow...and for being a filmmaker.

I get to experiment.

I get to hone my voice.

Now, I'm sure there are many more pros, but this is what I could come up with and I think it's enough to stay motivated, but I have to also consider the challenges (not quite cons) that may arise with this.

THE CHALLENGES

Some of the films may be straight garbage.

I may not have time for much else.

I may have to do a lot of things myself.

Finding resources (ie, locations, wardrobe, etc) may be difficult.

Life (ie, trips, family, school, work, etc) may make it harder to stay on schedule.

I only have a freakin' month to finish each film.

I don't have much money to spend on production.

I can't pay cast or crew.

As I look at the challenges, I don't think they're so bad, but planning for the unexpected can be tough. I have however, planned for the unexpected to the best of my ability.

I've created guidelines for myself to ensure that I can get these films done in the time frame of 29 days.

Here are my guidelines:

• KEEP PRODUCTION SMALL!

• Budget ≤$100

• Small Crew!

• NO MORE THAN 4 CHARACTERS

• NO MORE THAN 2 LOCATIONS

• LIMIT SHOOTING TO 1 DAY

• IDEALLY <6 HOURS

• KEEP DIALOGUE MINIMAL.

• MONTHLY SCHEDULE

Week 1 - Finalize Script

Week 2 - Casting, Locations, Crew

Week 3 - Shoot! (No later Than The 20th)

Week 4 - Post production and Uploading

I came up with a lot of these guidelines around November, so I began conceptualizing based on them. I've recorded dozens of ideas so far, some are simply a theme, some are lines of dialogue, and some are much more realized (no scripts as of yet), but the point is, I've been preparing.

So with that said, let me get my butt to work on the first script!

But I'd love your feedback. What do you think? What questions do you have? Let me know.

In the meantime, stay tuned. I'll be posting on IG for sure, so make sure to follow me @brianaclearly

Okay bye!!!