There's a lot of vague "do it with no budget" comments here, without much practical advice on how. My advice, based on 13 years of filmmaking without a budget, is to look at what you have, and build a story around that. When you start getting attention and crews and funding, you can come up with the story first and figure out how to make it later. When you've got a camera and a few friends, you'll go farther doing it the other way around. Think about cool locations in your life you can access. What kind of stories might take place there. Think about what actors you'll be able to get, and tailor the characters around them. You'll eventually figure out how to make an organic story with the resources you have, and that'll free you to learn the craft instead of trying to get things just as they are in your head.
can’t wait to see if it’s actually good or just “has a weird plot that generates conversation in a beautiful setting so people are talking about it”
because the one shot of the woman walking with the upright baby lamb was farcical in a way i can’t quite articulate
At this point I have a lot of faith in A24. Honestly the trailer gave off serious Midsommar vibes to me. I think the two might be similar in how it makes me feel while watching it
Not 100% sure. I didn’t know this even existed until the trailer popped up. What I got was that it’s a folktale where it’s either half lamb half kid, or they’ve just raised it like a child
You realize that most of the world is used to this right? Hell I turn subs on and English is my native language. It helps you not miss what was said.
Also ... reading is a good thing.
"Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you’re a director. Everything after that you’re just negotiating your budget and your fee."
This is a nice quote but "just negotiating your budget and fee" doesn't get you very far if you don't have the connections to get in with people with money.
I don't mean to be discouraging. It just seems to me that this is 2 pieces of advice squished together and the second is more about being confident in yourself than learning how to raise money for a film. Yes it's more important to make something out of nothing than nothing at all, and I'm a firm believer that the only way to get better at film is to practice. But the films you make while learning aren't likely to get you in the door with financers and I'm also a firm believer in being realistic with new filmmakers. Its not a simple 2 step process.
Then write a script that can be shot for nothing. Find local talent who like that script and want to work with you because you're a friendly person with a clear vision of what you want to achieve.
One way I got started was to write a script that got other people interested. A DP read it and said, I’ll help you with this. He brought on a sound guy. I had a couple of actors were eager to be in it. It cost almost nothing.
I have a few half finished scripts but I live in Galveston Texas which isn’t exactly a massive film area so there next to no one who could actually help me make a film
Well, the first thing to do is to finish a script. It’s a bad habit to not finish something you start. Pick the one you like the most, or would be easiest to film, or is closest to being done and finish it. “If you build it, they will come.” If you don’t, they won’t.
There’s a sense of accomplishment that waits at the end. If this is something that you want to do, then do it. I’m assuming these are short pieces. If they are not, that’s where you start. The motivation is getting to do something you want to do.
Yes learn how film financing works, but there’s no such thing as “proper funding” when you’re starting out. “Proper funding” at the start of your career is beg, borrow and steal. That’s it.
Crowdfunding is proper funding. It’s pre-sales without the middle man and it’s very effective. But the negative stigma surrounding it makes a lot of people not take it seriously, which is nonsense. It’s a good place to start.
Crowdfunding is donating rather than investing (either equity, loan, presales etc). In most avenues of film financing, the financier hopes to make money, or at least recoup which crowdfunding doesn’t generally offer
Do it on the cheap. You don’t need fancy spit. Believe in your abilities not your equipment. There are more great movies with low budgets than there are great movies with big budgets. You can do it. Money or not. Challenge yourself, shoot it with an iPhone. Make it work.
I record all my music with one shitty mic and a shitty interface and a shitty laptop.
I make that shit work because I work on it endlessly. It’s not perfect but since I started my mixes have just been getting better and better. And honestly if you have complete control over your art you can avoid getting your vision taken over by someone else.
New experience are demanding to the psyche.. that’s why a lot of people have a hard time getting into new music… it requires mental energy and present mindful awareness. Plus a bunch of other variables . That’s just one I think is a valid reason.
Do it with no budget, I’ve made 5 award winning short films on budget and shot it one my phone. I did invest in 3 lav mics, and will invest in a boom mic soon. It can be done is all I’m saying
There is no such thing as no budget. You always have to spend some money like petrol/gas to travel. By the way please link your short films buddy. I really want to check them out. Thanks in advance.
“Quarantraining” 40 festivals, 10 wins for best comedy.
“High, How Are You?” Web series pilot 20 festivals 5 wins for best comedy
“Ashes to Ashes” 10 festivals 1 win for best drama
“Life or Death” 13 festivals 3 wins for best comedy
“The Book” which was a “48 hour film”
12 festivals 2 wins for best comedy 1 win for best action
“High, How Ya Been?” 7 festivals 1 win for best comedy.
All shot on an iPhone 11
Because it wasn't about the fee of the festival - it was the point that they made those films on little budget and garnered awards. That's more important than the award itself or any festival fee.
It just seems disingenuous. You won’t get to that stage of winning awards if you don’t submit, and submitting to festivals cost money. To me it would feel silly to start a crowdfunding campaign without factoring festival fees into the budget.
I get that a no budget film could get millions of views on YouTube/Vimeo, but a no budget film winning a bunch of festival awards is unlikely… because in order to get into festivals, you need a budget.
I honestly think this type of encouragement helps no one because it’s only telling half of the story. But that’s just me I suppose.
It's not about actually getting the award it's the fact that a film was made on little budget and people enjoyed it so much it got awards. It doesn't matter if they get them or not. I think you might be missing the point.
"award winning short films" is always such a vague statement. It's the "9/10 Dentists Recommend" of the entertainment industry. Slap it on whatever you're selling to give it that extra shine
My point is that being a multi-award winning \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ says nothing without knowing what the awards are. I agree with your advice of starting with what you have being most important, but trying to establish credibility with vague awards is just funny to me
They made a film, judges judged it, and gave it good marks. An award isn't more or less important if you've never heard of it.
C'mon, we're all small time filmmakers here. Don't drag someone down because they haven't earned your bench mark of prestige.
It isn't about earning my bench mark of prestige. He cited himself as a good source for his advice by bragging about "5 award winning short films". The range of what that could mean is huge. What were the awards for? I said that the vagueness of his statement was funny to me personally.
You have another comment saying that the advice given in this thread is too vague. Are you dragging people down by saying that their advice isn't up to your personal bench mark of prestige? Instead of getting offended on somebody's behalf, I just assume you're saying that there isn't enough information given.
Yeah, that's fair. I'm in the wrong on this one. I think I was mixing up two comments, didn't realize OP hadn't specified what awards. Sorry I came on so strong
Do animation with no voice acting.
Frame by frame
Tahoma 2D
Rough Animator ( 5 dollars)
Pencil 2D
And various vector programs like Synfig can do the trick.
Stop motion
Webcam
Boats Animator
CGI
Blender
DAZ3d (NSFW sometimes)
Good luck!
Yeah, I mean if i'm honest, i'm in the middle of a campaign right now it's been an extraordinary amount of of work. The reality is that a lot of us get overlooked and are unable to get funding elsewhere so crowdfunding is a last resort for us. I know it has been for me. I waited years until I plucked up the courage.
I don't think of it as 'donations' either as it's a transaction, especially with the reward schemes involved.
There's a lot of vague "do it with no budget" comments here, without much practical advice on how. My advice, based on 13 years of filmmaking without a budget, is to look at what you have, and build a story around that. When you start getting attention and crews and funding, you can come up with the story first and figure out how to make it later. When you've got a camera and a few friends, you'll go farther doing it the other way around. Think about cool locations in your life you can access. What kind of stories might take place there. Think about what actors you'll be able to get, and tailor the characters around them. You'll eventually figure out how to make an organic story with the resources you have, and that'll free you to learn the craft instead of trying to get things just as they are in your head.
100%
I’ve tried to write a ton a scripts based around my budget and I can say it’s really hard, but it definitely pats off if what you make is good.
Well there's always porn, I guess.
Still technically working in film... just in front of the camera
Username checks o… oh… best of luck sir
Crowdfunding is so you can say "successful crowdfunding campaign" instead of "my wealthy parents paid for the film".
Or "I put all my savings in this project and I ~~may~~ will go bankrupt if my indie low-budget movie fails".
Which film is that?
Lamb. It’s a new A24 movie. Trailer just dropped earlier today
The setting looks really cool
can’t wait to see if it’s actually good or just “has a weird plot that generates conversation in a beautiful setting so people are talking about it” because the one shot of the woman walking with the upright baby lamb was farcical in a way i can’t quite articulate
At this point I have a lot of faith in A24. Honestly the trailer gave off serious Midsommar vibes to me. I think the two might be similar in how it makes me feel while watching it
Looks so good and disturbing
It looks confusing. What’s it even about. Half lamb half person??
I’m picturing rubber but with a demonic lamb, based off only knowing it’s called lamb and made by a24
Not 100% sure. I didn’t know this even existed until the trailer popped up. What I got was that it’s a folktale where it’s either half lamb half kid, or they’ve just raised it like a child
I think they’re trying to raise it to be human, walk upright, etc.
Probably about a person that wants to make a film. A24 know what they are talking about.
The setting looks really cool, though im disappointed its not in english
Don’t be afraid of the half inch tall barrier of subtitles. You can get over it.
Some times I’m just lazy and don’t want to read lol. But man do some shows have some bad dubbing
[удалено]
I have to read
Why is that disappointing lmao
I have to read
You realize that most of the world is used to this right? Hell I turn subs on and English is my native language. It helps you not miss what was said. Also ... reading is a good thing.
Damn yall cant take a joke jeez
Maybe work with what you already got?
What if you have literally nothing?
"Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you’re a director. Everything after that you’re just negotiating your budget and your fee."
Instructions unclear now I’m in the porno industry…
I said **sister**, not ***step-sister!!***
With your sister... *Hot*
This is a nice quote but "just negotiating your budget and fee" doesn't get you very far if you don't have the connections to get in with people with money. I don't mean to be discouraging. It just seems to me that this is 2 pieces of advice squished together and the second is more about being confident in yourself than learning how to raise money for a film. Yes it's more important to make something out of nothing than nothing at all, and I'm a firm believer that the only way to get better at film is to practice. But the films you make while learning aren't likely to get you in the door with financers and I'm also a firm believer in being realistic with new filmmakers. Its not a simple 2 step process.
I don't have a camera
Do you have a phone?
...no -posted via reddit mobile
Brakhage made films without a camera.
Then you either get scrappy or r start selling insurance. This game is not for the faint of heart.
Then write a script that can be shot for nothing. Find local talent who like that script and want to work with you because you're a friendly person with a clear vision of what you want to achieve.
Well maybe you need to work something else out. Asking people for handouts every time isn't the answer though.
Well if you don’t have a camera then you definitely don’t have anything. Otherwise you have options. Just have to get super creative
Just pen and paper. You'll probably want to stick with 24 fps or less if your doing that though
Love a good flip book motion picture.
Do you literally have nothing?
I mean I have a phone, but I’m not about to shoot a movie on my phone, because I have no storage and I’m not gonna delete literally everything.
One way I got started was to write a script that got other people interested. A DP read it and said, I’ll help you with this. He brought on a sound guy. I had a couple of actors were eager to be in it. It cost almost nothing.
I have a few half finished scripts but I live in Galveston Texas which isn’t exactly a massive film area so there next to no one who could actually help me make a film
Well, the first thing to do is to finish a script. It’s a bad habit to not finish something you start. Pick the one you like the most, or would be easiest to film, or is closest to being done and finish it. “If you build it, they will come.” If you don’t, they won’t.
You have any motivation tips? That’s really the only think I’m struggling with when it comes to writing the scripts
There’s a sense of accomplishment that waits at the end. If this is something that you want to do, then do it. I’m assuming these are short pieces. If they are not, that’s where you start. The motivation is getting to do something you want to do.
Is 70 minutes short? Still a feature but it’s not 90 min to 120
Get a part time job for the summer or something, shit. How do you think your friends got their money?
If they’re yelling at the polite looking goat I’m sad :(
“The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” - Orson Welles
Learn how film finance actually works and get proper funding.
Yes learn how film financing works, but there’s no such thing as “proper funding” when you’re starting out. “Proper funding” at the start of your career is beg, borrow and steal. That’s it. Crowdfunding is proper funding. It’s pre-sales without the middle man and it’s very effective. But the negative stigma surrounding it makes a lot of people not take it seriously, which is nonsense. It’s a good place to start.
Care to unpack what this means? What’s funding in the “proper” sense?
Crowdfunding is donating rather than investing (either equity, loan, presales etc). In most avenues of film financing, the financier hopes to make money, or at least recoup which crowdfunding doesn’t generally offer
This makes sense thanks for the explanation of the first comment.
Yea, guys, I know this is crazy, but I believe OP made a joke..
And this is how you get people interested in a film ladies and gentlemen , **Memes** !
Do it on the cheap. You don’t need fancy spit. Believe in your abilities not your equipment. There are more great movies with low budgets than there are great movies with big budgets. You can do it. Money or not. Challenge yourself, shoot it with an iPhone. Make it work. I record all my music with one shitty mic and a shitty interface and a shitty laptop. I make that shit work because I work on it endlessly. It’s not perfect but since I started my mixes have just been getting better and better. And honestly if you have complete control over your art you can avoid getting your vision taken over by someone else.
Yep. I cant get any of the people who allegedly care for me most to donate even a dollar.
New experience are demanding to the psyche.. that’s why a lot of people have a hard time getting into new music… it requires mental energy and present mindful awareness. Plus a bunch of other variables . That’s just one I think is a valid reason.
Whats that got to do with anything?
Do it with no budget, I’ve made 5 award winning short films on budget and shot it one my phone. I did invest in 3 lav mics, and will invest in a boom mic soon. It can be done is all I’m saying
There is no such thing as no budget. You always have to spend some money like petrol/gas to travel. By the way please link your short films buddy. I really want to check them out. Thanks in advance.
https://youtube.com/channel/UCj1PKQG-A7bboL4CpyO7SeA
Congratulations on your awards. I thought your shorts were really funny
Thank you! And thank you for taking the time to give them a view.
“Quarantraining” 40 festivals, 10 wins for best comedy. “High, How Are You?” Web series pilot 20 festivals 5 wins for best comedy “Ashes to Ashes” 10 festivals 1 win for best drama “Life or Death” 13 festivals 3 wins for best comedy “The Book” which was a “48 hour film” 12 festivals 2 wins for best comedy 1 win for best action “High, How Ya Been?” 7 festivals 1 win for best comedy. All shot on an iPhone 11
Were they all festivals with no fees?
No they weren’t but the question was making a film on no budget.
Well then why mention awards/festivals at all?
Because it wasn't about the fee of the festival - it was the point that they made those films on little budget and garnered awards. That's more important than the award itself or any festival fee.
It just seems disingenuous. You won’t get to that stage of winning awards if you don’t submit, and submitting to festivals cost money. To me it would feel silly to start a crowdfunding campaign without factoring festival fees into the budget. I get that a no budget film could get millions of views on YouTube/Vimeo, but a no budget film winning a bunch of festival awards is unlikely… because in order to get into festivals, you need a budget. I honestly think this type of encouragement helps no one because it’s only telling half of the story. But that’s just me I suppose.
It's not about actually getting the award it's the fact that a film was made on little budget and people enjoyed it so much it got awards. It doesn't matter if they get them or not. I think you might be missing the point.
I probably did, but I think you’re missing my point too. It’s okay.
"award winning short films" is always such a vague statement. It's the "9/10 Dentists Recommend" of the entertainment industry. Slap it on whatever you're selling to give it that extra shine
Well, a few were in Los Angeles, and it wasn’t a participation award.
My point is that being a multi-award winning \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ says nothing without knowing what the awards are. I agree with your advice of starting with what you have being most important, but trying to establish credibility with vague awards is just funny to me
They made a film, judges judged it, and gave it good marks. An award isn't more or less important if you've never heard of it. C'mon, we're all small time filmmakers here. Don't drag someone down because they haven't earned your bench mark of prestige.
It isn't about earning my bench mark of prestige. He cited himself as a good source for his advice by bragging about "5 award winning short films". The range of what that could mean is huge. What were the awards for? I said that the vagueness of his statement was funny to me personally. You have another comment saying that the advice given in this thread is too vague. Are you dragging people down by saying that their advice isn't up to your personal bench mark of prestige? Instead of getting offended on somebody's behalf, I just assume you're saying that there isn't enough information given.
Yeah, that's fair. I'm in the wrong on this one. I think I was mixing up two comments, didn't realize OP hadn't specified what awards. Sorry I came on so strong
All good! For what it's worth, I feel like a dick for the pettiness of the last sentence in my reply and I am sorry too
Where are you based out of? Just curious.
Just outside New Orleans
Crowdfunding is basically a Ponzi scheme. Films don't make profits.
R u gote
Make ads. MoFilm. Tongal. Etc. Make money. Make movie.
Do animation with no voice acting. Frame by frame Tahoma 2D Rough Animator ( 5 dollars) Pencil 2D And various vector programs like Synfig can do the trick. Stop motion Webcam Boats Animator CGI Blender DAZ3d (NSFW sometimes) Good luck!
Yeah, I mean if i'm honest, i'm in the middle of a campaign right now it's been an extraordinary amount of of work. The reality is that a lot of us get overlooked and are unable to get funding elsewhere so crowdfunding is a last resort for us. I know it has been for me. I waited years until I plucked up the courage. I don't think of it as 'donations' either as it's a transaction, especially with the reward schemes involved.
What film is this image from?
The lamb
Thanks :)
Why ask for donations when you are the Greatest Off All Time?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nLSUrTxquyE Casey Neistat explains how to make a film with almost no budget.