Making The Micro Budget Film
The Micro Budget Film
If you are a micro budget film maker you became one for one of two reasons. You are a DIY type of person or you were unwilling to seed control of your project to those known as the money people.
For every dollar you take from someone else you are giving up a bit of control over your project. Who directs the film? If it is your money you decide and most likely that will be you. If you take a huge part of the films budget from an investor that person does and should have input on every single choice you make.
You want to pick your cast.
Your investor or even worst each investor wants a hand in picking who plays which roll. They may have their own ideas. They may have someone who comes as a condition for the cash invested. Hey if I have a friend who acts ( I have a few) and I think that they would be good playing a certain roll in your film and I am putting up a chunk of the budget then I will want them to have that roll. Sounds like compromising your artistic integrity? It probably is and money will always win out over art.
Their money, their idea of art. Your money, your idea of art.
If you are a micro budget film maker there is no reason that it should not be all your money. If you take on an investor make sure that it is a silent one who knows that you will be in charge of the production or other wise you should do it all yourself. Raise the money that you need to shoot the film even if it takes a year or more.
When I decided to shoot my first feature on my own I started off with nothing, but a oversized equipment bag and a list and a screenplay. It is actually a good way to start. It taught me how to focus. Each week I would try to add to this bag the equipment that I would need to shoot the film. Everything from gaffers tape to c47s to clamp lights to a microphone. The last item I added was the camera and the lenses and the media that I would record on. I did this last for two reasons. First once that camera is in your hand the urge to start filming you feature begins to grow and grow. You have the camera and even though you are not completely ready to go you may start to shoot something any way. Be a pro and only shoot when you are ready. The second reason to wait to add the camera last it the price. Your camera may be your single biggest equipment investment where your digital film is concerned.
The good thing about waiting almost a year to purchase the camera that I would shoot with was that the price of the camera that I wanted to film dropped. I was able to get it at auction on ebay for over a hundred and fifty dollars less that I had thought it would cost a year earlier. I was able to spend that extra on quality lenses.
Another thing about waiting to add your camera last is the fact that technology changes so quickly. New Dslr camera models are coming out all the time. I started out swearing by the Canon cameras, but after a year and a half of running this site I am becoming more and more of a fan of the Panasonic Gh1 and Gh2. These cameras with the available hacks can do amazing things. To be a micro budget film maker is not just about going out there and making the film, but it is about going out and doing this in a smart and professional way. You will have to be smarter than the big boys because when a problem comes up you will not be able to wash it away with the Hollywood money hose. You are going to have to think your way through the problems.
The world of micro budget film making is growing and growing. With the cost of the equipment dropping all the time all you will need is time and patients to get your film made. If I have made it sound too easy, it will not be. You will face massive difficulties along the way, but in the end making your own digital film will be the most rewarding experience of your life.
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