Hey all. There is a competition this year I would like to enter. The time limit is 6 minutes. I have a few questions though. (I'm a high school student, btw).

1) How many days (and hours per day) would you spend filming a simple 6 minute film? (actors having learnt script etc..)

2)I currently have a sony DCRHC40E. It can be seen here: http://sonystyle.co.nz/shop_detail.asp?ssid=1644793088&ssm=2791&ssc=2794&sku=DCRHC40E.

I could rent a Sony AG-DX100A or something, but it would cost $200 (new zealand dollars) a day. I'm not so sure I would want to spend this kind of money per day just to film a movie for a high school competition film. If I'm only filming for 2-3 days, I would consider it, maybe. I'd like to buy this camera one day soon, but it won't be in time for the comp.

Any recommendations? Has anyone used the DCRHC40E? The competition organizers said it doesn't really matter what camera you shoot it on (they don't judge the quality), but I really want to submit a quality film.

-Chris

I've filmed a few 6-10 minute shorts for school, and they took about a day each (8am-4pm). As far as quality, I wouldn't rent a new camera, just use good lighting and it should look fine. Also, having an interesting story will make people pay less attention to the way the film looks

the shooting script rule: 1 page = 1 min

with good actors you might get between 3-8 pages of script completed per day. However changes in location, sets, etc. etc. etc. will extend that.

A panasonic DX100A is a good machine if you can afford it. Alternately a Sony PDX10 is about half that per day, and will still offer damn good quality.

I would try not to shoot for more that 8 hours, 16 hours absolute MAX in one session.

and keep your cast and crew reved up and energized with food.

Thanks for the quick replies guys. Yeah, I know the shooting script rule. I have written/directed a few short CG films.

I have another question -- Has anyone tried out the SONY DCR-VX2000? How does this compare to the panasonic AG-DX100A?

Thanks!

-Chris

The DVX100a is in a different league. It has a higher resolution than the VX2000 and the color rendition is far superior. If you have the money to get your hands on a DVX, go for it, otherwise a VX2000 would be a half way decent substitute.

My 5-7 minute shorts took around 2 days with 2-3 hours per day of shooting...

The VX2000 is a great camera but the image quality is like crisp broadcast video. It lacks any sort of frame mode, whereas the DVX100 has a much more filmlike appearance.

The resolution is essentially the same. They are both standard definition miniDV cameras that share the same resolution with other models in that price range (GL2, etc).

Thanks all. Since my shoot will only be two or three days, I may consider renting the panasonic. ($400-600 total). This does seem like a lot for a 6 minute film, but the films are played on a big screen and I want it to look good. I will also consider purchasing it once I've tried it out.

-Chris

That's a pretty decent camera that you already have... I wouldn't drop several hundred dollars on renting a camera when you already have a DV camera. Sure, the picture quality won't be as good as the 3CCD models, but I doubt better picture quality will help you in the competition if your story and acting are weak. Focus on creativity, which is basically free.