Filmmaker Dianne ‘shit has got to change’ Bell recently posted her thoughts on why some indie films ‘aren’t very good at all’ in ‘Six Mistakes that Will Sink Your Film’.
The six mistakes are:
- The script isn’t very good
- The budget/schedule are over-ambitious
- The director decides to take on every job
- The casting is cynical
- You don’t tech scout
- Great camera package, but no budget for production design
Here’s what she says about production design:
“It doesn’t matter what fancy camera you use, if what you put in front the camera is ugly, it will look ugly. Get a cheaper camera and spend money on the interiors that you are going to shoot in, and I swear your film will benefit from it. Take time to really think about the color palette of your film. Too often low budget indies are shot in friends’ homes with little thought or care about the palettes of the interiors and they suffer for it.”
Talking about colour palettes, see the excellent Movies in Color and Roxy Radulescu‘s thoughts on the power of colour.
My take: I agree with Dianne. Personally, I like films with a point (otherwise they’re pointless) and upbeat endings (don’t waste my time with a depressing ending.) And anything that highlights film’s plasticity — temporally or spatially, etc.