Film making in abandoned buildings?

[roggah]

Hi, I'm just getting started with urban exploration and want to ask for help from anyone with some experience.

I live in Staten Island, NY and shot a short movie in a local abandoned hospital. I was hoping to find remnants of Mt. Loretto, but they've completely renovated it :|. I'll be visiting my cousin in Boston soon to be given a tour of the areas he knows (he says he's been exploring for a while). My friend's sister turned me on to sites such as these, and she knows a lot about the New England area.

I'm a film student who's obsessed with the Silent Hill series, Jacob's Ladder, Session 9, etc. I have a longterm project that will rely heavily on abandoned buildings, and I'd like to ask from help from anyone on what I can do.

I know this is a little different, since I doubt most areas would be so easy to get access to as the hospital near me. The more I read the more I realize the art of successfully getting through these places. It was tough enough shooting in the (forbidden) back corridors of my mall, having to move the tripod/etc into a corner and hide whenever we heard footsteps coming near.

Anyway, hope I get to know all of you, and hope I can prove that I'm very serious about this. Even if you can't have advice on shooting, I would love to join any groups just based on the rush I got discovering the abandoned hospital near me. Phenomenal.

[skully]

Welcome roggah.  Make yourself at home.  I think between this site the loads of other ones out there (see the links page here), you'll get a good feel for what's out there.  On top of what's published is a whole slew of other "tougher" places to check out.  

I think that a project, as the one you mention, requires a decent amount of consideration, not just in the "where to go, how to get in there" aspect, but in the STORY.  If you carefully consider the story, find an angle and shoot around that I think that you'll have more focused experiences at the site. We've accumulated a pretty large collection on miniDV and some DV acquires from VHS and I've spent some time considering how to put it all together, how to make it entertaining and informative.  This goes for both me and you folks, the audience.  I personally like to study the strange part of a place and try to capture the vibe- it's pretty hard to translate that to film.   The last thing to consider is the legality of your shoot.  Will your footage implicate you in any way?  Does your story "reveal" anything that could cause some big company somewhere to file a lawsuit?

To me, it comes down to a single concept: People in this world have money and power.  They do some crazy and sometimes misguided things with that power such as build a big building housing "crazy" people.  Sometimes I'm awed at the shear concept of someone building a tunnel under a body of water to help protect against invasion.  Structures of all types have a story.  What's interesting?  What's educational?  What's entertaining?  These are good questions to consider IMO. ;)

[Photohunter]

the Silent Hill series

Excellent series. Good substitute when exploring can't be done.

[Tex-Murph]

Thanks for the replies! I have been diligently reading up on the links scattered everywhere on these sites over the last month or two, and it's been very interesting. Darkpassages and Shaun O'Boyle's photography have really stood out in my mind. I forget which site had this, but there was also a very interesting series of photographs made by a sculptor and photographer at Danvers.

In terms of the story - thanks for the suggestions. I will be focusing on the stories of buildings, but not in the historical context you might think. I've written a treatment for the movie last spring and have been fleshing out the story carefully. I'm creating my own history and myths that will serve as the backdrop to a slew of characters that meet each other and discover things through (optimally) five buildings total.

It's very character driven and will focus on the unseen, as there will be little (if any) actual violence shown in the movie. It is horror, but think pure ambience :). Something that these buildings have in spades.

In terms of aggravating the company that owns the building - yes, this is my biggest concern. It's not a big deal for now, but I plan on making it my thesis film for graduate school.

I do have some friends that have connections in upstate near Albany. They're actually shooting a Silent Hill knock off called Silent Horror in a few warehouses there. They actually have clearance!  Ideally I'd work under those sort of circumstances. The fact that they're doing that shows there's at least the possibility.

In terms of capturing the vibe of a building - I agree, this is VERY hard to do. I'm still working on it and learning how to translate that feeling of walking in for the first time.

I would love to see what you come up with with your footage.

This is an aside, but in terms of corruption - have you guys heard of Tranquility Bay? It's committing its own injustices that remind me of places like Danvers. If that ever closes down that would make one hell of an interesting site to visit. It's a site in Jamaiaca that charges parents exorbitant amounts of money to kidnap their kid and not let them leave the site until they're 'corrected'. It's considered "The last resort" for parents who don't know how to control their kids.

It only exists because it's outside of US law. Morbid stuff like showering with bloody towels in filthy public showers and physically abusing the kids. Proofreading and censoring any communication the kids have with their parents back home. I really hope it gets shut down soon.

Anyway, thanks for the welcome :).

[skully]

In terms of the story - thanks for the suggestions. I will be focusing on the stories of buildings, but not in the historical context you might think. I've written a treatment for the movie last spring and have been fleshing out the story carefully. I'm creating my own history and myths that will serve as the backdrop to a slew of characters that meet each other and discover things through (optimally) five buildings total.

It sounds very interesting!

In terms of aggravating the company that owns the building - yes, this is my biggest concern. It's not a big deal for now, but I plan on making it my thesis film for graduate school.

The fact that you are a student will go a long way in case you get in trouble.  

I do have some friends that have connections in upstate near Albany. They're actually shooting a Silent Hill knock off called Silent Horror in a few warehouses there. They actually have clearance!  Ideally I'd work under those sort of circumstances. The fact that they're doing that shows there's at least the possibility.

Keep us up to date on their progress.  I'd be willing to stream your and your friends' works here on InsaneBunkers (with permission of course).

I would love to see what you come up with with your footage.

Don't be expecting too much.  I could only wish I had the film chops that I'm sure you do.  

This is an aside, but in terms of corruption - have you guys heard of Tranquility Bay? It's committing its own injustices that remind me of places like Danvers. If that ever closes down that would make one hell of an interesting site to visit. It's a site in Jamaiaca that charges parents exorbitant amounts of money to kidnap their kid and not let them leave the site until they're 'corrected'. It's considered "The last resort" for parents who don't know how to control their kids.  It only exists because it's outside of US law. Morbid stuff like showering with bloody towels in filthy public showers and physically abusing the kids. Proofreading and censoring any communication the kids have with their parents back home. I really hope it gets shut down soon.

Whoa!  This blows me away.  Let's find out more.

Keep us informed on your progress and let us know if we can help in any way. I'm sure that there are others here that would also be willing to help.