When you set out to make your indie film, at some point you’ll have to come to terms with your budget. The amount of money you have to spend on your film determines your shoot days, your locations, and most importantly, your cast and crew. In The Indie Film Blueprint course on MZed, educator Rubidium Wu provides a breakdown for what you can expect with the different levels of a film budget. It won’t apply to every film of course, but it’s a good starting point when you’re planning who you can hire. Image source: Rubidium Wu / MZed The $10,000 Indie Film Budget The no budget or micro budget film starts at around $10,000. Whether you raise that with crowdfunding or from family and friends, this is where many filmmakers begin as they work their way up. What will that buy you? According to Rubidium, who has developed several indie films from idea to delivery, the micro budget indie film will usually mean you’re shooting on a long weekend, possibly a week at the most, with one or two locations. Your camera people are pulling their own focus, and you might have two or three cameras in order to get quick coverage. The shooting style is basic, almost documentary style, with a shoulder rig or tripod capturing one or two actors. After you rush through principal photography, you edit the film quickly in six months or less, and then you’re done. The goal for a low budget film at...
Published By: CineD - Tuesday, 15 March, 2022