Get involved, create your own opportunities -- that's the advice to

would-be film-makers from Robert Rodriguez who tells William Russell

about his 'short' cut to big-time movie-making

SO you want to be in pictures? How is it done? One man who did it his

way is Robert Rodriguez whose film, El Mariachi, about mixed identities,

a guitar player, a hit man and a dog, is proof that if one gets off

one's bottom long enough to do something about it one can make a film.

He is in Edinburgh to give the benefit of his experience to

bottom-sitters and doers alike at the festival's Just Do It seminar.

El Mariachi has been acquired by Columbia. What you see is, give or

take an improved sound track and some minor details, the film he made 18

months ago in the small Mexican border town of Acuna for the Spanish

video market.

He decided that, if he could make an award-winning short film, eight

minutes long, for $800, he could make a feature film 80 minutes long for

around $8000.

''I reckoned I could make at least double my investment and I would

continue to make film after film to get practice,'' he said. ''Having

made so many short films I wanted to start on features. If the film was

no good it would be hidden on Spanish video and nobody would know and I

could redeem myself on the second and third parts of the story.

''The first movie was to be about the genesis of El Mariachi, the

character played by Carlos Gallardo, and the plan was to follow his

adventures. This movie was actually supposed to be the practice one

before the movie that would break me out.''

Rodriguez showed a trailer for his film and a copy of Bedhead, an

award-winning short he had made, to the Spanish distributors and to the

Hollywood agency ICM.

''The agency loved what they saw and I sent them the subtitled version

of the film,'' he said. ''I had transferred from my negative straight on

to video so they thought they were looking at a film print and sent it

to various people. Columbia bought it. They thought they might remake

it, but decided to make a film print to show to test audiences.''

The result -- Columbia decided to stick with El Mariachi and Rodriguez

set about remixing the sound in stereo for commercial release. As to how

he raised the $8000, 3000 came from working in a research hospital

during the summer of 1991 as a kind of human guinea pig, the rest from

family and friends.

He is proud of having made the breakthrough as a Spanish American and

his advice, directed to other Spanish Americans longing to make films,

is equally pertinent for would-be film-makers here.

''I told them not to wait for the industry to cast us in movies,'' he

said. ''We are like invisible people here in America. Do what I did. Go

make your own movie, prove to them we can be in movies people will

enjoy. Hopefully people will get the message from this picture. It is to

get involved, create your own opportunities. That is what the African

Americans did. Spike Lee sold tube socks. People got the message. That

is what we need to do. You have to make your movie yourself. No-one is

going to do it for you.''

His technical advice is to do what he did by accident. Shoot on film

and transfer and edit on video. The result will look beautiful and save

money. Editing film costs a lot and if nobody wants the result at least

you have not spent all that money on a film print.

''I have been making films, drawing little flip cartoons, since I was

at grade school,'' he said.''I felt bad going to school. My brother and

sister both were so much better than I was and I thought I would just

draw and make cartoons all my life. Then my dad bought a home video

camera for his business -- he sells cookware -- and I started making

films with it using the family. I made them for years. You hear of these

independent movies costing over $100,000. I never thought I would get

anywhere because I did not have that kind of money. But the films were

entertaining and with each one I got better. I just kept with it.

''I went to film school but I could not get into the film department

because my grades were not high enough. Eventually I won a local

festival with a film that beat movies from the school so they took me in

and gave me a 60mm camera. I made Bedhead.''

That led to writing El Mariachi with Gallardo. The two boys had

previously made films in Gallardo's home town so when they turned up

seeking permission to film they got it.

''We would show the films we made on the local TV station and when it

came time to make this movie everyone in Acuna knew us,'' Rodriguez

said. ''The guns we use in the film are real guns. The cops would close

the streets and they lent us their guns. We shot there for two weeks. We

got permission from the mayor and the army who knew we were doing

something positive. They helped us out. We would run around with the

cops' guns and go back inside before it got too hot. We did not have to

steal the location.''

A second Mariachi film starts shooting in September with Gallardo

again in the title role plus a few name actors to make it a little more

bankable and his aim is to create new Latino stars. Rodriguez is not

worried about being swallowed up by the studios now he has a two-year

production and development deal with Columbia.

''When you use low budget it is a pimple to the studio because even if

the film is awful they will still make the money back on video sales,''

he said. ''When you are using $20m or $30m they want more say. This way

they can get a return on their investment and I get more freedom.''