I shot Jet twice. This is why and this is what I learned...
A Short Film(s) by
Jordan Daniel Chesney
Why Are There 2 Versions of Jet?
I had an idea for a short film and thought, I should develop it on set with the cast and crew, instead of on paper, as a screenplay. So, I pulled everyone together, grabbed 200 bucks and within a day we filmed, "Jet".
It turned out so well that I thought, this is going to be a great film! So, I saved up $10K and we shot it again. But this time we had a RED One camera, dolly tracks, permits, crew budget, cast budget, and four days to shoot. Basically, we had everything we needed to make it perfect.
The result was...interesting. Watch and see.
At first, I thought that the $10K version was better, probably because I wanted it to be better. I had spent far more time and money on it so it should be better, right? But eventually I realized that it was the scrappy, rough around the edges, $200 version that I preferred.
So, instead of just releasing one or the other, I thought, why not release both, and give other filmmakers the chance to see that a bigger budget doesn't always make for a better film.
The opinions rolled in! People were very passionate about which one was better and why, and before I knew it, "Jet" had collectively been seen by almost 60 thousand people. Which one do you think is better?
"Jet" went on to win awards and encourage countless aspiring filmmakers to simply step out and make their movies. Here's hoping you do the same.