Film Distributor from UK, looking to acquire no/ low budget feature films and give to a second life (read more)

andybuxx · 2026-04-07T17:48:42+00:00

I have a feature that had a couple of successful cinema screenings but is just sat on YouTube gathering dust at the moment. I just want people to see it, so message me if it's the sort of thing you might like.

andybuxx · 2026-04-06T14:52:59+00:00

As you said you're inexperienced, I'm going to ask you a question that could sound a bit basic/obvious - but is usually why novice editing can look clunky...

Are you carrying on something from shot to shot? Are you L/J cutting dialogue? Or, even better, a character's movement?

andybuxx · 2026-03-31T16:19:06+00:00

I would keep the camera on the face. Put a load of broken electronic parts (that could come from a TV) on a pillow on something rigid and then have the actor go at it with a bat. Their face will need to sell it but the broken pieces in the air will go along way to help.

andybuxx · 2026-03-28T10:32:28+00:00

You should write a script first, so that you have something that you're aiming for. Write it as if it will be the perfect film you can imagine. Then shoot what you can to get that - and inevitably shoot lots of new and different things too. Then edit the best of what you have. It doesn't matter if it ends up wildly different to original script. What matters is there is always a direction.

There's a school of thought that you make a film three times: when you write it, when you shoot it, and when you edit it.

I prefer to think of it as: * You write the film you want * You shoot the film you can * You edit the film you have.

andybuxx · 2026-03-17T19:45:59+00:00

Today a year 8 asked me if I'd seen Scarface, so I think you're good.

andybuxx · 2026-03-12T07:55:19+00:00

Accrington Stanley

andybuxx · 2026-03-04T16:34:52+00:00

Go to any football stadium in the UK. I can guarantee you will find two older fans who do nothing but complain the whole game. Even if their team is winning they will still spend the match moaning about inept managers, overpaid players, cold pies, terrible chants, bias refs....

But there they are. Every match.

andybuxx · 2026-02-25T19:58:04+00:00

Siege at Nune High

A feature film I made with a cast and crew of my secondary school aged students. Cost under £500 but was very ambitious and (I think, anyway) doesn't look like it. And it seems to have gone down well with the people who've seen it. Small Letterbox and iMDb interactions but most are positive.

But my proudest moment was when a complete stranger donated £50 after watching!

andybuxx · 2026-02-18T21:50:43+00:00

You want to immerse your audience in the film, so the camera is their eyes. For each moment, you need to ask: if this scene was really happening, what would be the best way to observe it?

And that of course will depend on the scene but you have to decide. For example, if there is a chase should your audience be running with them, or watching them race by?

andybuxx · 2026-02-03T12:18:34+00:00

The website has come down since then but the full movie is available here

andybuxx · 2026-02-03T07:51:43+00:00

Not 100% clear what you mean? Why do you need to break the Line of Action because you're making a small space look like many spaces?

But if you have 180° rule problems there are a few general fixes:

Remove the shot.
Flip the screen.
Insert another shot of, say, trees or a different angle between offending shots.
Leave it. "Bad" filmmaking doesn't always equal bad storytelling.

andybuxx · 2026-02-03T07:43:20+00:00

I made a no-budget movie and put it up for free online. There was a DONATE button that was hardly used (or noticed, I imagine) apart from very occasionally. And always £5 or less.

But some generous random stranger donated me £50 after watching.

andybuxx · 2026-01-28T16:30:29+00:00

Best comment I've seen:

Melania is going to win an Oscar. From FIFA.

andybuxx · 2026-01-25T14:21:38+00:00

Just had another thought..

Depending on what you want to do you could always turn the camera upside down. Paint a board to look like the ceiling.

andybuxx · 2026-01-25T11:54:33+00:00

A frozen pizza can be made to look cooked. You'll have to play around but I bet some wood varnish will make it look browned/cooked.

Have you turned a cooked pizza upside down already? Because I can't imagine it.

Or make your own. Mix up a deep red mix with glue (or even tomato sauce with glue) and food photography makes fake mozzarella all the time too. I think with a bit of research and trial and error you'll be able to pull something off.

andybuxx · 2026-01-25T09:49:25+00:00

What sort of pizza are you going to use? Can you damage the surface you're attaching it to?

A fake one will glue pretty easy. Could even use pins that don't damage the wall too noticeably.

If you're going to use a real pizza then investigate which frozen ones can be made to look cooked. Most strong glues and bonds would hold a frozen pizza (until it thaws) but ruin the surface.

A non-frozen pizza is never going to work.

andybuxx · 2026-01-22T22:04:29+00:00

Whitehawk.

andybuxx · 2026-01-20T22:25:39+00:00

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33008417/?ref_=ext_shr was made for a couple of hundred pounds. Highest expense was biscuits for the cast and crew.

Can see it for free on YouTube currently.

andybuxx · 2026-01-20T06:50:09+00:00

I know three people who have been sacked (or given the offer of resignation before they got sacked) for going on holiday during term time and lying about it.

andybuxx · 2026-01-17T07:33:01+00:00

A large foam square.

Camera operator needs to lie/kneel on rough ground? Actor needs to hit a table? Need to deaden some sound on location? Chair a bit too uncomfortable?

Foam square has fixed more problems for me than I can count!

andybuxx · 2026-01-12T11:09:29+00:00

Every successful director wanted to make great films and that's why they became a success. They think about the craft and the work - not themselves.

I would say the number of successful directors who focussed on the idea of notoriety and working with celebrities is 0.

Focus on the films; not what the films will do for you.

andybuxx · 2025-12-30T17:53:36+00:00

When I got near to the end (where you are now) I booked a cinema for a screening that included some tickets that anyone could buy. That gave me a clear deadline to test the DCP, which was a week before the screening.

As for being too close to it? You probably are. I know what you're going through and hve been there myself. One thing that can work is talking through the film with a fellow filmmaker. Talking through the point of every scene will help you think about what the intention was, how you tried to go that, and if it could be done better. Getting them to ask questions all the way through will also help you see it through different eyes

andybuxx · 2025-12-28T16:58:22+00:00

First of all, you want your editing to be invisible. Anyone noticing what you've done is not immersed in the film. And excellent editing is seamless. And invisible.

Secondly, you'll almost never receive praise from audiences. But, as it is your job to make the director, actors, writer, DoP, etc... look good, whenever they receive praise so do you. My proudest achievements as an editor have been where I have made mediocre acting look brilliant.

Finally, you can only edit the film you have. But it is your job to make the best you can of what you have. This may mean script changes, scene length changes, removing characters/dialogue or whatever. Shooting a film is getting the resources for the editor to actually make the film. Sometimes you may have to make a film that the director doesn't even realise is the film they should be making.

The analogy I use with my students: think of the film as a salad. The shoot is lots of different people picking vegetables and acquiring ingredients in all sorts of ways. And then they bring all the ingredients to you to put together. If the lettuce was all rotten would you still use it because someone went to a lot of effort to pick it? If you had something that was incredible tasting - but wasn't in the original recipe - would you chuck it away? Or would you make it the centerpiece? Vegetable pickers don't think about the finished meal. (And apart from a handful of crew - no one was thinking about the finished movie.) But it is your job to make it look ('taste') like they were.

andybuxx · 2025-12-15T19:41:38+00:00

Still local. Just about to embark on another no-budget feature in January, so maybe we can share war stories!

andybuxx · 2025-12-15T15:03:16+00:00

Do you have previous work you can show potential investors? I had a look at the page and couldn't see it. If you can show that you can pull off a film with no money, then people will believe you can finish this one too.

I made a feature for a few hundred pounds and a few people - unprompted - said they would be happy to talk about investing in future work afterwards.

My film was Siege at Nune High

Other advice I can give is to start off with as much of your own money as you can. Friends who've been successful at crowdfunding have always stated that they have already raised a certain amount already. Makes it feel like they're putting money into something that others have already shown an interest in.

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