I will be in Production with the film called The Crucible. Taken from the play, The Crucible. I obtained rights to use it and change some things around so it is all good. If any filmmaker would like to help, we will be shooting in mid Jan. I need a foley artist, a key grip, a camerman, and maybe an A.D. We will be shooting some scenes in West Virginia, Kentucky, and PA. If anyone is interested please post something on this topic. Thanks

how did you manage to acquire the rights to that play?

Well, I had help from a friend. A director I know that directs school plays helped me out a good bit. He just sent my letter to a company in NY. They were speaking back and forth and they needed to speak to the actual director, myself. I actually went to NY, to have a meeting with the reps. from the company, and told them my plans for this production. They agreed to let me have the rights. Did the paper work and gave them a good amount of money on a check. They wanted 30% on all of my money that the film gets me. So, yeah. Lots of paper work and money. But its worth it b/c i believe this production will be a wonderful experience. We built a set in Kentucky. We built part of a village(cabins) and whatnot. In West Virgina, we built the actual town of salem. We'll use that set and an already existing historical town built in the early 17's. And in PA, we will be using a wonderful, old church that we found location scouting. It sits back in the woods, which is perfect for the film. Alot of researching went into the preproduction for this film. I'm very excited if ya can't tell!

that sounds pretty intense. Whats your budget? and can you share some of the tech specs about the production?

Too bad you live so far away - i just portrayed Rev. Hale in my college's production of it one month ago. Good luck w/ it. Do it justice and don't lose sight of all the underlying political messages. There's multiple levels to work there.

wow..sounds like a huge deal. i would see what i could do to help out, but i'm probably shooting a movie in that same time period.

the crucible is a great story, and like jeff said...lots of levels to work on.

i was also wondering the same things as jdunn555. about budget and tech specs..all that.

sounds good, good luck!

Well, i've been saving up for awhile to give the company in new york its check. That was $1100. I had to give it to them by Nov. 28, or they would have taken me off of their list.

Since the Salem set was going to be the most expensive set, building it in West Virginia was a must. The salem set was about $17,000 to build and $3,000 to install fireplaces. We have 5 cabins, all ranging from a cabin having a kitchen, a fireplace in a small room for the parents to sleep, and an upstairs that leads to the childrens room. There are about 2 that are like that. One cabin like that is for John Proctor. Another is for Abigal Williams. And the third one I wasn't sure if we needed Rev. Parris to have his own, full cabin. Then I realized that he did. So, for the rest of the cabins, we just have a kitchen, and a visible fireplace. We will be using a court room that was already built in a historical park. So, thankfully, we don't have to spend much on that.
We will be shooting around Jan. 16. We will start in PA and get all of the church scenes finished. That will most likely take 2 weeks to shoot. We will be taking a 6, 15 passenger vans that will take the cast and crew up to the sets. We will be spending 2 nights up in a motel in PA(Weekend). Then, after those nights, we will just be going up there for a few hours every other day to finish up shooting. The motel has been gracious enough to take almost 3/4 of the price off, since its such a big group and I told them they would be in the credits. ( Go to a motel where it isn't francised! You get good things there.)
In Kentucky, we built just a couple cabins there. I loved the location and the way it looked. Just had a eerie feeling to it as if it were inhabited by witches. We will be using that set for the scene wehre the girls dance and what not. That will only take a weekend to shoot.
We then will be in West Virginia, hopefully on schedule, and start shooting the whole Salem scenes by Feb. 16. That set will be the main part of the film. Where everything happens. Most of the confrontations, and whatnot. It will also be the place with the hangings.
We will be renting a Swiss Jib Crane, Steadicam ProVid System, and a dolly.
This film roughly has/will cost me about $30,000. ALOT of it has been paid with great funding. Lots of local businesses believed in me. Lots of friends and family as well.
Yay! I'm excited!

how old are you again?

We need details - i gotta know, how did you acquire $30,000 for a student film...when there was a recent Hollywood version done? What are you planning on doing with this when you are done? Is there a particular reason you chose the crucible? I'm happy for ya, just a lil confused It's totally unexpected. good luck with it, keep us informed, and for god sake set up a site with daily updates! When do you start filming? What cameras are you shooting with? Do you have it fully cast already? How much time are you dedicating to rehearsals?