I have read many a book that discusses making a “low budget” film (usually with a budget in the $10-15,000 range). What these books fail to point out is how one can make a very good film for a whole lot less (between $50 and $500). The secret of pulling this fairly difficult operation off is to think outside the box. Sure, you can easily scrape together a loan from the bank and buy a Canon XL1S, (list price at B&H Photo: $4,699.00) and an Avid DS Nitris (list price: $24,995.00), but it is a lot easier (and cheaper) to do some of the techniques discussed in this article.
The first item that is essential to being a low budget filmmaker is a camera. In this case, I am discussing digital video (DV) and analog video (VHS) camcorders. The above-mentioned Canon XL1S is a top of the line (Steven Soderbergh used it for an extensive part of his 2001 film FULL FRONTAL) prosumer camera. But, if you are willing to hunt a little you can get a reasonably priced, feature-loaded camera in the $200-$600 range. If you are very cash strapped, (as I was in 2000, the year in which I bought an RCA VHS camera from 1988, list price $1,700.00, for $20.00 at a yard sale) you can find a VHS camera for well under a $100. The only downside to a VHS camera is that it has to be captured through either an analog-to-digital converter or through some kind of Firewire or USB enabled device (a DV camera or deck). If you are editing at a cable TV station, (more on this later) they usually have editing suites that have a way to capture VHS. These are good choices if you are interested in video cameras. I won’t even go into film cameras because they require both the camera (expensive enough) and film. Now, previously I had only discussed buying camcorders. If you can’t afford to buy one or don’t want to then you can always rent one. I would recommend buying a camera because you only pay one flat fee and it’s yours for the rest of its lifespan.
There are two ways to rent a camera. One is to rent it from rental houses that carry the best (and most expensive) in cameras. These types of places also require insurance and have fairly strict rules regarding their equipment. One that I can think of in Massachusetts is the Boston Camera Rental Company. They rent a Canon XL1S for $150 a day and require insurance. A final note on this type of renting, compare the rental price of the Canon XL1S to the rental price of a Bolex 16mm camera: $75 a day. Secondly there is the option of renting from a cable TV station. I believe this is the better of the two because the stations don’t require insurance, have a small membership fee and only require you to fill out a couple of forms. For example Cambridge Community Television in Massachusetts charges $60.00 per day for the Sony VX2000, as compared to a $2,999.99 retail price for the slightly newer VX2100. You need to find a model that has all the features you want at an affordable price. If you spend the extra $400 for the 20 transitions and effects as opposed to a cheaper camera with only 4 of these then you don’t need this feature because you can get better quality and removable effects.
On to the next step, which assumes that your film is shot because getting low budget locations is easier than finding editing systems at low budget prices. Here are some of my experiences shooting my current film, PANDORA’S RECORD, which you can view, the trailer for at www.oscarfilms.com. While I was shooting this film I needed a bar set. So, because of my extreme low budget I couldn’t film in a real bar because of my age. So, at home, I created the set with a board on a couple of stools as the bar top, some $12 neon and $10 rope lights. I was able to get permission (for free!), in exchange for a credit, to shoot in Johnny’s Luncheonette in Cambridge, MA (I needed a real jukebox for my film). A little ingenuity can get you free sets. Two of my films have had scenes shot at the Newton Public Library.
On to the next non-free step, getting a good editing system at a reasonable price. In this case there are several options. I will cover three. The first, which I have never tried, is to hire an editor with his or her own equipment to edit your film. This can get pricey, especially if the editor is using an Avid system. Avid’s are very popular because they were one of the first on the scene. Two more affordable solutions are Apple Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere. If you hire an editor who edits with one of these the rates may go down slightly. Want to edit your own film? There are two very good options for editing your own film. The first can be from a free rate to a $300 per hour rate. I suggest going to a cable TV station that will let you use their suite to edit your film. Cable TV stations are cheap because if you get a simple membership at a tiny rate ($10-$15 for students and $55 for individuals) and agree to have your final product broadcast on their channels they will let you edit.
Let me tell you my experience with Cambridge Community Television (thank you so much for your help, CCTV). About a year and a half ago I went there with a dream to edit a little homage to film noir called THE BLUE BOX. I signed up for a membership, filled out a production contract to allow me to use their editing suites, and off I went. Here comes the embarrassing part of this story. The program I was going to use, Premiere, I knew close to nothing about. They had courses there but I only wanted to edit my film. The amount of editing experience I had was pitiful: I was an experienced user of a little PC-based, entry-level program called Ulead VideoStudio. That was it, except for a 30-day trial version of Premiere. Because of my inexperience I spent from November 2002 to June 2003 editing an 18-minute film, learning as I went, and frequently emailing the staff of CCTV with my questions, which they graciously answered. I can’t stand to look at that film now because after all that work the film even confuses me. My next film was made in one day (except for a re-shoot of a crucial dolly shot). This film is much better, except for the sound mix (I still had not mastered Premiere).
On to the final chapter of this article, buying your own editing system. My editing system is a 1GHZ, off the shelf eMac, with 1 GB of memory, a LaCie Firewire drive, and Apple Final Cut Pro 4. How did I afford this? Two words: educational pricing. My family still has our old Window 95 Dell. We decided that since I had been editing on a Mac at the cable TV station that we ought to get one with Adobe Premiere, educational price $209, retail $699. Then the bad news came: the newest version of the software was released and it was only PC compatible. We all chipped in and for only $299 we got Final Cut Pro 4, retail $999. I guess I’m lucky enough that my family has an educational affiliation but, hey, I would still keep on editing anyway, booking two or three-hour time slots at the great CCTV. As an endnote I’d like to remind you that I am still low budget enough that I capture my footage over at CCTV to this day.
These are some of the many ways to work within a tiny budget to produce quality films that will satisfy you for many years. Gradually you will find that, like I did, you will have enough to buy a camcorder and/or an editing system. To raise money for my films I even sold old radios. These came, free from my grandmother, an antiques collector. I was even lucky enough to be mentioned as the youngest dealer at a radio show in a prestigious radio-collecting magazine. But this is about filmmaking, not radios. Just remember, with a little creativity, and a good idea for a film, you can make one for very little money. When you are done with your film you can even submit to a film festival, and when you win, be sure to mention two things to the festival: that your film was made for under a $1000 and my name (hopefully they will pass your good judgment of my films to another film festival and I will win). Just kidding!
Happy (low budget) Filmmaking,