Its been a couple of weeks since my last post and that’s because I have been finishing off the planning for and shooting my latest short. Now I am in the edit I have a little more time to write a more blog posts.
Today I want to look at possible ways you could cut expenses down on your latest short film. I said in my last post that you should always give yourself a budget that you will not go over. Divide it in to different sections and if needed you can always borrow from one section to give to another, you may not need many props and so the rest of the money can filter in to other sections.
Equipment: You could possibly visit your local college or university. If you explain that your shooting a local low budget film and you are looking for help and equipment then its possible if you allow some of the student to come and assist they would be willing to let you use some of their equipment.
Crew: Advertise on Mandy/Star Now/Facebook Groups. If you have an interesting idea, filming in cool locations or are generally just a nice polite person, then tell people you don’t have a budget but you need a camera operator with a camera. You will be far more likely to get someone if you come across as a nice person and your polite. The amount of posts I see of people asking for someone with a high-end camera, 5 years experience with no pay but you can have a copy of the film. Manners cost nothing and they will go further, you might not find someone with all that but you will find other people like you that are looking for interesting opportunities.
Actors: Use the sites for posting out casting calls. Most require you to pay expenses and I always do. I feel if you cant pay actors then auditions are as much about selling your idea to them as them giving a great audition. Make sure you promise to give them the film and always make sure they see it first. If you have a script that is a great character piece then people will be interested in being in the film for only expenses.
Location: Check out local smaller business that would be happy with a credit for the film. Talk to people who have lived in the location for a long time and know the area. Post leaflets through peoples doors asking for locations and giving them an idea of what you’re looking for with your contact details. Sell your shoot as being a great experience for them to participate in.
Props/Costume: for my last film I got most of my costume and props from a charity shop. It didn’t cost much but you could visit smaller business and ask to borrow things. For I’ll Call you Back we borrowed cushions and some lamps from a shop then just brought them back afterwards. See what cloths the actors have and create a costume from what they own. Check out local theater companies, colleges and universities for what costume and props they have available.
Editing: If you don’t have a computer or edit software then again visit places of education and see if they will let you edit with any extra time they have available. If you are looking for software then most programs have a month trial, which should give you enough time.
Music: Again like crew if the budget is not there then ask for help. Some sites like vimeo have free music to use and if you google copyright free music you will find a host of sites out there. This music is not going to fit as well as if someone had wrote something for your film but it’s an option.
Promote: Send your film out there in any way you can, upload to film annex and blog about it. Make the release a big deal and promote your film before the release to generate a crowd. Post it on Facebook and ask people to share it, tweet about it. Maybe you could create a page dedicated to it updating people throughout the process of the film and get followers that way.
I hope some of these tips help on your next production and if you guys have some money saving tips then just add them in the comment box below.
To before I finish I thought I would post some of the production stills from my latest short.
Hope you like them.
