5 Rules For Effective Low Budget Filmmaking

INTRODUCTION

Kevin Smith made Clerks with $27,000. Richard Linklater made Slacker for $23,000. Shane Carruth made Primer for $7,000.

Despite being largely self financed low budget projects, these films were all responsible for launching the careers of these directors. However, before we romanticise the potential of low or no budget projects too much, it’s important to note that for every success there’s also a gigantic heap of movies that, through luck or from being poorly made, never managed to find an audience. 

In this video I’ll go over 5 tips which I think will enhance the strength of your filmmaking without breaking the bank, and give your low budget films a fighting chance at gaining recognition and launching your career.

PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS

When working with little or no money, you’ve got to accept and embrace that you won’t be able to control all aspects of production. So always play to your strengths and work with the resources that you do have available. 

For example, Dave Klein, Kevin Smith’s DP on Clerks, initially imagined shooting the project in colour, however practical concerns made this a pipe dream.

“I think the look of that movie was mainly decided by the dollar. It was more cost effective to shoot black and white…You've got fluorescents but you’ve also got windows to deal with...we can use the tungsten lights that we have, mixed with the fluorescents which were there. Close the shutters. Kevin wrote that into the script - someone put gum in the locks. Then we didn’t have to worry about the windows that’s another colour temperature.” - Dave Klein, Cinematographer

Filmmakers, such as Christopher Nolan or even...myself and my director friend Greg, opted to shoot our first no budget feature in black and white for similar reasons. Rather than choosing colour and then fighting with colour temperatures, a lack of control over colour palettes and lighting, we choose to play to our strengths by embracing black and white and only focus on lighting contrast.

Another easy way to play to your strengths is to choose your shooting times carefully by shooting when the natural light will be best. The most effective way that I’ve found to play to your strengths is to first determine your budget, then sit down and allocate your resources appropriately.

Planning is your friend.

Although as a cinematographer I naturally want all the budget to be spent on those beautiful vintage lenses or on a bunch of HMIs - it’s important to understand that your loyalty should always be to the story. That’s why (even though it pains me to say it) budget should always be prioritised on getting experienced actors or locations rather than on renting top shelf gear. 

It’s better to shoot on a DSLR from 2008 with a solid cast of actors than spend all the budget on an Alexa Mini and a set of anamorphic lenses while casting your brother’s friend who makes TikTok videos as the dramatic lead. 

DIY CINEMATIC PRINCIPLES

A lack of money doesn’t mean that your movie has to look bad. Using the same cinematic principles that are used on high budget Hollywood films, but in a DIY way, is a great way of bumping up your low budget movie.

This could be done by using DIY rigs to move the camera - although don’t hold me responsible for the safety on these. Lighting with practical lights, or DIY fixtures assembled from a hardware store is another way to add to the look without spending much cash.

“I just chained up some fluorescent lights back there and I think we even put some halogen work lights...We took all the cigarettes out from above the counter and basically bounced the light off where the cigarettes would normally be.” -  Ed Hapstak, Gaffer
For other ways to light cinematically without a budget, you can check out a video I made on how to light without any lights.

Learning how to grade footage yourself with free software such as Da Vinci Resolve, or wrangling a free grade from a good colourist, is also a great way of improving the look of your film without spending any money. 

CREATE A LOOK (AND STICK TO IT)

“For Slacker I guess the original idea was the form of it. The way it wouldn’t be a traditional narrative...I remember I was driving to Houston I was like ‘Why can’t you just make a film where it goes from character to character?’ That could be a whole film. For me when it all started it was the formal kind of agenda. The formal aspects of the film. The cinematic qualities. That was my initial impulse.” - Richard Linklater, Director

Probably the best way to stand out or add so-called ‘production value’ to your project is to create a cohesive look or form for the entire project and then stick to it.

In the case of Pi this could be a super high contrast black and white look, or in the case of Slacker a series of long, linked takes, or in She’s Gotta Have It, consistently breaking the fourth wall in 16mm black and white with one 35mm colour set piece, or Tangerine which Sean Baker shot entirely on an iPhone. 

Unless the look is intentionally a mixed medium film, cutting between footage captured by many different cameras, moving in arbitrarily different ways, with varied paced editing or inconsistently graded footage - will make the movie feel disjointed and amateurish. 

Coming up with a set of rules, such as only using natural light, or only shooting on wide angle lenses, is an easy way to build a film with a coherent, deliberate vision.

This doesn’t mean you have to make it look like a Hollywood blockbuster. There are different ways of being cinematic and creating a coherent look or interesting form which works for the story. For example, the Dardenne brothers' exclusive use of rough, handheld work was appropriate for the documentary inspired Rosetta.

SMALL SCOPE STORIES

Your most valuable tool when it comes to creating effective low budget films is how the script is written. It’s great to imagine and write ambitious screenplays filled with car chases, plenty of guns and an ensemble cast. But if you are starting out or don’t have a budget to work with then you have to be realistic.

Write contained stories which are small enough in scope for you to effectively shoot.

The easiest way to make a bad movie is to try and produce a larger scope story than what the budget allows. The easiest way to make a successful low budget film is to come up with a great concept which can be executed relatively simply. 

Some ways to reduce the scope of the story include shooting at limited locations, using a smaller cast, having limited or simplified set pieces and setting your story at locations which you will be able to have access to.  

NAIL THE BASICS

Like with any form of art, in filmmaking you are free to express yourself however you like. But, a good rule of thumb is to first be confident in the basics before trying to be too experimentally ambitious.

Without the basics in place a movie is doomed to fail - even if it’s shot in an amazing single take shot with very technical blocking and has lots of fancy VFX work.

Don’t try to run before you can walk.

Make sure your casting is great, the performances are engaging, dialogue sound is good, you don’t jump the line with the camera, that your locations look realistic and that your story is strong. Once these foundations are firmly in place only then can you start taking risks.