Written by Patrick VanZandtAbout five years ago I started writing what would become my feature film debut, Addy Daddy. I was a junior in college and had only written one other feature script before, but this was the one I was actually going to make. My goal was to use the budget for my student thesis film to make a “real” movie; a feature film that could unquestionably play in theaters. A film that looked, sounded and felt way more expensive than it was. In hindsight, I think I was about 95 percent successful in doing this—maybe that is why Addy Daddy got selected to screen in the main competition at Dances With Films, arguably the best indie film festival in Los Angeles, ranked as one of the top 10 film festivals in the United States by USA Today.Most times when I see a video or article from a well-known director offering advice to first-time filmmakers, it’s some super vague thing like, “just keep making films,” or “you can shoot anything on a phone nowadays”. But it’s obviously way more complicated than that, so I’m going to try my best to explain exactly how I did this. To be clear, I’m not a necessarily well-known director. I have no idea if my film will even be successful or if I’ll ever make another. I really have no idea what I’m talking about, and that’s actually going to be the main point here: if you’re making your first feature on a...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Friday, 14 June, 2024