The Two Minute Master -- How to Make a Great Micro-budget Movie

Any way you cut it, making a film is difficult. It's even more difficult when you have no money. Yet every year, while Hollywood churns out blockbusters with budgets larger than the GNP's of some Third World countries, filmmakers with no money find a way to get their movies made. If you're passionate enough and lucky enough, you can too.

Understand that there's a huge difference between low budget and micro-budget movies. Low budget films can range anywhere from $150,000 up to a few million. That's great if your brother-in-law just won the lottery, but for the rest of us, we're dealing with films scrounged out for a few thousand dollars and credit cards. One similarity between the two is that both start with a script.

The Screenplay

Make sure your script has a limited number of locations and characters. Look around for settings you know you can use for free. Ask friends or relatives if you can shoot on their property. Be creative. Your script should avoid special effects and extreme weather conditions integral to the story. Set your story in the present day and try to limit stunts. List things you know you have access to, and keep them in mind as you write your story. Try to limit your story to 90 pages maximum rather than the standard two-hour, 120 page script.

Production

Shoot in 16mm and emphasize visuals so you can shoot as much as possible without syn ch sound. You can find great deals on wind-up cameras such as the Krasnogorsk K 3. Not only will you save money, but you'll wind up with a more cinematic film. Limit crew to just the essentials. Everyone, and I mean everyone, will need to pull double and triple duty. Shoot long days - 18 hours or more. Be creative with your camera, but avoid complex set ups and long takes as much as possible. Use a student ID, yours or someone else's, to buy film stock at student rates.

Equipment