The “Get Rich”s can do whatever they like, however, polluting the planet is not the only issue the world faces nor is it the only issue the “Get Free”s are trying to address by building a container home. I must also add there are some businesses who are providing modular buildings/homes made from shipping containers and have been doing so for a number of years who I feel are not “Get Rich”s because they charge a reasonable amount for the end result. So my issue isn’t the commercialization of container buildings/homes, it’s selling something for $500 that cost you $5.

So what brought this on? The same thing that always makes me alert when I’m trying to do something “unconventional’; running into naysayers or people doing the same thing but trying to maintain the status quo. I have not run into any naysayers of yet but recently encountered an individual who is a part of a group of individuals who are very much trying to capitalize off of container home building. However, I won’t entertain the situation too long. I’d rather use this post to encourage the “Get Free”s to continue on their path and do what’s necessary to “Get Free”.

My interaction with a “Get Rich” gave me incentive to search the web for container home projects made for what I would consider a reasonable cost. This was hard to do because there are few with a website that actually exist (sure there are tons of container home sites, but you will notice 99% of them are all computer renderings of what could be while the rest do not list building costs). So I will do the best I can to list all costs for my container home. I’ll declare $20k to be my budget for this project.

I felt this needed to be addressed because I’ve seen this before in two of the creative areas in which I operate. The first being the music industry. A music contract is nothing more than a high interest loan to fund a musician’s career and I’ve also witnessed many an individual go bankrupt buying studio equipment they thought they needed to be “real”. All that is really needed in a studio is a room with great acoustics, a great microphone and a reliable medium upon which to record. The only reason I didn’t fall into that same trap when I created my own home studio is because I am a performing musician and I knew creating a great sound had nothing to do with any type of studio equipment. Next there was and still is the filmmaking community’s obsessive need to spend obscene amounts of money on films. The emergence of high quality prosumer camera’s should have made filmmaking seriously cheap for independent filmmakers and it did, if you chose to see it for what it is. But the majority still insists on spending large amounts of money on films in order to be “real”. It’s as ridiculous as someone saying, “hey, this diamond is yours for $2″ and someone saying “no way, I’ll buy it for $2000″.

An even better example is when I went to Ghana in 2002. Trading to obtain goods and services is a big part of the culture and economic atmosphere there. While there, I pretty much traded my whole wardrobe for a new one. The outfits there were so beautiful, I was buying them for myself and people I know back in the states. The African outfits were costing me anywhere from $10-20 for dresses, skirt and pants sets. My roommate even had a designer come in, fit her and make her an outfit and that still only cost about $40. When walking in the cities you can see scores of women working on those old cast iron black and gold Singer sewing machines and they were making the most amazing clothes.

I get back to the States and what I or my family and friends can’t fit, I decided to sell for about $5-10 more than what I paid for the outfits. After some time I was wondering why on earth they weren’t selling. These clothes were amazing! A couple I’d met a while back came over and I asked them what they thought. They go to Ghana several times a year and have an automotive business there. The woman quite simply said, “You aren’t charging enough.” I was surprised. Of course I wasn’t charging a lot because I didn’t pay a lot for them. She said “I know, but if you don’t charge enough, people won’t think they are authentic.” I was in disbelief. I reluctantly raised the prices between $150-400 and people bought them! I was disturbed. The same happened with the wooden masks I brought back. It is just a wild bit of conditioning. And it’s also this conditioning that makes it too easy to find yourself drowning in debt and/or being taken to the cleaners financially.

Being an IT professional, I can say that I’ve made what I consider a lot of money over the years, however it has not lead me to the life I desire. In taking a moment to look at where all that money has gone, it has gone mostly to “acceptable costs and debt”. That is unacceptable to me. These acceptable costs and debts include, unreasonable apartment rental rates (and now having been a landlord myself, those rates seem even more unreasonable), mortgage payments on an unreasonable loan amount, car payments (I’ve only had one car loan in my life because I’ve always driven older cars I could buy right out and the interest rate on the loan I had with Toyota was 17%!), bank fees, utility bills (I’ve had heating bills in the winter be $500+ before), and expensive supermarket food. These are things most of us can’t do without. I just feel at this point, we can make better choices over what we pay for, even for the necessities.

This realization is important to anyone who is trying to not only live without causing distress to their environment but who are also trying to improve their own personal existence by eliminating debt, having more access to the money they are working for and needing to work less and spend more time on the people and activities they love. Period.

On the plane to Ghana, there were two Ghanaian men on the plane handcuffed; on the far side of them, a law officer. I got the impression they were being deported. About mid flight, I looked over in their direction and one of the men smiled a big toothy grin at me and waved. He then attempted to get my phone number. I laughed, both handcuffed men laughed and the tour operator laughed. This was my first encounter with the jovial nature of the Ghanaian, however odd a situation it was.

When I stepped off the plane in Ghana the first thing I thought was “Wow! I’m in Africa.” I felt like I was in a dream. Not because I felt Africa or any other place for that matter is mystical but because I was “out in the world”. We made our way out of the airport and I noticed law officers standing around with machine guns. I wouldn’t see another gun or police officer for the rest of the trip until we returned to the airport.

Now let me cut through the chase about the hotels, etc. because for me travel isn’t all about hotel stays and sight seeing. Bottom line, all of our hotels were fantastic no matter what the star ratings were; some of them offering the most spectacular views of jungle canopies one could imagine. Often, we were personally greeted by the hotel owners themselves and the staff were very welcoming. We were treated like Queens the entire time; never having to carry our own luggage and on occasion having entire dinning rooms to ourselves. The tour company we used, Landtours Ghana, is owned and operated by an African American woman and her Ghanaian husband.

All of our meals were included in the trip package and we ate at some of the best local restaurants; sometimes even having the entire place to ourselves (which I admit, doesn’t really bring me joy). However, our tour was also not very typical. We’d met other African Americans on tour in Ghana while there and they were not having as personal a time there as we were. They were truly just “touring” while were were making real connections and “experiencing” Ghana. The only downside to our trip was that on some level we were being hustled. I’m not sure who was organizing the hustle but there were one too many times when we were being asked to give money for some cause (in closed “setup” setting, not on the street). To make matters worse, it was a hustle to support blind plans to increase tourism that have a devastating effect on the ecological and social landscapes of Ghana. We could already see the negative effects tourism was having on Ghana. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like if it increased; but whatever. We grinned, bared, and resisted the hustle.

We did notice that petty crime was handled on a more grassroots level. We did see unarmed security guards at strip malls but they seem to be there simply to shoo away people trying to sell you stuff. One day someone was getting the smack down on the side of a minivan (a preferred method of travel for the average Joe) from a small group of people. It was determined that he’d stolen something from someone in the van. Apparently a few slaps about the head from victims is an acceptable way to handle petty crime. *Smile*

I was reminded recently about the importance of sharing knowledge. Although I’m not a big Hollywood filmmaker (by choice), that doesn’t mean that my methods and particularly my early methods of filmmaking are of no use to anyone. So I decided to write a post about how I filmed my first documentary. Hopefully this post with help anyone trying to get started in filmmaking with little or no money.

First things first… Back in 2002, I impulsively decided to film a documentary on Black Homosexuality covering topics I felt were important. I don’t even remember what motivated this decision. All I know is that in the end I had a three volume documentary and a trip to Ghana, West Africa.

Over the years I’d acquired a great deal of information on most of the subjects I was going to cover so I felt I was doing a story about something I was already very familiar with. Then I put an ad on Craigslist and tons and tons and tons of Yahoo Groups. I also connected with a local group for LGBT people of color. Hooking up with this group was what jump started my project. There were my first interviewees. I was also able to get a few people from my ads on Graigslist and the Yahoo groups. A gentleman who answered my Cragislist ad was hosting an after party for an annual conference dealing with the issues of black gay men. He invited me to this party and set me up in one of his bedrooms where party-goers could come up and do an interview. This was just what I needed. They would come in, sign a release form and sit down for an interview. Easy as pie.

I interviewed a straight woman who was raised by a lesbian mother which added a different dimension to the film. I also interviewed a woman in D.C. because at the time, I was going to D.C. a lot to visit my cousin. The woman I interviewed in D.C. was an older lesbian who had a lot of information to add about being a lesbian in the 70′s and also spoke about the gay issue in regards to Africa. She took a group of black women to Africa twice a year. The first trip was a “Welcome Home” trip and the second was always a medical relief trip where supplies and help would be brought to villages in need. So after I was done filming, I went to Africa with one of her groups. This helped me see for myself the atmosphere in which homosexuals in Ghana lived. One couldn’t speak for the whole of Africa but it was interesting to be able to report on the one place.

What I really want to share in this article is information about what equipment I used because this seems to be what keeps people from making the films they want to make. You must understand that everyone has to crawl before they walk. Do not be ashamed of growth.

I filmed my three volume documentary on a Panasonic PV DV100. At the time, this was a $400 camcorder I bought at Devil-Mart (Wal-Mart). I wanted three things in particular out of a camera: Manual Focus, an External Mic Jack and a Firewire Port. This camera had it, I went with it. I also bought a $3 external shotgun mic on Ebay. Actually it was this Sima SZM but it was being offered for cheap on Ebay. I bought a bunch of MiniDV tapes and gathered up a couple of those “burn your face off” halogen work lights from Home Depot.

Here is the trailer from the film: Shades of Love: Black Homosexuality

The interesting thing about this is, at the time you have to understand that I did this on impulse and didn’t approach it with the same limitations that one may put on themselves if they were waiting for say the “right” camera, the “right” mic, the “perfect” whatever. Even on my limited knowledge this doc still came out pretty good. Also, at the time, I only used Adobe Premier and it wasn’t very sophisticated. I wouldn’t even touch Adobe After Effects.

If I knew then what I know now about editing, this film would have looked a lot better than it does using the same equipment. Had I learned Adobe After Effects then, I could have fixed 99% of the problems I have in this video; color correction in particular.

So my advice to you would be to use what equipment you already have and what you can afford and spend more time making sure you have well composed shots (i.e. no talking heads in the center of the frame), all the B-Roll footage you need, clear audio (this wasn’t an issue on this film), and learn how to effectively use Adobe After Effects for color correction and camera movement.

The biggest differences between my first film and my new films are:
1. More pauses between answers to interview questions which is necessary for editing
2. More B-Roll footage so the entire film doesn’t consist of “Talking Heads”
3. Color Correction, color correction, color correction
4. Better shot composition
5. Professional camera movement (created in Adobe After Effects)

Although I did end up upgrading my equipment, I still have and use my old camera. But the point is, upgrade when its time to and when you can afford to but don’t let equipment keep you from making great films. I could have just as easily bought a more expensive camera and made terrible films with it.

In addition, don’t be afraid to make your film whatever you want it to be. For instance, if it’s “too long” make it more than one volume. These do well when selling to academic institutions. It is helpful to plan to sell to academic institutions anyway. There is always some Humanities or Social Science class out there in need of good documentary media for learning. If you don’t want to add music, then don’t. Just make sure your documentary contains interesting information. I noticed on some HBO documentaries they will have an entire doc without any background music and its just as captivating. You can too!

In Summary:
If you have little or no money, you can still make a great documentary film. Buy, borrow, or rent a camera and mic you can afford. Learn how to use it well and learn it’s limitations. Decide what story to film and put out free ads on Craigslist, Yahoo Groups, MySpace, etc. Once you get responses, schedule interview times and places and shoot your film. Be sure to compose your shots well. There are many sites online that will tell you how to compose shots. It’s pretty easy. Be sure to light your interviewees well. This is critical. Lighting can ruin an entire film. I would not recommend using the Halogen lights I used but you can if it is all you have. Just use light sources that will allow you to light the subject pretty well with little or no harsh shadows (I don’t like them). When the film is shot, cut it in Adobe Premier or an editing program of your choice and rock it in Adobe After Effects. The best site to learn how to use Adobe After Effects is VideoCopilot.net. Once you are done, burn it to DVD, promote it, sell it, share it!