I'll be releasing the final episode of “The Adventures of Rinku & Dinesh” episode 4 tomorrow. Is it the best thing I’ve ever made? No. I would go so far
to say that it’s probably one of the most retarded web series currently on
YouTube. Whether you find it funny or not, that's subjective, but I'm proud that we finished it.
I
don’t think people realize how HARD it is to make things when you have no money. Finding talented actors, securing locations, writing scripts, directing shots
and editing footage is extremely difficult. Give me an idea, and I’ve
always been able to somehow force it into existence while simultaneously
wanting to kill myself.
A few years ago, I decided I was done. I stopped caring what anybody thought of me, which actually became liberating. I let go of all my agents, disbanded my production company and got a full time job.
For
some reason, I thought it would be a great idea to put this giant Bobby
Khan movie poster (which I produced) on my bedroom wall. Every morning when I was putting
on my suit and tie for work, I stared at this poster and recalled the
amount of effort and miracles that went behind making it. I remembered
WHY I put the poster up in the first place. Anything is possible.
When
the Disney movie “The Million Dollar Arm” came out. My friend Lak and I
made an audition video where we pretended to be the two Indians who
came to America to play baseball. The producers of the movie will see it and have no choice but to cast us! It was intended to be serious but it
had to be the worst, unintentionally hilarious, audition videos ever
created. We looked like we were doing a horrible Saturday Night Live sketch and laughed our asses off at how terrible we
were in it. I remember telling Lak, we should make a comedy web series
about these Indian guys and then never talked about it again.
Being a masochist, I had a creative impulse to make something again. Lak
mentioned to me, “Whatever happened to that Rinku and Dinesh idea?” The
problem was, I didn’t have my production crew anymore and had ZERO
resources. Lak insisted “Dude, you don’t need anyone." He was right,
having no resources means nothing when you have great friends.
Every
weekend for the next several months, me and some comedy/actor friends
would shoot Rinku & Dinesh. Yes, producing still sucks, but it’s a
lot more fun when you have no expectations. I did all the
pre-production, used lapel microphones, and when I was in the shot, I
would give the camera for somebody else to hold. I didn’t care what the
actors said as long as it was funny and the story moved forward.
Joe,
the baseball manager, Tanya, the hooker, Chris, the angry cop.
Everybody was hilarious in their own unique way and made additional
contributions. John Kviklys made the “Wanted” poster, Lak got guns and recruited two Mexican actors from his acting class. I remember one time I wrote a
draft, and in place of the dialogue I put, "Chris, come up with something
funny here." Wendi costume designed her entire wardrobe while Brian came up with the
"Hold Up, Wait a Minute" catchphrase. The list goes on...
I
want to stress that everybody worked for FREE and woke their ass up on
Sunday mornings to shoot in random locations across L.A. No egos involved and everyone
brought 100%
I
write this for aspiring filmmakers. You don’t need money to shoot
stuff. I see Kickstarters all the time, "I need X amount of money so I
can shoot my web series or movie so I can hire this DP from USC and this
lighting guy." I want to slap these people. The past ten
years, I’ve shot two web series, numerous shorts and a feature movie
with no budget. What I DO have is basic filmmaking skills, (which
is attainable), a decent work ethic, and amazing friends.
I’m
not saying what you make will look great. In fact, your first couple
attempts will probably suck. BUT THAT'S OK. We're living in a day and
age where it doesn't have to be perfect, and there's an audience for everything. It's your
responsibility to take a chance on yourself. Ask your friends for help and then pay it forward. That's pretty much what my entire creative existence is based on. Write, shoot, edit, repeat.
Good luck!
-t
