7 Steps to Making A Low Budget Film: STEP ONE

Is it possible to make a film without funding? Well, I’ve been doing it for over 20 years so… absolutely you can!

But it’s not easy. In fact, the scale of the task is often so overwhelming it puts many of us off even starting.

So here are my 7 Steps to making a film without a budget…

Each step will be a separate post. Today, I’ll talk about where to begin.

Ignore the naysayers

Some people say it’s not possible to make a film with a budget of absolutely zero. They say there will always be some costs when making a film, including people donating their time for “free” (or deferred fees). Therefore, there is always a cost to making any film, even if it is low compared to normal film industry budgets.

So is there such a thing as a zero budget film? Yes. And here’s why…

I made a zero budget feature film. It cost me £4000 (roughly), which included the equipment purchase (things like a camera and a microphone). How can I claim it’s “zero budget” then?

Because I never had a budget.

I started shooting, knowing I had limited funds but with no set idea how much the film would cost me in the end. The film was shot over a year but without a set schedule. I didn’t know how long it would take or how much it would eventually cost, but I was of the mindset that I wouldn’t pay for anything unless I absolutely had to.

I paid some expenses for the minimal cast and crew. But I never paid for a single location.

Bear in mind, I spent 5 years working on it (including marketing), so just paying myself a minimum wage (let’s say £20k a year) would have been £60k. So yes, if you include people’s donated work time (and your own) then no film is cost-free.

We talk about low budget, we talk about micro budget, but zero budget? How do we define it?

For me, the definition of a zero budget film is one where you’re taking money from your own pocket(s) and have no budget framework. If you haven’t sat down and said “this is how much we have to spend and what we’re going to spend it on” then I qualify that as no budget.

I had no money set aside for the film, I was paying for it as I went along, from my wages working in a cinema (about £7/hour). You may disagree or don’t see the point in this definition. Which is fine because really what we’re talking about is making films with as little financial cost as possible.

For me, “zero budget” is really a mindset and not a literal zero-cost venture.

1. The Why

Why do you want to make a film? OK, you have the passion and it’s been your dream for years. But what do you expect from the end result?

Is this to make money? Or just for the love (and experience) of shooting a film? Maybe you don’t really know. But it’s worth thinking about, because it will change how you approach everything, including the story.

If this is your first ever film, then maybe skip this step and just make a short. But if you’ve already made a few shorts and are now thinking about making a feature (with no budget) then it’s a good idea to pause for a moment and think things through.

I know you just want to get started and that’s a good thing. Whatever happens, you will gain something from doing this – no matter how “good” or “bad” the film turns out. Procrastination is the creator’s enemy and the block of funding frustrations has led you to consider zero budget filmmaking.

Believe me, I get why you’re here reading this. Thing is, the impatience that drives us to this point might be the flaw which has undermined us in the past. So why not take a moment, a few days or weeks, to really mull over why you’re doing this (especially if you are intending to shoot a feature length film).

For love or profit?

A good example is the legendary tale of the making of Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi. If I remember right, the writer/director knew before filming he could sell a low budget crime thriller to the flourishing (Mexican?) straight to VHS market and recoup the $7000 he would spend making it.

In the end, the film did way better than he had anticipated. However, the fact is he had a solid plan before he started thinking about the story. And that plan would dictate the genre of the film and therefore the narrative.

In my experience, zero budget filmmakers almost never consider what they will do with their film when it’s made, other than vague notions of film festival submissions. If you’re hoping to make some kind of financial return from your finished film, then this step is essential.

Would you design a product before considering the market you are going to sell it to? And if you do consider the market before writing a word of your script, you will have an advantage over 90% (or more) of the other zero budget filmmakers out there who jump in without a thought of what they will do with the film when it’s completed.

Streaming, festivals or sales agent or…?

What will you do with your film when it’s finished? Like I say, don’t get to this step after you have finished the film (or even written the script). Do this now.

I know people who made micro budget features who had distribution deals with Netflix, iTunes and Amazon set up before shooting. They were creating a film to a specific genre and market, but had also worked out how to make a film that fitted that market for a very small amount of money. They are modern versions of Rodriguez, just switch straight to VHS for straight to Netflix.

That’s not to say getting a deal set up with Netflix is easy. Absolutely not. And the bigger Netflix gets, the harder it is to sell them your film.

We know that YouTube and Amazon will allow anyone to upload a film (under certain conditions). However, be aware that you’ll be marketing the film yourself. How good are your online marketing skills?

Alternatively, you might want to get to know some sales agents. You can meet them at film markets where they go to sell their films. Of course, there’s a cost to attending film markets which might outweigh the cost of making the film itself.

Are there agents that deal with the zero budget versions of the genre you’re looking at? Horror is the most common example, especially as horror films do not need name cast to get viewers. Why not check them out first and see what kind of film they offer?

Festivals are one of the most common routes for low budget indie films to find an audience. But again, this is by no means an easy route. But you can increase your chances of getting shown by thinking about what festivals want before you start writing your story…

So this is the first step. Take your time over it and don’t rush into giving up (potentially) years of your life before you have some idea of where you are going.

Tomorrow, I’ll talk about Step Two: The Story. Specifically, how to construct a narrative tuned to a zero budget project.

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Want to see some of the documents used during the production of a low budget film? Schedules, location plans, cast contracts and more can be found here: Low Budget Film Production Samples (Patrons Only)