How to Make a Low Budget Movie that Gets People Excited
If you want to make a movie, but you are doing your filmmaking on a budget, understanding this one simple thing can change the game for you. Bare with me because this concept is what will get you out of your own way and start opening up doors in your film career.
“It’s not the lack of money that is stopping you from making your movie, it’s your relationship to money that does.”
Once you fully accept and understand this, your entire world will change. Suddenly, you begin to see how many options you have that you never realized were there. You finally get out of your own way.
You begin to see that the real obstacles that stop you in any endeavour are simply a few limiting beliefs you have taken on. What once seemed to be in the way is now a clear path. You see the incredible options that you didn’t know where available to you all along.
It’s this lack of understanding about how to do more with less that makes our dreams seem impossible. After today, that won’t be you though. You will see that everything you want is within reach.
Filmmaking on a Budget, Creatively
Yes, money can do a lot of things, but it is not the motivator you may think it is. As a indie filmmaker you got to tap into something deeper. It’s imperative that you understand what people truly want.
People work for money, but they live for experiences, connections and how something makes them feel. The money is just a means to that end. Making a movie can do that for people.
We do far more for passion, purpose and excitement than we do for money. Human beings are creative social animals who care far more about meaning and connection than anything else.
In fact, money is what we use to buy those things most of the time. So why don’t you just cut out the middle man, and deliver on what we are really after? A great experience and to be a part of something that feels meaningful, fun and important.
The True Currency of the World:
Your true currency as a filmmaker is not money, but rather, how you build connections and facilitate the feelings we are after.
The potential for this is so abundant we often overlook it. Many artists don’t realize that the most valuable assets are:
1) People
2) Experiences
When you stop valuing things and start valuing people and experiences amazing things can happen for you, and everyone else. People are incredible because they can bring so much untapped value with them.
A visionary leader gets people to bring the best of themselves with all they have to offer. If you want to do this, give others a meaningful experience that aligns with their core desires.
Most people will go above and beyond when they truly care about something they are involved with.
Low Budget Filmmaking Doesn't Rely on Money to Solve All of it's Problems:
People only want money as a means to an end. What you need to understand is what the “end” is that they are after. Money buys things, but what money does at its best is in buying experiences.
Even if someone goes out and buys a new pair of shoes it’s the experience of buying them or wearing them that they are looking for. The “thing” they buy represents something – a promised experience, a desired emotion or some kind of feeling they want to have.
…that is what they are after.
If people are not getting a good experience from something then they want to be paid. It’s the difference between doing something you want to do versus doing something you have to do.
If people are getting a good experience from something then they want to do it. If they are getting a great experience from it, then they will sometimes even pay money for it.
Don’t believe it?
Ask yourself why people go to Universal Studios or Disney Land. The fact that a film lot is something people will pay to visit is enough to prove that people buy experiences.
People are Experience Motivated:
It’s important to understand that, contrary to popular belief, people are not actually money motivated. People are experience motivated. They only want money for one of two reasons….
1) to be able to survive (food, shelter, and so on).
2) so that they can buy joyful experiences.
If they have their basic survival needs covered than they are after joyful experiences. So your job is to create a joyful experience.
Your job is to offer what they are really after underneath it all. Give them something they can have that aligns with their core desire. To be happy, fulfilled and have meaning in their life.
What is a core desire?
Core desires are what we want deep down and they are linked closely with our childhood senses of pure joy and happiness.
7 Tips for Filmmakers who are Planning to Make a Movie with a Low Budget
1.) Inspire Others with Your Vision of the Movie
2.) Do Film Production in as Few Days as Possible
3.) Keep Your Film Crew to an Absolute Minimum
4.) Limit the Number of Filming Locations Required
5.) Use the Film Gear that is Most Easily Available
6.) Get Deals with Film Gear Rental Companies
7.) Choose a Movie Script that Allows More for Less
1.) Inspire Others with Your Vision of the Movie
The best thing you can pay people with is a great experience and something meaningful, fun and exciting to be a part of.
Money is only one way to get people to help you make your film, but what is even better than that is when they help out because of a passion for the project and connection with who is involved in it.
To this day I still have people who will offer to help me for free to make a film just because they want to work with me and be a part of whatever I am doing. That is pretty cool!
If your vision is exciting, interesting and looks like a lot of fun to be a part of people will be lining up to work with you. It will be up to you who you will include and who you won’t.
With a powerful vision, people will help out of a labour of love. They want to be a part of something great and it is rewarding to have the experience of being included in something like that.
When inspired people know you are working with a limited budget the money will not be their main motivation to help. They’ll do it because they believe in it and want it to be great – so they’ll do whatever it takes to make it work…
Just like you!
They will do it because it is fun, interesting and or exciting. It will be a memory to share and something to be proud of later.
Even if you are paying people, it is important to know that in most cases money does not make them walk the extra mile. It does not make them care more about the film.
If you want to work with an awesome crew who have high morale it has to be more than just a job for them. It has to be meaningful and they have to have a reason to care about it.
So either way, if you want to get more out of your budget aim to inspire the crew you hire with your vision.
2.) Do Film Production in as Few Days as Possible
There is one thing that never really changes when it comes to film production. Fewer days cost less money. That is one of the golden rules of filmmaking.
It’s because, in filmmaking, time is money. After all, more time requires more resources. More rental days, more food, more time off work if the film is not paying anything.
No matter what, the more days you film the more days you need to feed people. However many favours you pull in people still have to eat and they won’t go the extra mile for you on an empty stomach.
Chances are, with more production days, you’ll have to pay for a lot of other little ongoing things too. It all adds up.
You can get a lot for free when creative people get together and invest themselves for the love of making something, but given enough time any kind of excitement wears off.
Making a film can be a lot of fun, but it’s work, and when the work is not exciting and new anymore a lot of the fun times can begin to evaporate for people. Time has a price all of its own.
Plus, if you need to pay people to keep them coming back each day it costs more with every filming day you add to the shoot. Unless you can pay them a flat fee for working on your project, their time costs money.
The aim here is to find ways to do more with less when you are making an indie film. The solution often comes down to this:
…you either work with fewer people or shoot for fewer days.
Keep in mind that fewer people won’t always solve the issue though. If you are renting gear for the shoot the rental companies charge by the day or by the week. Many things in the filmmaking process are priced based on time.
If you want to get more out of your budget see if you can cut down on shooting days. It may mean fewer shots, locations or a variety of other things, but this is what an indie filmmaker’s job is.
3.) Keep Your Film Crew to an Absolute Minimum
If you want to cut down on shooting days sometimes a smaller crew can help you make that possible.
One benefit of a smaller crew is they are not as imposing when you show up to places unannounced to do an on-the-fly guerrilla shoot. More crew members may mean more hands on deck to help out, but more people can just complicate a lot of things as well.
It is worth considering keeping the crew to a minimum on some filming days simply because it makes you more mobile. You can move faster and get more done, which can be very helpful.
Fewer people not only costs less for production, but it makes it easier to film when you don’t have permission to be there. With a skeleton crew, you can film in all sorts of places without being invasive to others.
This means filming without permits a lot of the time. It’s up to you how you want to run your production, but in indie-filmmaking less can be more so it’s worth embracing a minimal crew at times.
A good option is to have a big crew on some of the shoot days, but run with a smaller crew on other days. Depending on what you are filming, where you are filming and what the scene requires you can be dynamic about who you need for each shoot day.
This is a great way to cut the daily costs of paying people for showing up and having to feed them too. It’s smart filmmaking.
A good way to go about limiting the number of crew members needed each day is to film the most complex stuff first with the majority of the crew present.
Then, once that complex stuff is done in all the controlled locations, take the key members of your crew and film the rest on the fly.
The assistants can stay home, and with only a few people present, you can get all the simple things done quicker.
4.) Limit the Number of Filming Locations Required
It can be fun to shoot a film in multiple locations, but it can cost a lot of money too. Moving the people and the gear from one place to another not only takes time, but costs a lot as well.
Remember, time is money when you’re making a movie. So whenever the clock is ticking the money is burning. The best thing to do is keep the location moves to an absolute minimum if you want to save a buck.
One option to achieve this is to choose a script that is based in one location. If you have a small budget, that is the best way to keep costs down. If you are not able to find a good script based on one main location then choose one with only a few locations if possible.
Fewer locations will also just make your job a lot easier. It all starts with the script, but the one you choose to produce will be important for many reasons beyond just being a good story.
Another option is to take your script and either combine or cut scenes that complicate the shoot. Get the writer to rewrite things so they can be shot in the same place if possible.
If this is not a good option for your story, by all means, don’t resort to this, but it’s your job to find a way to make the film within the allotted budget you have. As an independent filmmaker, you got to get creative.
If you have a film with a lot of locations at least try to film the movie with as small a crew as possible. Use a minimal amount of gear and guerrilla shoot the majority of the scenes.
Consider adopting a run-and-gun filmmaking style that is fast and furious so that you limit the time for location moves and shot setups. Plan to use natural light and work with what’s available… and free.
5.) Use the Film Gear that is Most Easily Available
It is easy to get complicated when making a film because there is always better gear you can work with. There are always more tools you can use, more advanced cameras, lights and gear.
It can be very seductive to want to have the best of everything to make your dream film, but this just isn’t necessary in a lot of cases. Often working with fewer luxuries leads to more creativity.
The best way to begin is to take an inventory of what you already have available for free… or at least what you can get inexpensively. Then consider if it can pull you through before you start adding to the list of all the gear you want to have.
Sure it may give you more options to play around with having the most advanced lighting kits, but the question is… do you need those options? Planning this out might save you money that could be used elsewhere.
When you make a film independently there usually isn’t a lot of extra money to burn, especially when you are on a shoestring budget. You got to make every dollar count if you want to get the most out of your film.
Where and how you allocate funds can be a very important decision because it is easy to have all your capital eaten up by unnecessary things. Knowing the difference between what you need and what you want is one of the primary skills of a good film producer.
It is a difference between what you have available and what you don’t. It’s a matter of what you want and what you need. Before you satisfy all your desires stop to think about them.
Consider if it is truly serving you and your production. Don’t let your ego get in the way either. If your production looks small, don’t worry, all that matters is the result you produce. The audience watching your movie doesn’t care how small your film set looked.
6.) Get Deals with Film Gear Rental Companies
When you are making an independent film you may be surprised as to how many people are willing to help you out. Often, all you have to do is ask for what you want and need.
If you are willing to make an exchange, like give credit in your film for using a film company’s rental gear, they may give you a deal. Either they may rent you the gear for less, or they may throw in a few extra things for free just to help you out.
In some cases, we brought them a flat of beer. Something simple like that can go a long way toward encouraging people to lend a hand however they can. It’s not about getting a deal as much as it is about a mutually beneficial exchange and building a long-lasting relationship.
The film rental companies want you to use them in the future when you make bigger films so while you are a small fish it is smart business for them to support you. If you have promise they may invest in your potential.
By having your back it’s making a long-term investment for them. They may gamble that you’ll remember how they helped you when you needed it. Then, when you have a big budget, you’ll go to them with real money and rent their stuff over their competitors.
It’s relationship building. Back to one of the main points at the beginning of all this. People, and your relationships with them, are one of the most valuable resources you can acquire.
Whatever you do, don’t be a user. That is a surefire way to burn bridges and make a bad name for yourself. Reputation goes a long way in the film industry and your career may be dependent on it.
Think about how you can help everyone you work with, especially if you are going to ask them to help you. Your success will be largely based on the value you provide for others.
The people who are willing to build a relationship with you on more than a monetary exchange are trusting you to be honourable. Honour is returning favours when you had little to offer back in return.
If a rental company gives you gear and charges you less, or they throw in a few extras free of charge, try to offer value back to them in some way as well. Thank them with a gift when you return the gear, give them a notable credit in your film and keep them posted when it screens.
Most of the relationships you nurture today will be the ones that are there for you down the line
7.) Choose a Movie Script that Allows More for Less
When you make a film the script is so important it is hard to express how much so. The story and characters need to be great for it to work, but beyond that, it also needs to be something you can make.
Some scripts are more complicated to produce than others so keep this in mind when you choose the movie you want to make. Consider what is required to pull it off. Producing a film is about finding a balance between an artistic vision and the practicality of pulling it off.
A script with a great story that is less complicated is a highly valued prize no matter what kind of budget you have. It will not only be easier to make, but it will likely cost less money to produce as well.
It will also have fewer moving parts… like location changes, scheduling complications and so on. This keeps the whole process more simple to accomplish… and that may even make it more enjoyable to do.
By choosing a less complicated script, you’ll get to put your focus on the things that matter most, instead of getting caught up in all the things that happen around the film.
Keep in mind, that travelling to different filming locations takes time and during that time the movie is not being shot. It costs money to make production moves and any time that you are between filming scenes, that money is not being directly contributed to the final product.
At the end of the day, that’s all the audience sees. The final product. Most won’t care how you did it. So focus on what you are creating and if you can eliminate complications, do it.
Nobody cares about the logistics it took to make your film, they just care about the film you show. When the film screens you don’t get to make excuses for it if things go wrong, it has to be able to stand all on its own.
Make sure you choose a script that allows you to do that to the best of your ability. It is admirable to go bigger with your vision, but just make sure if you do you are up for the task of it.
This is How to Make a Low Budget Movie and Remain Flexible in the Process
If you know the story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” then this will be easy to remember. At one point, she has the options of three different bowls of porridge to consider.
One is too hot, another is too cold and one is just right.
The possible budgets for your film are a lot like this because in indie filmmaking there is usually the budget you want, the budget you can actually get and the budget you only dream of.
Most indie filmmakers start out with a very limited budget, and it’s usually all they can get to start out. They want more money and they dream of what it be like to have it, but at first, they make the most of whatever they can get access to.
So if you are just starting out, you got to make your low budget work, whatever it is. Even if it is almost nothing. Do the best you can with it. Learn, get experience and put your heart into it.
This may take a few times before they really figure things out, but one day they may just open that mythical door to the promise-land of big-budget filmmaking.
Don’t expect to start at the top. You got to work your way up. Although, with Breakthrough Film School’s Filmmaking / Film Producing Programs you may discover that raising money to make your film is a lot more accessible than you realize.
For now though, you are reading this article. So chances are, you are in the process of dealing with scraping the money together to make your film. This is a very important stage in the process.
You are learning how far a single dollar can go. This is going to pay off later when you have more money because you’ll be able to stretch a budget and not waste money just because it’s available.
So enjoy this process of problem-solving and figuring out how to make your low budget film work. It may just inspire new levels of creativity that are what help you to make a name for yourself.
