Low Budget movie - Words of wisdon and experience?

[KidCharlemagne108]

Hi,

I'm currently writing a script for a movie which we intend to shoot low-budget/guerilla style (whatever the expression is) - does any one have any words of wisdom, caution, do's and don'ts with regards to their experience in this area? Budget would be 7-10 thousand dollars. Is that realisitc?

The distribution route seems to be:

1) Make the movie
2) Submit it to festivals
3) Hope that it gets picked up by distributors

Is this the accepted route to distribution these days? or are there other methods that have found success? (I have contacts at many of the mini-major distributors such as Sony PC, Focus Features, Fine Line etc)

Oh, by the way, I am aware that like spec scripts the chance of securing distribution for an indie film is very small - Mark Gill gave a run down of the Sundance figures in a seminar in Cannes. Still, positive mental attitude and all that...

Thanks in advance

KC

[bottomlesscup]

1. Read a bunch of books. There are dozens on this topic.

2. Write the script with your resources in mind. Who do you know? What locations can you get for free?

3. Few characters, less locations, no stunts or effects.

4. Make sure the script is perfect. It's the one part of the movie on which you can hope to compete with the big boys. Your acting's going to be bad; your camera's going to be crappy; your production value is going to be nil. But your script can be golden.

5. You can't pay your cast and crew, so you better feed them well. Buy lunch everyday. Have tasty snacks around. Food will go a long way towards keeping them from quitting when the days turn long.

6. Try to get someone who knows what they're doing to record and mix your sound. Sound is both harder and more important than you think.

7. Whatever happens, get the thing done.


Good luck with it!

[KWVillen]

What bottomless cup said and I'd like to add:

If you haven't written the script be careful not to do this:

EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

;) (Inside joke about night time lighting, in the middle of nowhere, if you have no budget).

KW

[KidCharlemagne108]

Thanks guys,

Well, re. actors - my director has been acting for years and can call on some favours with his more well known actor friends. We've also worked with good actors since my film to be was staged as a play. The actors weren’t that well known but they were great.

BC - how did you handle deferrals and profit share?

If the film were to be picked up and make some money how does one go about splitting the pot? Does one do deferrals for below the line crew and actors and for writer/director/producer a profit share? What is deemed a fair split?

I know the chance of getting distribution and earning bucks is low but it still has to be accounted for. Did you draw up several types of contracts?

KW – I would like to shoot at night but in the city – lit streets – is this an issue with DV cameras? The whole technical thing is a learning curve for me. BC’s advice on reading lots of books sounds good.


Cheers

KC

[bottomlesscup]

BC - how did you handle deferrals and profit share?

Profit shares for the principals. You give a percentage of "Producer's Net Profit," which (theoretically) is the money you actually make after everybody else takes their cut and you recoup your costs.

In practice, for a no-budget, your film would get bought for a lump sum, you'd take out your costs of production and marketing, then split the rest accoding to the contracts.

I'm still in the process of ramping up pre-production on my first feature, but our deals are set.

I gave the leads 5%, big supporting roles 2%, small roles nothing. The lead female gets an extra 3% because she's doing nudity. Below-the-line are getting lunch and a wrap party.

Getting people to work for free hasn't been a problem. Once you tell people you're making a movie, help seems to be everywhere.

Rememeber that you're going to do fifty times more work than anyone else. Don't cheat yourself.

I would like to shoot at night but in the city – lit streets – is this an issue with DV cameras?

Get out there and try it. DV is a fluky format. You can make it look good, but it often takes a bit of experimentation.

If your city uses sodium street lights, everything's going to look very, very orange. Tweak the white balance as far as you can. Or, conversely, accept the orange look and try to work with it. It might look cool.

At that budget level, I'm going to assume you're using a straight-DV camera, not HD or SD. DV has a 4:1:1 colorspace, which gives it a very hard knee. That's why you get those big clumps when you're shooting anything of a solid color. Darkness can be problematic; the shadows tend to crush.

In general, for dark DV scenes, keep the shot tight. Wide shots aren't going to work well. Don't put large amounts of darkenss in the shot; it won't look good. Don't be afraid to get some lights out there to help the camera out, but try to keep your color temps balanced. (Watch the party scene at the end of "Full Frontal" to see the perils of unbalanced light in a DV film.)

Above all, experiment till it looks good.

And don't you dare turn the gain up.

"Digital Moviemaking" by Scott Billups is a great book about the technical aspects of DV. He's one of the pioneers in the field and the book is a treasure chest of information.

[KWVillen]

Kid,

There's a bunch of indie sites that will explain everything about film making: From dv to 16mm film (film stock/the cheaper short ends -- the huge debate between the two /combining the two -- forget about 35mm. Getting as close to a film look with pc editing software (and not flipping out when you realize that you have to upgrade your pc, cause you ain't got no more memory in that there pc and you didn't allow for this in the budget), the (in)expense of it all, (sound) broom stick boompoles, mics, voice dubbing (from all of that bkgrnd noice, constructing an egg crate sound proof room ; ), post production, finagling a DP, good actors (not family), home depot lighting, aspirin, aluminum foil screens, duck tape, telecine transfers (ridiculously costly esp. supervised), splicing (don't worry abt. that), possibly having a storyboard, what festivals do/don't accept dv, which do film or both, etc., and on and on and on.

My advice to you would be to do a search for indie film making and read as much as you can on the subject, before you do anything. Get that Rodriguez guerilla film making book, read previous posts from other beginners who all ready asked the same questions (from an indie site). So when you ask all of those technical questions, you'll be one step ahead.

I think one of the first stupid things I said on an indie site was, "Well, I'll just buy a telicine machine and do it myself".

indieclub.com

KW

[KidCharlemagne108]

Thanks BC and KV!

You guys are a veritable mine of information. I'll start checking out the books and sites.

Re: distribution - BC you mentioned marketing. Do you mean marketing your film at a film festival?

Is that the favored route? Make the movie and then just try and attract distributors by having the film screened in a film festival? Have you guys any experience in this area?

cheers

KC

[Ivylilly]

If you're shooting on DV, make sure you have telephoto lenses and wide lenses that can help create more "filmic" look. If you're shooting at night, make sure you have additional lighting and gels to avoid the "orange" look that's been mentioned.

ALSO!

Make sure you get all the permits. It can be way too costly if you and your talent are harrassed by cops or even arrested in the middle of th night.

[bottomlesscup]

Do you mean marketing your film at a film festival?

Is that the favored route? Make the movie and then just try and attract distributors by having the film screened in a film festival? Have you guys any experience in this area?

Yes. Yes. Yes. No.

Check out Chris Gore's "The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide."

It's got all the info you'll need about navigating the film festival jungle: what festivals are worth your time, entry dates and procedures, what to do once you get in, etc. It's full of interviews with festival gate-keepers, producer's reps, filmmakers who've made sales, etc.

[KidCharlemagne108]

Many thanks everyone!