"CALL GIRL" COMPLETE!

Just completed "CALL GIRL" 

The idea for this film came around Jan 10th, then I cast, raised a little money online, and the post production is now complete. I'm uploading it now for the cast, and the small group of backers to see. It will then be released online tomorrow for free. My date is a little later than planned because January got off to a slower start because of the holidays, so I will release it online tonight after 12pm UK time. 

I have done three features. "Call Girl" is the first short film (29 minutes) Like every film, I learned a lot. It's a never ending learning process. I have been trying to create a personal model with the "City Of Sin" destination for my films. The indie film industry and many other creative industries are all looking for a model today. The smart one's know there really is no mass model that works for everybody.

I think the key is simply about about creating good work on a regular basis, and build your fan base. And be open to other opportunities that come from that too. Or of course, try and get a job in the industry if you want that. 

My "City Of Sin" idea is purely a model that I see working for me personally. However, it has a few flaws. Which I knew would happen, but I like to experiment to find out what parts work for me, and what parts don't. So I will continue with the "City Of Sin" branded destination for my work, but there will be a few changes. Which I will blog about tonight when I release the film. 

Thanks for reading.

David
http://www.cityofsinworld.com

"CALL GIRL" RELEASE

CALL GIRL SHOOT

I always try to push this micro-no budget filmmaking approach to the edge, so my first "Call Girl" short shoot was just too ambitious for a 20 minute film. Basically, I tried to shoot the whole film in one evening and through to the early hours. 

It would have been possible if I had started early in the morning in that day, but most of the film is set at night, so I had to go back for another full evening the following week. But at least people could see I had started. I had some images, so I managed to raise a small amount of money to shoot another evening. The whole film took about 20 hours to shoot. That's still very fast by filmmaking standards for making a 20-25 minute film. 

I knew this first "City Of Sin" debut film would be the toughest, as I was working with around half the money I needed, but I felt it was important to get this first film rolling no matter what. I had a great cast who were fully behind it, so they helped to make it fun. I also have to thank the small group of online backers and retweeters for helping make it happen. 

Vanessa-May Dolphin & Stephen Brady "Call Girl" 2013

This first film will have some flaws, be a little rough around the edges, have some minor sound issues, However, I have started! I would rather be the type of person that gets things moving with work that is a little flawed out of the gate, than have those perfect masterpieces in my head that never leave the gate. I have started the ball, so I'm not going to stop. I'm confident each film will get better through the year. 

"CALL GIRL" RELEASE

I had hoped to finish the edit by last night, but once again, I sometimes aim too high. The story for this film didn't even exist just over two weeks ago. Writing it, casting, raising the funds, and shooting in this time frame is not bad. So I'm cutting myself a little slack. Especially when the beginning of this month was a little slow to get rolling because of the holiday period. 

This experience has proved to me that I can come up with a fresh idea, shoot, post, and release within a month. I will hit the release date with the next film. If I had £250 more in the budget, "Call Girl" would have been released today. Simply because that's the cost of a sound recorder I used on SCREEN. Without that, my sound has taken double the amount of time to sort out. 

Next months goal is to also get one of those H4N recorders. I also want to try and get my own camera in the months ahead. If I have the kit, I will be unstoppable. I'm determined to make this work. I know how to move faster each month, because of the lessons learned on this one. It's doable. 

I enjoy creating this way, so I'm continuing with it. This first film could help roll the others. I already have a couple of sponsors interested for the next film, and hopefully people that see the film might give a $1 or few to help fund the next. 

The film will be finished by this saturday. It gets released to backers first. The next day, it flies out there to the web! Anybody can see it sunday. No bullshit! I want to build an audience for my work, so this is how I want to do it. I enjoying creating this way much better. This approach ticks a lot of boxes for me, so I plan to give it at least 12 months to see how it goes. 

BEHIND THE SCENES

I will get better with social media, and all my behind scenes content as the months go on. This goal is just as important as the filmmaking, because I know people also follow and support people. However, because I shot so so fast on this first film, I could barely get any behind scenes footage. And because my edit deadline is so tight, I have barely been online in the last week. 

My plan for next month and the future films is to get a crew member that solely deals with all this type of content for me. I give them details what to shoot, questions to ask, and then I will drip out all that content.  I'm learning it all as I roll with all this. I will get the hang of it in the weeks, months ahead. 

I will release some behinds video this weekend, after I get the edit of the film finished. I will also get some cast interviews released. I had no crew. 

Ok that's enough for anybody that is listening to my shit. I hope you are all doing well. I look forward to a little twitter time to see what's happening with everybody else. 

Thanks for reading and thanks for all the support

All the best

David

http://www.cityofsinworld.com

https://twitter.com/davidpbaker

"CALL GIRL" SHOOTS!

I'm attempting to make and release one film every month under the "City Of Sin" brand. Basically urban set stories in various cities in the UK, then USA, and eventually Europe. For the moment, my focus is purely on one film at a time. "Call Girl" is the first film in the slate. 

"CALL GIRL" 

Chloe works as a Call Girl in the city. She has worked for Ray for the past five years. She wants a change. Technology and attitudes are changing the world, so she wants to evolve and move with it. She also has problems with a stalker who is beginning to creep her out. She considers one last job that might solve her problems in the "City Of Sin". The film stars Vanessa-May Dolphin & Stephen Brady. With support from Paul Reeves. 

SHOOTING WITHOUT A BUDGET

When I announced I wanted to try and get the ball rolling on this, I got a few people offering paypal donations to fund the first one. I started moving with it, but when I called in the pledges, less than half actually materialised. It was christmas and new year, so I fully understand January is not a good time for people. I know people can have good intentions, so I understand. EVERYBODY is looking for money. 

However, I had already got the ball rolling based on pledges, so I still had to move because I had taken money from people that did donate to me. In turn, it was a VERY tough shoot, as I only had half the budget I needed. I needed a full weekend shoot, and I shot about 14 hours for a 20 minute film. 

I am a guy that makes films for nothing. Even on the other side of the world. I always push myself, but this time it was really pushing it with so many scripted scenes with lots of dialogue. Despite this, I have 80% of the film shot, but I need to shoot another evenings worth in the city flat this weekend to make it work. I need to raise exactly £300 ( Just under $500) If you can help, check out here. 

If I can do that, I can still deliver the film online by the 31st. ( 30th  Jan for backers) I also have some potential sponsors interested for the next one or two films, so this first one really could get the ball rolling. And of course, I'm giving "Call Girl" for free, so hopefully people might donate a little after they see it to fund the next one.

If I can get three or four films done, I'm in a better position for a spring kickstarter campaign for the US shoot, or I could go back to some investors that were interested. They just want to see I can make and release a film a month. Either way, my goal is to keep it simple. Shoot and release a film a month! 

After making three features over years, I now want to experiment, be a lot more prolific, and completely use the web-mobile devices to get my work to people. If I build an audience like many youtubers do, then I will also extend some of these films, have characters we saw before cross into other stories.

BEHIND THE SCENES FOOTAGE

I didn't really get any behind the scenes stuff on this shoot, because we had so little time. But I have a good bit of time scheduled for it if I can get the reshoot done. I also plan to bring somebody on all the next films, just to focus on shooting all the behind scenes content for me. I do know how important that is, as I do believe people like to see this too. If I build this like I believe I can, then I guess that is a story on it's own. I also want to promote all the people that work on my films in many ways. If I promote them, they in turn promote the latest film and the "City Of Sin" site.

SHARE "EXPERIENCE"

I have done three features films. but I also learned so much this weekend. I am setting up a section in my City Of Sin website to share a lot of the stuff I learn. Not to share advice, just to share how I am doing it. People can then decide for themselves if they can take anything from it. The small successes and failures that lie ahead. The arrow above points out where this section will be soon on the Rebel Mouse page on my website. 

CAN I DO A FILM A MONTH?

I think I can do a film a month, and I can see the potential for these characters and stories to go further too, but I just need to get this train rolling. I really feel this is the new way to do it for me personally. I can build something special and unique here. But of course, we all need support at the start. 

I NEED SOME BACKERS TO FINISH "CALL GIRL"

If you want to donate to help finish "Call Girl", check out the perks  on the website. You can get a credit in the film, on IMDB, or you can even APPEAR in the film from ANYWHERE in the world. You could also sponsor the video section. 

BACKERS EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

I will always share most of my content with everybody, but I also want to show backers some videos first. There's a couple of videos online at this minute at the EXCLUSIVE ACCESS area on the website and on a sub page below that. CONTENT FROM FILM Backers should already have the password I sent. 

Thanks for following my project. Many thanks to my cast and Robert for the commitment to the film. They were all great! 

David

http://www.cityofsinworld.com

David Paul Baker
https://twitter.com/davidpbaker

Vanessa-May Dolphin
https://twitter.com/V_M_Dolphin

Stephen Brady
http://www.facebook.com/digbreamer?fref=pb

Paul Reeves
https://twitter.com/Paul_A_Reeves