Making Andy
Being an actor requires a lot of patience. There is a ton of competition for very few roles and a lot of waiting around for a job. Sometimes the best solution is to do it yourself.
Want to make a movie? With Hollywood in thrall to big finance, there are more opportunities for indie films to make their mark. It’s not easy, but there is an abundance of creative talent and digital has made the whole thing a lot easier and cheaper, unless you are planning a film needing a lot of action and/or computerised special effects. That technology can get very expensive.
Currently we are in Production on an Independent film ~ ANDY, an AI story. A few years ago, I wrote and produced and (of course) acted in a short film ABOUT ANDY, a short film about an AI carer, who comes to stay and look after a woman, who needs home care.
The new film is that story expanded. Humanoid AI robots becoming carers for those who need them, will be a reality in our not too distant future. And as the technology develops, as it is doing, very quickly, these robots, who will look exactly like humans will develop the ability to act like us, speak like us, work for us, look after us and befriend us. They will be giving us some measure of companionship and possibly ease the loneliness, another big scourge of our modern world. The big question is – will they eventually be able to feel and empathise with us. This is the question our film ANDY asks and how will that work out?
Shooting ANDY with two cameras
If you want to go into indie filmmaking, is always good to start off by making short films. I did and thoroughly enjoyed the whole process. It’s fast, it’s relatively cheap and you can learn a lot about filmmaking, how to think on your feet, be flexible and work in a real team – cast and crew. And you can easily release your short on YouTube, build an audience and get feedback. It’s a great way to learn the process, because making a feature length film is a whole other story – you need serious talent, serious money and serious planning. Ie: Production skills and the experience.
With actress Beverly Hills in ANDY
I will write more about making and acting in ANDY and Indie filmmaking in the next blog. Till then!
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