And with digital equipment becoming cheaper and crowdfunding, its never been easier.
However, rather than throw in the towel, Chris and Andrew went ahead with the filming.
Early Birdis Chris and Andrews debut feature, telling the tale of David.
An average joe who loses both his girlfriend and flat and has to find a new domicile.
Until he finds a decent sized room for a very agreeable price.
His live in landlady Sasha only has one rule: you have to be perfect.
The seeds ofEarly Birds conception were sown when Andrew moved to London from Cardiff after graduating from his MA.
For me,Early Birdis a fish-out-of-water narrative that challenges familiarity and what you perceive to be your comfort-zone.
Andrew and I actually only met for the first time last year.
The London Horror Society was assisting in promoting a Manchester-based horror movie that he was co-producing.
A drop in the ocean for summer blockbusters but vital for an independent production.
Chris remains philosophical about the initial failure.
Ive always had a love/hate relationship with crowdfunding.
But like so many things, its open to abuse.
NowEarly Birdhas completed post production, the last stretch of a long journey.
Andrew completed the first draft in two-weeks back in September 2013.
After the kickstarter failed.
I basically stripped it down to its bare bones and rewrote it several times with a zero-budget in mind.
It was challenging but fun.
We went into production at the end of January, and the shoot itself lasted 10 days.
It was already a mammoth task and we wouldnt have the luxury of re-shoots.
So, I cut any unnecessary locations and characters from the story and combined scenes .
I basically re-wrote the entire script from start to finish.
It was a great opportunity to refine the story and really clarify the focus.
However in recent years, established names such as Zach Braff have begun to exploit peoples goodwill.
Not to mention the Internets inexhaustible desire for overworked horror concepts.
Its a sentiment thats shared by Chris.
Budgets really arent everything.
And Andrew is also full of encouragement for wannabe film makers.
That said, dont underestimate how much work is involved every step of the way.
If you cant convince people that its worth making, who will?
Theres a small word of warning from Chris as well.
We had to work even harder to secure even the most basic equipment!
And were eternally grateful to everyone that helped us out here.
As for dream projects, Andrew is hoping he can someday helm a reboot of Disneys Gargoyles.
And Chris is hoping to continue to offer students their first work in film.
And if we can provide that platform to help launch peoples careers, then all the better!
For more information onEarly Bird, check out itsFacebook pageandTwitter feed.
