Microbudget Movies:
Production

The production phase on microbudget movies is where you’ll begin to see whether your planning and preparation has paid off. There’s not much margin for error so hopefully you’ve built some contingency plans into project. (Like alternate locations if your first choice falls through or some way of raising additional funds if you’re money runs out.)

Because of the way union contracts are structured most Hollywood-style movies shoot on consecutive days straight through the planned shooting schedule. Since everyone is being paid a living wage everyone is expected to be there, on time, whenever called. Since you won’t very likely be paying anything resembling a living wage (if anything) you will have to accommodate your cast and crew’s “real life” schedules. This can actually be one of the hardest parts of the whole process. On the bright side you can use time to your advantage in that you can theoretically take as long as you want to get the result you desire. This, of course, will all depend upon the rapport you have with the people you’re working with and their willingness to stick with the project. Projects that drag out over many months can face some continuity problems as people change their hairstyle, gain or lose weight, and so on. And there’s always the possibility that someone who is working on your project will get a good paying job that may force them to drop out entirely. But for the most part people generally respond well to someone who is passionate about their vision and dedicated to doing a good job.

Certainly don’t hesitate to let people involved with the production see some of the work as you go, whether it’s raw footage or some kind of rough cut scenes. It’s quite possible that some of your actors will have little or no movie making experience and could benefit from seeing how their work plays on the screen. It tends to be a good morale booster (assuming that the footage turns out nicely) and can help make people more committed to finishing the job.

Take care of your people any way that you can. Food, beverage and snack items may be all they will ever get out of the project so try to provide those things whenever possible. Your people are your most valuable asset so treat them with respect and courtesy at the very least, if you can’t do anything more for them.

Communicate. Explain what the plan for the day is. It may all be worked out in your head but it’s ultimately got to get into everyone else’s so make a habit of outlining what you’re trying to do. You probably don’t need long, elaborate production meetings but most people will appreciate being kept informed.

Try to keep a low profile when working in public spaces. The trick to good hit-and-run filmmaking is working fast and not calling too much attention to yourself. Most of the time people will figure you’ve got permission to be wherever you are and doing whatever it is that you’re doing so they won’t bother you anyway, but if you start making a nuisance of yourself that could change in a hurry.

Be flexible. Many things can go wrong, and often will, so be ready to adapt to changing situations. You can’t throw money at your problems so you have to be quick on your feet.

Many times when making a microbudget movie there will be one or two expensive days that take up a disproportionate amount of the budget. These are usually the “big” days where you’re dealing with crowd scenes, travel, stunt work and or special effects. These are the days that you’ve hopefully planned for carefully. You should always try to have some backup gear, even if it’s not quite as good as your primary equipment, but on these crucial days it’s really important. The logistics of organizing a “hell day” can be pretty daunting and the last thing in the world you want is to scrub the shoot because your microphone chooses that day to stop working. It’s on these days that you have to be at your best to keep people happy, keep things moving, and make sure that your money isn’t being wasted.

Anything you can do to make your microbudget movie look bigger than it really is will go a long way towards helping you promote and distribute your finished product. A few carefully planned “money shots” will go a long way towards this goal. It may mean that you have to rent or borrow something like a “jib” or go to some extra effort to get a really spectacular shot but even a couple of these “luxuries” can really pay off in the end.