CollabFeature is a group of independent filmmakers from all over the world who have come together to pool our talents and resources into making multi-director features. Each filmmaker pitches ideas for his/her segment. As a group, we brainstorm, discuss and decide on the best ideas. The filmmakers write, produce, direct and edit their own piece. Together, we promote and screen the finished feature all over the world, sharing credit and any profits.
Your Role as Collaborator
If you join us, you will write, produce, direct and edit one short segment of a feature film. Your piece will be conceived of and written by you. You will have creative freedom to explore your own style within the premise and guidelines of the film. Each segment needs to move the overall story forward and respond to the other segments.
The CollabFeature organizers (Lights Go Down, LLC) will facilitate the project through completion and will oversee recruiting, coordinating, website, overhead, final post-production, promotion and marketing. Each filmmaker is responsible for producing his/her own segment, including any required funding. We encourage you to be resourceful and creative in creating a quality piece on a low/no budget level.
The technical requirements (camera, format, etc.) will vary from project to project. For the first CollabFeature, filmmakers shot on a range of HD cameras.
The Finished Film
Once completed and approved by the filmmakers, we will submit to festivals and pursue distributors, but our main promotion muscle will be ourselves. With dozens of us to promote the film in our local areas, we can debut the film in multiple markets to a global audience. The unique story behind the process–an international group of filmmakers collaborating online– will help draw press, audiences and distributor attention.
As a filmmaker, you will participate in promoting the film and organizing screenings in your own area.
Current and Upcoming Projects
In the summer of 2010 we shot our first multi-director feature, the untitled “backpack” film. It is now in post-production. We plan to premiere the film in early 2012. You can watch the trailer on our Home Page.
We are now filming our second CollabFeature. “Train Station” (working title) is a film about possibilities, desintaitons, fate. It follows one main character who is “played” by different actors in different cities around the world. Throughout the film, the character comes to several moments where he must make a decision. At this point, we cut to the next scene, directed by a different filmmaker. The new scene continues the story, allowing the new director to re-interpret the situation in his/her own style.
Other projects in development:
“The Power Outage” which features a world-wide blackout that spreads from city to city, leaving characters in the dark.
“A Billion to One” centers around a dying billionaire who has no heirs. He conducts a world wide search for the person or family that most deserves his fortune.
Other ideas include a worldwide satire about the music industry and several documentary ideas. And we are always looking for new premises.
If you would like to write and direct a segment for one of our upcoming projects, please read the FAQ section and apply to join CollabFeature.