Over the past years I directed two no(?)-micro(?)-low(?)-budget (what’s the latest on who qualifies?) features and a dozen short films and almost every time I held open community meetings seeking the public’s support. I didn’t think this was anything special but the producers on Free in Deed asked me to describe the rationale for running ‘Open Call Info Sessions’ to the community on low-budget projects instead of traditional ‘closed-door auditions’.
As every facet of the film industry has experienced, the digital era has drastically shifted the economics of how films are produced, marketed, and distributed. Camera technology has reached a level that provides filmmakers at any stage of their career the ability to produce content with the potential of landing a fruitful distribution deal as the world has witnessed with films such as Beast of The Southern Wild, Like Crazy, Another Earth, and Martha Marcy May Marlene – all produced at 1M or under and distributed theatrically through studios. The shifting of the global economy in 2008 changed the film business in obvious ways — budgets were slashed across the board, distribution outlets faltered internationally and multi-national conglomerates that owned and operated studios no longer saw a viable risk in the intimate, quirky and character centric independent films of the 1990’s and early 2000’s.By Paolo Benetazzo
Push The Boundaries of Your Creativity: How I Made the Film Study
Filmmaking is my day-long obsession, joy and torment
When you can’t see the line between fiction and reality, filmmaking becomes your lifestyle.
I was a psychology student when I came up with the concept behind my feature film directorial debut Study. During my final year at university I was involved in a number of film projects, including short films and documentaries. I didn’t have full artistic control. I had to compromise my vision for the sake of the team and that was the only way to get it done.
When you don’t want to share your vision with others I think you’re ready to make your full-length film, no matter what your budget is. I would rather make a low budget film instead of collecting short films or waiting for the great opportunity that might never come. It’s going to be risky, painful and insane but that’s how real indie films are made.
I’m a self‐taught filmmaker, I’ve never attended a film school. Watching films along with real life experience represents the film school par excellence in my opinion. Films are the greatest teachers of all; they are an endless source of learning.
The Open Screenplay
Fascinated by the study of psychology and its impact on modern life, I decided to explore my studies in a feature film. Once I graduated in Psychology, I moved to Ireland where I started writing the script in English.
by Katherine Bruens
I work professionally as a Producer and Production Manager in the advertising industry and independent film world here in San Francisco. I am also one half of a partnership that has produced three micro budget features here. Rather than become frustrated that the market in San Francisco has demanded that I spread my attention between these three worlds, I’ve embraced this hybrid. This market gives me a way not only to maintain my freedom to usher forward new personally driven works, but it also allows me to produce media through a broad spectrum of strategies, sometimes with vastly different amounts of money. What’s more, in the end these projects are all trying to achieve a similar result.
by Tristan Goligher
In the UK micro budget films are often sneered at, often derided, and often rightly so. It is a fair criticism that many of these films can be high in over indulgence, and low in technical execution. But increasingly, over recent years, micro budget film makers are proving to be amongst the most exciting and innovative of emerging talent. In the states this grass roots creative movement has been evident for some time, giving birth to film makers like Kelly Reichardt, Andrew Bujalski, and Joe Swanberg, to mention just a few. Now it seems that we, the British, are catching on too. Change is in the air, and momentum is gathering.
I recently had the great pleasure of watching MONSTERS. I enjoyed the movie on many levels, including that it is just good fun. But what I really loved was how well micro-budget production techniques enabled good story telling. In my raving about this, Jonathan Stromberg responded and pointed me to his far better articulated post on the same subject. What follows is his first two paragraphs in CineSpect , but check out the whole post here.
The following review is partially adapted from a workshop I gave to film students at the State University of New York at Purchase College on 6 October 2010.
“Monsters”, the debut feature of writer/director Gareth Edwards, is, from the point of view of a spectator, an imperfect film. It is, however, from the point of view of a filmmaker, one of the most exciting releases I’ve seen this year. Edwards’s production reads like a map for young filmmakers, marking pitfalls with his struggles and showing a way forward with his successes. “Monsters” is one of the clearest case studies yet for the challenges—and advantages—of micro-budget filmmaking.
The ostensible auteur Edwards approached his first feature from his background in visual effects and documentary television. In some ways, this spelled destiny for the production style of “Monsters.” The narrative is basically theatrical, but the shooting style is strongly influenced by the production necessities of non-fiction television. For example, the film has no script per se. Edwards shot using scene outlines and necessary plot points but allowed his cast, Whitney Able and Scoot McNairy, to improvise freely within the scene. The apparent production doctrine was for Edwards, also the cinematographer, to shoot the scene multiple times from different angles to get broad coverage of every beat. The film in this way develops a signature somewhat different from more traditional narrative constructions. Edwards foregoes the “establishing wide then punch in for medium shots and close ups” archetype for something that ends up more like a multi-camera shoot. The angles in any particular scene are more varied, but also less predictable. In documentary television we—I work in non-fiction television as well—often shoot this way. In this way, a decision regarding the mode of production has significant impact on the film’s aesthetic, for better or worse, in a way that contrasts it to traditional productions.
