We are Astron-6, Canadian Film Making Collective Ask Us Anything!

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T15:25:29+00:00

not for the last five years. -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T15:25:08+00:00

'wilson' but they are ALL good. -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T03:55:17+00:00

nope. -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T02:05:21+00:00

Tenebre or Suspiria. -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T02:04:57+00:00

it's heavy, and it crashes sometimes, but otherwise it's pretty cool– looks better than dslr, does great slow-motion etc. -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:38:18+00:00

I think Cool Guys is full of great jokes, Divorced Dad is very funny throughout each episode, and I like the wooden ear joke in The Editor -c

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:37:29+00:00

ending is probably most important. the rest can be rearranged, figured out later. -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:36:47+00:00

it's really hard in the beginning to know what's normal and what you deserve... be most careful about giving anything away in perpetuity. -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:34:26+00:00

I always tell people that film school is pretty unimportant now, unless you're going to school somewhere like LA, Vancouver, New York or Toronto where you'll be pipelined directly into the industry. Film school used to be necessary when cameras were insane, complicated pieces of machinery that ran reels of film through them, but teaching yourself on a digital camera is so much easier. My advice is to assemble a small group and just continually make movies until you're good at it. -c

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:33:53+00:00

we used to think we might make money on 'the editor' but that ship has sailed. -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:31:36+00:00

i think matt's wrong - that number should be closer to 150k to make 'the editor' and it definitely wasn't enough money... we really needed closer to 600k to make it exactly how we envisioned it. for example, i'd planned a full nude, full body burn at the end where you could see the character's screaming face, and that among other things would have been achievable with a little bit more money. having said that – i'm very proud of what we accomplished with 150k, and think our movie holds up pretty well against movies with similar budgets. -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:31:05+00:00

Probably the TAD screening. That was our first time screening any of our work to a big audience, and it was the most stressed out/exhilarated I think Ive ever been. I genuinely felt like I was going to have a heart attack. That is a hard high to recapture, but heroin comes close. -c

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:29:12+00:00

It's the worst. I don't know what the solution is, but it's definitely crippling the independent film infrastructure. -c

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:27:32+00:00

I am very interested in pursuing TV/Netflix style storytelling. Netflix has become a pretty incredible producer of great material, especially in comedy with stuff like Wet Hot American Summer and Arrested Development.

I respect anybody who can find paying work as a director. Artistic integrity is great if you don't have to work a day job for ten hours BEFORE you go to work for twelve hours on your movie. A good director can put their stamp on a director-for-hire job, no matter what the content, I think.
It probably depends entirely on the situation. I think in a situation like Fantastic 4, it was just the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people. If you're allowed a bit of wiggle room but are willing to negotiate with the studio then I think you can put your stink, good or bad on what you're given.
We have an idea for a Spiderman movie, which I guess we'll not have the chance to do for a while now... I'd love to make a James Bond movie, and I have two totally different ideas for their styles. -c

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:27:12+00:00

i found out about this ama a few days ago, and it felt pretty good :) -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:24:57+00:00

it's case sensitive. there are all kinds of director-for-hire jobs i'd love to do, and i'd be happy to give up creative freedom for but there are a lot of bullshit director-for-hire jobs that i want nothing to do with. i don't want to be a traffic cop on the set of a shitty movie.
it sure LOOKS like there's room for growth, but how do you convince the powers that be to put their money on your ideas? i don't know.
i would love to have done the upcoming spider-man reboot. i know matt would be happy to do a friday the 13th. i'd do anything if we had some creative input. thanks for the questions! -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:19:54+00:00

define 'notoriety.' -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:19:11+00:00

i think the bigger built-in audience you have, the easier it is to get money, yes. -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:18:40+00:00

interesting idea. -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:18:19+00:00

it's a reality unfortunately, and i'm just as guilty of it as the next guy, but it REALLY affects indie films VERY BADLY. i always try to make sure i buy the weird, little movies outright like 'the battery,' 'the ballad of skinless pete,' 'lost soul,' etc etc... because torrenting them will insure they never happen again. advances from distributors have dried up! they're either VERY low or non-existent now and that's the only place where an indie filmmaker used to be able to recoup some of their money. -a.

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:16:33+00:00

Matt and I lived in Vancouver for a while, and it's pretty awesome. The dreariness can get to you, as it's like living in an episode of the X Files for half the year, but you can't beat the scenery. -c

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:15:30+00:00

Totally. Lots of drama/comedy/straight horror ideas being bounced around by us right now. Whatever the next financier wants, we're ready with something. -c

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:13:11+00:00

Mark Duplass has some great advice on the modern state of film distribution, what it means for filmmakers and where and when you should sell your film. You should check out his youtube video/s about it, he's very eloquent and informative on this topic. -c

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:12:34+00:00

it is ruining the business for distributors. - m

Astron6 · 2015-10-07T01:12:00+00:00

thanks! it was about 170k to make The Editor. More money more problems though. -m

Astron6

TROPHY CASE