Also watch the video about why my other no budget feature succeeded and you will have all my best Do's and Don'ts for no-budget filmmaking- th-cam.com/video/HoOEFGaIVb4/w-d-xo.html Any questions I didn't answer? Ask here!
90% of my soon to be shot feature takes place in about 100 cubic feet of space....think "Buried" with a bigger "box". Only 2 on-screen actors, only one of which speaks. Very few props. A camera man/DP and one sound guy and me. No need for permission to shoot since it's out in the woods. Hoping to get in the can for less than $10k. Post another $10-12k. My biggest question is...for distributors like Gravitas, Breaking Glass, etc, do you simply reach out once the film production is complete? Should you reach out prior to? Who has success stories with distribution? Thanks!!
This is a great lesson for those who have done a film already, short or feature. The next idea should be enhanced story wise, creative wise. Enhancing with scale when money and support is still minimal is a bad idea. Stick with what worked first and add the lessons learned from the recent film. Thanks for sharing!
I just released my first film, “By Night’s End,” got distro during the pandemic. We did the whole movie in my house (broke some walls and stuff but worth it), wrote for the actors I knew and loved, and there’s only 3 main cast members. Wrote for what I had and who I knew, all the crew were people Ive met along the way who needed/wanted a feature in the role they were in. All worked well thankfully. The distro side is another story unfortunately.
Yeah. It's shouldn't be this hard to film a movie... but unfortunately it is. I shot an 8min short down town, and we got the cops called on us like 20 times, and had to leave before they caught up with us. Oh no! There are 2 men with a camera. Get SWAT! In Riverside for that matter. I have been to at least 20 movie shoots where the entire cast ghosted us, after telling us they would be there the night before. And locations wanting $2000 or they won't even talk to us... again Riverside. Every empty patch of land has barbwire fencing and no trespassing signs for 65 miles. The only place I can film out here is literally the Whitewater Body Dump 75 miles from my house in the middle of nowhere on a windmill service road, because nobody would be dumb enough to go there in the middle of the night except myself. I'm feeling that the less people, the better. I'm the entire crew & post production, and 2-6 actors. 2-3 locations. People are the real nightmare. It seems to be the entire worlds goal to stop people from making a movie, and they will do anything to ruin or stop your project. It there an anti-movie cult I don't know about? People are nuts. And the actors are ready leave the second the arriver. How long will this take 2-3 min?
"Duel" Steven Spielberg; all the lessons are inside, the script, the locations, the pre-production, of course shot by shot (one idea per shot and one per connection between shots) ... He had reinvented the wheel in the art of cinema and then it becomes its own wheel ! No budget means great ideas and before that means real masters. This director like others (less numerous) served the art of cinema by freely enslaving this art. He has not abused his own freedom(very human) but on the contrary he has adapted it to reality (the multiple constraints ...) and has not adapted reality to the idea that he had in fact. He was therefore rational as a good manager while letting himself be inspired by something other than his ego which he had to abandon / sacrifice on the altar of art and this is paradoxically how he turned out to be an artist ! Complicated perhaps; to disappear the better to appear such would be the principle? Thank you for sharing your experience with us; we need an example and a counterexample to progress. If I understood your approach and your thinking correctly, your first film was an example, the second was a counter-example so in conclusion you have the whole future in front of you ;-)
Involving the actors part, in all frankness pay the actors well and shoot for experience and ease of working with them. I usually spend about a third of my budget on actors but have gotten away with a whole multitude of mistakes elsewhere without the general audience really caring.
I felt this way with the last short film I made. I thought to myself that this was it. This was the film that would get me some attention, it was going to blow up and kickstart a career. It was going to be amazing. Fast forward and it was a total failure lol. It ended up not being the film I envisioned due to countless production hurdles. But what I did get from it was experience and I learned where I failed and why it failed. Hopefully the next one will be better as I avoid those mistakes.
No pressure, but please put the movie online again! I think it looks really interesting and even if it might have its flaws I'd still really enjoy it. But again, don't do anything you're not comfortable with.
Kudos to you for being able admit to your flaws and mistakes. Not many indie filmmakers have that sense of self-awareness and reflection. Good luck on your next one!
Not a downer at all, if anything an inspiration. Everyone should have the chance to fuck up and learn from their mistakes! And now you've taught us some extra things. Great video.
Mmmmaaaannnn oooohhhh mmmaaannn did number 5 hit me hard. Definitely did that on my first POS feature. My friend was like “whatever happened to that horror film I liked” and I had to bite my tongue so hard to be like “it wasn’t a horror.” 🙃
This video and your honesty are so valuable. It saves many people, like me, so much time, money and energy. Thank you so much for sharing. Btw, I can relate to you as a creator not wanting to put out the work that you feel is not up to your personal standards yet. What I'm trying to tell myself (but failing, lol) is that 1. there may be people who will see my "crappy" work differently than I do, and may even actually like it (happens all the time it seems, with other people's works that I personally find crappy, anyway) 2. putting your work out there regardless may allow it to find its own path that nobody may have foreseen, and who knows, might turn out to be a positive plot twist. New sub here, excited to learn more from your journey. More power to you!
I made a feature film many years ago where we faced nearly every production setback known to man. It took 18 months to get it all shot, and then, several long years trying to assemble the right soundtrack for it. Granted, I learned more and more about how to edit video and audio to better refine it over time. However, it took so long to get this standard def 95 minute film completed that I couldn't even realistically try the festival circuit. Nobody was going to bother with a standard def feature in 2019. I had it out on Amazon Prime DVD & Video for about a year and a half before it got pulled off Prime Video for low analytics and their Media on Demand service shut down. We were learning as we went along, had next to no crew aside from me and the multiple DPs I had on it, and literally no money for anything. We got it done, and that was an accomplishment. I had a few failed projects after that where logistics, personnel, and scheduling just ruined everything, but my very next project went very smoothly as a half hour short where everything came out better and more professionally. Definitely learn from the errors. We all get over ambitious.
While filming on the front steps at the borough hall in small town Pennsylvania on a Saturday afternoon when it was closed, a cop came around twice checking to make sure we weren't vandalizing the place. The second time he came around just seconds after a good take. Had he come in a few earlier he would have ruined the shot completely. Moral of the story is even in a no name small town some people have a major stick up their ass when it comes to filmmaking.
So far I've watched up to the trailer, and based on the trailer alone I would definitely watch this film. Now I know that the rest of the video is going to teach me something, what to do and what not to do so I'm definitely gonna finish watching this video.
You can never pre-plan too much. Make most of your creative and technical decisions before you arrive on location with crew and equipment. Take a still camera or phone video camera to location and block out all your shots with stand-in actors, then create a storyboard with that, then stick to it. Take your actors to sensitive locations without equipment to block and rehearse the scene so you don't waste time doing it during the shoot.
Thank you sooo much for posting this video!! Coming from someone who has been part of over a dozen micro budget features (not all my own), I can’t stress enough about keeping your film ideas simple!! The two better movies I worked on were mostly one location and a handful of characters! Production was smoother, the actors became more comfortable with each other and their chemistry was stronger, there was no wasting time tearing down and moving to a new location!! The ones I broke away from that formula were nightmares!!!
I understand you perfectly... we went through similar problems on our first project... We have learned a lot from the mistakes made, and we also learn a lot from filmmakers like you, who take the time to share their experiences... The planning and the Being realistic is something that sometimes goes over our heads due to enthusiasm XD
Awesome, that you're beeing so honest what failed on that project and what you've learned from it. i always felt bad when i had to tell people i've spent a whole year in post because we've shot our first short for a very long time and things of course went also down. This really takes off some pressure from doing not good enough for the period of time we are doing this film thingy.. Thanks man!!
I’m in the exact same spot I’m close to my short film being finished (still in post production) but it was my first time working with a big film crew and I had so much anxiety. Although it went a lot better than I thought and we were mostly on schedule. I still made a number of mistakes including hiring the wrong people. But like you said with every mistake you make you’ll learn for the next film you make. Thanks for inspiring us upcoming filmmakers.
As a filmmaker myself, I tried making a feature length zombie film in high school. Ended with only 15 minutes of usable footage for the story to work after 2 years of hard work. It took a while to fully get out of that and make films again. Now I've made two feature films. Both of them are super low budget and had very minimal locations and cast (except for the second one which was more of an experimental silent animated film) It's too often I see indie filmmakers trying to make their films look like Hollywood when they should really be focused on characters and concepts. The scale can come later when they got more experience and money. Best advice is to make a film in a single location with just one or two actors and get creative.
Glad I found this channel. I did the same thing. For even less than your budget. Got it on amazon prime, but nothing really came of it. Have to shoot another feature soon. Good for you on your films. They look great
Great info. I've been a successful TH-camr for almost a decade and I'm about to do my first feature. This video gave me lots to remember and keep in mind as I go.
When you feel you have a strong enough name to yourself, letting people watch that movie will be a great way to show that even the big ones have less good projects. I've always been overly ambitious with projects, because you kinda want to be like Tarantino with 10 movies to your name that all are good, no failures. But I've noticed it isn't possible and I've had to make something that's not that good to get better. My graduation project movie that I directed is probably the worst cr@p ever produced by anyone, and I feel ashamed for the actor's sake that I let something they gave so much energy to become so bad. It's worse than movies a made as a kid, probably because i wasn't trying so hard and it was more about having fun, but I guess that's a lesson too. I really liked this video, and I hope we'll get to see that movie at some point in the future!
It takes a big person to own up to their mistakes. There really IS something to be said for looking at anything you create as a learning tool to help with your NEXT project. Gotta love the quote from the ED WOOD film: "Worst thing you ever saw? Well, the next one will be better!" Gotta love that optimism and ability to keep moving forward.
BAHAHAHAH I LITERALLY DID ALL 5 OF THESE BY ACCIDENT BUT I got it done :’) omfg I related to EVERY SINGLE thing you experienced. Huge learning experience for the both of us and other filmmakers😭😭😭💀💀💀
I have recently made those mistakes. Although it is a strait forward drama, there are many locations and many supporting characters. We did 7 days shooting, non stop at 5 locations. I had chest pain and visited emergency room at St. Theresa Hospital. I slept non-stop for two days out of exaustion from previous week's activity. Then we sat for a review. Realization dawned. Many shortcomings came to light. This was five days ago. Everyone said, " go on a vacation and resume after the vacation" because I am 75.
2 weeks to go to make my first microbudget movie. I have made ALL the "mistakes" you have mentioned. Many locations, 26 characters, mix up of many genres...😂😂😂. Still will do my best to pull it off.
I can really relate to what you are saying in this video. I actually started out as an actor and one day I wanted to make my very first short film as a director, screenwriter and director of photography. So I wrote a 30 min short film in 5 days and then I casted some actors that I knew. I ordered my first DSLR camera and I didn't know how to use it by that time and I had no lamps, microphones and I didn't know how to use the the camera so I shot the whole film on auto- mode and I also had to do everything myself. I didn't even had some extra batteries so the result was shit. But I learned a lot and today I have made some awarded short films and I keep making movies,learning and study other movies and videos like this one. I also wanna say that you are a huge inspiration to me as a filmmaker. Your videos are so good and I really learn a lot. You explain everything so good and you are also very entertaining to watch. Keep up the amazing work!!
You should post the Handshake movie back up again. Every director has an off film, but it looked good/interesting based on what you showed and would inspire other filmmakers
Made my first no-budget feature in L.A. twenty years ago. Supernatural thriller that took place in a forest. Made with the first prosumer digital camera, the Sony VX100. We guerrilla filmed all over Los Angeles National Forest and Sequoyah National Park. We got busted all the time. Not a bad movie, but I chose a "inconclusive ending" which was the style at that time. I've always hated that decision. But like you said, I learned a lot.
Bro hard luck for your movie. You are working on your dream which put you way ahead from the day dreamers. Grt video of sharing your experience. Thanks Man.
Very well articulated No Budget Filmmaking can be really tough I've made all of these mistakes in probably a way worse way .hopefully I can try again another day
only having 1 short film on my belt there was one thing you mentioned i was supper shocked by in my experience . you had a feature and you said it took you a year in post to finish that makes sense considering you were all alone. for me i had help on the score and it still took me 4 months to finish the edit on a 5 minute film. just really shocking to see the lengths it takes to make a usable project. especially if you're as picky on yourself as i am.
Its cool that you shared your growing pains man. So much of social med is people posing and making things look cool and like everything goes just swimmingly alllll the time. I like stories like this as well as ur success stories. Good shit
Very honest, thank you for that feedback from what you learned. Your video scared me though...that poster on the wall..."My life in weeks." That's nightmare fuel. lol.
I'm currently making a Dexter vs Michael Myers fan film and it's been sooooo stressful. For one, getting my actors, which are all just friends who agreed to help out, but getting their schedules together. Two I had the Hollywood looking movie in my head, and when it didn't look that good on film, I was beating myself up, and three I wrote some peoples roles too big when they I only have them for certain time, so I'm doing some rewrites to trim down some roles for the reshoots.
Honest and very insightful video. Thanks for sharing. They say experience is something get just after you needed it! I’m sure this will have been an amazing learning experience when you look back at it. I‘ve just started writing my first low budget feature which I’m filming next year, I’ve learnt a lot from this video so thank you and keep going!
From my first big project I can definitely say that you really need to have everyone on the same page, even if it takes you a lot of explanation and even some presentations to get your point across. Everything needs to be on the table for everyone involved, which is harder to do than you'd expect when a lot of people overestimate their own enthusiasm in the moment, or simply not fully understand the scope of what you're trying to do. Never make any rash decisions in picking, always let people sleep on it and always have the meetings on Zoom or face to face so you can clearly read the person. People always write off the creatives as an easy job, but hell, it is hard! And also, don't forget to drink your daily juice everybody
Don’t beat yourself up, there’s always the temptation to be over ambitious after a success. This project was an achievement in itself. Any tips on achieving professional sound design on a no budget feature?
The only thing I’d semi disagree with is on locations. 40 locations is probably too many but is also the biggest thing that can make a movie feel like it has scope. I’ve seen some filmmakers pivot to just making a movie in one location because they can afford it but can make your job twice as hard to make it interesting. Not impossible but it’s one of the biggest tells that you have no money
Not much to do with the video, but the guy from the clip in the beginning sitting at a table is Chris fornatero, who not only does movie stuff, he is also a fantastic oil painter
Police that were called on us out in Burbank were really cool. Even more awkward my actors had on realistic police badges, pointing realistic looking weapons at me (I played in it as well)… they just asked how long we were gonna be. We told them a few more minutes. They came back 8 hours later like I thought y’all were gonna be gone. They stuck until the last shot 😂… not all cops care like that.
Streamline! Streamline! Streamline! In all facets of a production and you will learn to EVOLVE and learn how to do things that you didn't think you had to do before AND draw up a basic CONTRACT that states if there is pay or that is no pay and the cast and crew might receive a different type of compensation in lieu of a financial payment, BUT make that clear upfront. Believe me, been there, done that. - James D. Watkins, artistic director of PHOENIX PRODUCTIONS.
So glad to hear that! I wish more filmmakers would talk about why their less successful projects failed, it's a little painful but I think it helps everyone.
As you called this video a VIDEO. We make features, NOT feature films. We make MOVIES, not films. We work with DIGITAL Video. Film, filming, and filmmaking are the most misused words in the industry. :-)Digital Video and film require different skill sets. Having DIFFERENT historical and TECHNOLOGICAL timelines spanning 150 years. Educate by having pride in the gear we use including the words that describe what we do. Our tools are Digital Video, Non-linear, and CGI. We are moviemakers, not filmmakers. Videographers and/or cinematographers. We video, we do not film. That's the other professionals who know how to use film and film cameras, like an ARRIFLEX 435 Panavision R-200 and Steenbeck flatbed film editors. Know the difference and be better at your craft. Want to know how Orson Wells shot Citizen Kane you need to understand film. Differentiating between the two. How Lucas produced Star Wars you need to understand the filming process and its difference from video. Differentiating between the two. Lucas was keen enough to remaster his films to Digital Video once the technology was available. Respect and keep up the great work. :-)
How did you take care of the expensive post elements such as sound design, stereo and 5.1 mixing? Having a qc passable master is expensive man. Even if you’re willing to learn to do yourself which is opening a whole another can of worms, the plugins and libraries you need are ain’t cheap at all.
bro I am starting my feature film and just jumped into your video and these mistakes which you mentioned are all which I am thinking for my film.....now I dont know what to do
i tried making a movie with a bunch of my peers. we faced so so many issues but the main worst issue that we faced was the lead actor. he begged me to be on the movie but is one of the most unprofessional people ever. didnt show up on time, never bothered to care for the movie. it was a chaos. but we move and we learn...
Such honesty and the generosity in sharing such valuable information! Thank you so much for the video. Do you think you could share those sheets with me that appear at 04: 28 to download? And do you have a Facebook page for channel?
Thanks! No Facebook yet but will do a Facebook group in the future. You can sign up for the email newsletter in the description to stay posted. I’ll also be releasing things like budget and scheduling templates there.
a few years ago I was paying way too much money& had like every tier of cable... All the showtime, hbo, etc.. I spent all my time watching every movie on this thing called "streampix".. I was looking up all the film's on imdb while I was watching them & surprised to find some of my faves were made with budgets of 20 to 40k.. real eye opener.. was then I realized I love Indy film! anyway imdb doesn't include as much information as they did back in those days.. at least for free.. maybe it's still being the imdb pro paywall...
I would love to see the movie hope you decide to release it keep in mind there are a ton of low budget bad movies out there that are still making money streaming services like Netflix and tubi has made a ton off of low budget movies that make no sense LoL no diss my point is you put the work in. from watching this video sounds like you put a ton of work in. the work is done good or bad you should let us see it you're your own worst critic I'm sure it's not nearly as bad as you feel it is just seeing the trailer made me interested I would love to see the movie personally
Still waiting patiently would love to see the movie hope you decide to release it soon even if for rental I wouldn't mind paying to see it I actually watch this video often and after seeing the trailer numerous times LoL I don't think I've ever wanted to see a movie more in my life LoL
Hi Recently subscribed and enjoying the info - wondering how long your first film and this second film ran for - I hear you refer to them both as features and I wonder if your aim was to make a full 90 minute film. Would it be better to make a 15 or 30 minute short film for your first few films. Wondering what your thoughts are on film length and whether it is better to make a 10 minute short with fewer locals and fewer actors. My son is always pushing me to film a feature on my own but I reckon if I need to make a compelling short before I attempt a feature. Anyway happy to have found this channel as I have attempted to make a few short films on my own and I am getting a lot of great advice cheers
Also watch the video about why my other no budget feature succeeded and you will have all my best Do's and Don'ts for no-budget filmmaking-
th-cam.com/video/HoOEFGaIVb4/w-d-xo.html
Any questions I didn't answer? Ask here!
Is there anywhere we can view the film?
sir we want to watch this movie, please upload. I'm ready to pay for this film
Would love to watch this film, hope you put it back out there sometime soon.
90% of my soon to be shot feature takes place in about 100 cubic feet of space....think "Buried" with a bigger "box". Only 2 on-screen actors, only one of which speaks. Very few props. A camera man/DP and one sound guy and me. No need for permission to shoot since it's out in the woods. Hoping to get in the can for less than $10k. Post another $10-12k. My biggest question is...for distributors like Gravitas, Breaking Glass, etc, do you simply reach out once the film production is complete? Should you reach out prior to? Who has success stories with distribution? Thanks!!
You need an award for being so honest! I've had similar experiences. Well done for sharing this (UK)
mee tooo
This is a great lesson for those who have done a film already, short or feature. The next idea should be enhanced story wise, creative wise. Enhancing with scale when money and support is still minimal is a bad idea. Stick with what worked first and add the lessons learned from the recent film. Thanks for sharing!
I just released my first film, “By Night’s End,” got distro during the pandemic. We did the whole movie in my house (broke some walls and stuff but worth it), wrote for the actors I knew and loved, and there’s only 3 main cast members. Wrote for what I had and who I knew, all the crew were people Ive met along the way who needed/wanted a feature in the role they were in. All worked well thankfully. The distro side is another story unfortunately.
WHAT! I just went away from watching a kurt yue video about by nights end and then I saw this! Im gonna watch the movie when I get the chance!
@@Nulify-jc4fs That’s awesome, Kurt’s great, thanks for checking it out!
Make a video about that
It’s actually pretty brilliant man ngl
@@seanward took your advice, ended up making a video about things I learned after dealing with distribution on a no budget feature 🤘
Appreciate the honesty. As a no budget film maker myself, I have learned the value of keeping things simple.
Yeah. It's shouldn't be this hard to film a movie... but unfortunately it is. I shot an 8min short down town, and we got the cops called on us like 20 times, and had to leave before they caught up with us. Oh no! There are 2 men with a camera. Get SWAT! In Riverside for that matter. I have been to at least 20 movie shoots where the entire cast ghosted us, after telling us they would be there the night before. And locations wanting $2000 or they won't even talk to us... again Riverside. Every empty patch of land has barbwire fencing and no trespassing signs for 65 miles. The only place I can film out here is literally the Whitewater Body Dump 75 miles from my house in the middle of nowhere on a windmill service road, because nobody would be dumb enough to go there in the middle of the night except myself. I'm feeling that the less people, the better. I'm the entire crew & post production, and 2-6 actors. 2-3 locations. People are the real nightmare. It seems to be the entire worlds goal to stop people from making a movie, and they will do anything to ruin or stop your project. It there an anti-movie cult I don't know about? People are nuts. And the actors are ready leave the second the arriver. How long will this take 2-3 min?
It's called ambition and you got it bro. Thank you for your insight.
"Duel" Steven Spielberg; all the lessons are inside, the script, the locations, the pre-production, of course shot by shot (one idea per shot and one per connection between shots) ... He had reinvented the wheel in the art of cinema and then it becomes its own wheel ! No budget means great ideas and before that means real masters. This director like others (less numerous) served the art of cinema by freely enslaving this art. He has not abused his own freedom(very human) but on the contrary he has adapted it to reality (the multiple constraints ...) and has not adapted reality to the idea that he had in fact. He was therefore rational as a good manager while letting himself be inspired by something other than his ego which he had to abandon / sacrifice on the altar of art and this is paradoxically how he turned out to be an artist ! Complicated perhaps; to disappear the better to appear such would be the principle? Thank you for sharing your experience with us; we need an example and a counterexample to progress. If I understood your approach and your thinking correctly, your first film was an example, the second was a counter-example so in conclusion you have the whole future in front of you ;-)
Involving the actors part, in all frankness pay the actors well and shoot for experience and ease of working with them. I usually spend about a third of my budget on actors but have gotten away with a whole multitude of mistakes elsewhere without the general audience really caring.
I felt this way with the last short film I made. I thought to myself that this was it. This was the film that would get me some attention, it was going to blow up and kickstart a career. It was going to be amazing. Fast forward and it was a total failure lol. It ended up not being the film I envisioned due to countless production hurdles. But what I did get from it was experience and I learned where I failed and why it failed. Hopefully the next one will be better as I avoid those mistakes.
No pressure, but please put the movie online again! I think it looks really interesting and even if it might have its flaws I'd still really enjoy it. But again, don't do anything you're not comfortable with.
Kudos to you for being able admit to your flaws and mistakes. Not many indie filmmakers have that sense of self-awareness and reflection. Good luck on your next one!
Such a helpful video coming from someone who has practically prepared for half my life to make a feature film.
I wish I could travel eleven years in time and show my past self this video! I so could relate to all the problems you went through.
Nice to know I’m not alone! Thanks for watching.
Not a downer at all, if anything an inspiration. Everyone should have the chance to fuck up and learn from their mistakes! And now you've taught us some extra things. Great video.
Mmmmaaaannnn oooohhhh mmmaaannn did number 5 hit me hard. Definitely did that on my first POS feature. My friend was like “whatever happened to that horror film I liked” and I had to bite my tongue so hard to be like “it wasn’t a horror.” 🙃
This video and your honesty are so valuable. It saves many people, like me, so much time, money and energy. Thank you so much for sharing. Btw, I can relate to you as a creator not wanting to put out the work that you feel is not up to your personal standards yet. What I'm trying to tell myself (but failing, lol) is that 1. there may be people who will see my "crappy" work differently than I do, and may even actually like it (happens all the time it seems, with other people's works that I personally find crappy, anyway) 2. putting your work out there regardless may allow it to find its own path that nobody may have foreseen, and who knows, might turn out to be a positive plot twist. New sub here, excited to learn more from your journey. More power to you!
Thanks for sharing. These experiences are invaluable. For you and everyone you share your story with. Much appricated.
I made a feature film many years ago where we faced nearly every production setback known to man. It took 18 months to get it all shot, and then, several long years trying to assemble the right soundtrack for it. Granted, I learned more and more about how to edit video and audio to better refine it over time. However, it took so long to get this standard def 95 minute film completed that I couldn't even realistically try the festival circuit. Nobody was going to bother with a standard def feature in 2019. I had it out on Amazon Prime DVD & Video for about a year and a half before it got pulled off Prime Video for low analytics and their Media on Demand service shut down. We were learning as we went along, had next to no crew aside from me and the multiple DPs I had on it, and literally no money for anything. We got it done, and that was an accomplishment. I had a few failed projects after that where logistics, personnel, and scheduling just ruined everything, but my very next project went very smoothly as a half hour short where everything came out better and more professionally. Definitely learn from the errors. We all get over ambitious.
Name of the movie bro ?
While filming on the front steps at the borough hall in small town Pennsylvania on a Saturday afternoon when it was closed, a cop came around twice checking to make sure we weren't vandalizing the place. The second time he came around just seconds after a good take. Had he come in a few earlier he would have ruined the shot completely. Moral of the story is even in a no name small town some people have a major stick up their ass when it comes to filmmaking.
So far I've watched up to the trailer, and based on the trailer alone I would definitely watch this film. Now I know that the rest of the video is going to teach me something, what to do and what not to do so I'm definitely gonna finish watching this video.
You can never pre-plan too much. Make most of your creative and technical decisions before you arrive on location with crew and equipment. Take a still camera or phone video camera to location and block out all your shots with stand-in actors, then create a storyboard with that, then stick to it. Take your actors to sensitive locations without equipment to block and rehearse the scene so you don't waste time doing it during the shoot.
The Honesty And Acceptance Just Won My Heart...
Thank You and Love you brother, it really help a lot
Thank you sooo much for posting this video!! Coming from someone who has been part of over a dozen micro budget features (not all my own), I can’t stress enough about keeping your film ideas simple!! The two better movies I worked on were mostly one location and a handful of characters! Production was smoother, the actors became more comfortable with each other and their chemistry was stronger, there was no wasting time tearing down and moving to a new location!! The ones I broke away from that formula were nightmares!!!
I understand you perfectly... we went through similar problems on our first project... We have learned a lot from the mistakes made, and we also learn a lot from filmmakers like you, who take the time to share their experiences... The planning and the Being realistic is something that sometimes goes over our heads due to enthusiasm XD
I liked it lol You've come a long way since then bro!
This is one of the most actually helpful videos on film TH-cam
Awesome, that you're beeing so honest what failed on that project and what you've learned from it. i always felt bad when i had to tell people i've spent a whole year in post because we've shot our first short for a very long time and things of course went also down. This really takes off some pressure from doing not good enough for the period of time we are doing this film thingy.. Thanks man!!
Congrats on getting it done. That's just how it goes. Appreciate the honesty.
I’m in the exact same spot I’m close to my short film being finished (still in post production) but it was my first time working with a big film crew and I had so much anxiety. Although it went a lot better than I thought and we were mostly on schedule. I still made a number of mistakes including hiring the wrong people. But like you said with every mistake you make you’ll learn for the next film you make. Thanks for inspiring us upcoming filmmakers.
As a filmmaker myself, I tried making a feature length zombie film in high school. Ended with only 15 minutes of usable footage for the story to work after 2 years of hard work.
It took a while to fully get out of that and make films again. Now I've made two feature films. Both of them are super low budget and had very minimal locations and cast (except for the second one which was more of an experimental silent animated film)
It's too often I see indie filmmakers trying to make their films look like Hollywood when they should really be focused on characters and concepts. The scale can come later when they got more experience and money. Best advice is to make a film in a single location with just one or two actors and get creative.
So relatable. I’m happy you made this because I thought I was the only one who went through this
Glad I found this channel. I did the same thing. For even less than your budget. Got it on amazon prime, but nothing really came of it. Have to shoot another feature soon. Good for you on your films. They look great
Great info. I've been a successful TH-camr for almost a decade and I'm about to do my first feature. This video gave me lots to remember and keep in mind as I go.
When you feel you have a strong enough name to yourself, letting people watch that movie will be a great way to show that even the big ones have less good projects. I've always been overly ambitious with projects, because you kinda want to be like Tarantino with 10 movies to your name that all are good, no failures. But I've noticed it isn't possible and I've had to make something that's not that good to get better. My graduation project movie that I directed is probably the worst cr@p ever produced by anyone, and I feel ashamed for the actor's sake that I let something they gave so much energy to become so bad. It's worse than movies a made as a kid, probably because i wasn't trying so hard and it was more about having fun, but I guess that's a lesson too. I really liked this video, and I hope we'll get to see that movie at some point in the future!
It takes a big person to own up to their mistakes. There really IS something to be said for looking at anything you create as a learning tool to help with your NEXT project. Gotta love the quote from the ED WOOD film: "Worst thing you ever saw? Well, the next one will be better!" Gotta love that optimism and ability to keep moving forward.
BAHAHAHAH I LITERALLY DID ALL 5 OF THESE BY ACCIDENT BUT I got it done :’) omfg I related to EVERY SINGLE thing you experienced. Huge learning experience for the both of us and other filmmakers😭😭😭💀💀💀
I have recently made those mistakes. Although it is a strait forward drama, there are many locations and many supporting characters. We did 7 days shooting, non stop at 5 locations. I had chest pain and visited emergency room at St. Theresa Hospital. I slept non-stop for two days out of exaustion from previous week's activity.
Then we sat for a review. Realization dawned. Many shortcomings came to light. This was five days ago. Everyone said,
" go on a vacation and resume after the vacation" because I am 75.
2 weeks to go to make my first microbudget movie. I have made ALL the "mistakes" you have mentioned. Many locations, 26 characters, mix up of many genres...😂😂😂.
Still will do my best to pull it off.
I can really relate to what you are saying in this video. I actually started out as an actor and one day I wanted to make my very first short film as a director, screenwriter and director of photography. So I wrote a 30 min short film in 5 days and then I casted some actors that I knew. I ordered my first DSLR camera and I didn't know how to use it by that time and I had no lamps, microphones and I didn't know how to use the the camera so I shot the whole film on auto- mode and I also had to do everything myself. I didn't even had some extra batteries so the result was shit. But I learned a lot and today I have made some awarded short films and I keep making movies,learning and study other movies and videos like this one.
I also wanna say that you are a huge inspiration to me as a filmmaker. Your videos are so good and I really learn a lot. You explain everything so good and you are also very entertaining to watch.
Keep up the amazing work!!
You should post the Handshake movie back up again. Every director has an off film, but it looked good/interesting based on what you showed and would inspire other filmmakers
Made my first no-budget feature in L.A. twenty years ago. Supernatural thriller that took place in a forest. Made with the first prosumer digital camera, the Sony VX100. We guerrilla filmed all over Los Angeles National Forest and Sequoyah National Park. We got busted all the time. Not a bad movie, but I chose a "inconclusive ending" which was the style at that time. I've always hated that decision. But like you said, I learned a lot.
Bro hard luck for your movie. You are working on your dream which put you way ahead from the day dreamers. Grt video of sharing your experience. Thanks Man.
Very well articulated No Budget Filmmaking can be really tough I've made all of these mistakes in probably a way worse way .hopefully I can try again another day
I really liked The Hands You Shake especially the kitchen sink scene
I want to see the film. Please put it out, Hollywood have many worst im sure
only having 1 short film on my belt there was one thing you mentioned i was supper shocked by in my experience . you had a feature and you said it took you a year in post to finish that makes sense considering you were all alone. for me i had help on the score and it still took me 4 months to finish the edit on a 5 minute film. just really shocking to see the lengths it takes to make a usable project. especially if you're as picky on yourself as i am.
Thanks for all that great information I actually am a independent filmmaker and Working on my first feature film
Its cool that you shared your growing pains man. So much of social med is people posing and making things look cool and like everything goes just swimmingly alllll the time. I like stories like this as well as ur success stories. Good shit
Very honest, thank you for that feedback from what you learned. Your video scared me though...that poster on the wall..."My life in weeks." That's nightmare fuel. lol.
I'm currently making a Dexter vs Michael Myers fan film and it's been sooooo stressful. For one, getting my actors, which are all just friends who agreed to help out, but getting their schedules together. Two I had the Hollywood looking movie in my head, and when it didn't look that good on film, I was beating myself up, and three I wrote some peoples roles too big when they I only have them for certain time, so I'm doing some rewrites to trim down some roles for the reshoots.
Honest and very insightful video. Thanks for sharing. They say experience is something get just after you needed it! I’m sure this will have been an amazing learning experience when you look back at it. I‘ve just started writing my first low budget feature which I’m filming next year, I’ve learnt a lot from this video so thank you and keep going!
I feel you. Thanks for sharing. Keep filming. 👍
Thanks and I wish you the best in future projects
I appreciate your honesty. This is a good learning tool.
From my first big project I can definitely say that you really need to have everyone on the same page, even if it takes you a lot of explanation and even some presentations to get your point across. Everything needs to be on the table for everyone involved, which is harder to do than you'd expect when a lot of people overestimate their own enthusiasm in the moment, or simply not fully understand the scope of what you're trying to do.
Never make any rash decisions in picking, always let people sleep on it and always have the meetings on Zoom or face to face so you can clearly read the person.
People always write off the creatives as an easy job, but hell, it is hard!
And also, don't forget to drink your daily juice everybody
I love your candor. Lots of learning points.
Thanks for this. We’re embarking on this journey and these insights are invaluable!
I just made my first short. I won’t show it to anyone but I learned so much!
Baby steps!!! go small before you go big and never give up.
I’m not even a filmmaker but damn these insights are great
Thanks for the honesty man
Always!
Glad you made this video. Learn so much stuff
YEP. Relate hard to lots of these points. Thanks for sharing!
Don’t beat yourself up, there’s always the temptation to be over ambitious after a success. This project was an achievement in itself. Any tips on achieving professional sound design on a no budget feature?
The only thing I’d semi disagree with is on locations. 40 locations is probably too many but is also the biggest thing that can make a movie feel like it has scope. I’ve seen some filmmakers pivot to just making a movie in one location because they can afford it but can make your job twice as hard to make it interesting. Not impossible but it’s one of the biggest tells that you have no money
Not much to do with the video, but the guy from the clip in the beginning sitting at a table is Chris fornatero, who not only does movie stuff, he is also a fantastic oil painter
40 locations!!! Wow!!
I know... I honestly have no idea what I was thinking trying to make this for $12k!
Thanks! I will learn from your mistakes.
Police that were called on us out in Burbank were really cool. Even more awkward my actors had on realistic police badges, pointing realistic looking weapons at me (I played in it as well)… they just asked how long we were gonna be. We told them a few more minutes. They came back 8 hours later like I thought y’all were gonna be gone. They stuck until the last shot 😂… not all cops care like that.
Just found your channel and totally enjoying it.
Streamline! Streamline! Streamline! In all facets of a production and you will learn to EVOLVE and learn how to do things that you didn't think you had to do before AND draw up a basic CONTRACT that states if there is pay or that is no pay and the cast and crew might receive a different type of compensation in lieu of a financial payment, BUT make that clear upfront. Believe me, been there, done that. - James D. Watkins, artistic director of PHOENIX PRODUCTIONS.
Great video about what not to do.
I definitely want to see this film
Thanks. The this is just as helpful as your video on a successful project. It will make your next project better.
So glad to hear that! I wish more filmmakers would talk about why their less successful projects failed, it's a little painful but I think it helps everyone.
great video, appreciate the honesty
As you called this video a VIDEO. We make features, NOT feature films. We make MOVIES, not films. We work with DIGITAL Video. Film, filming, and filmmaking are the most misused words in the industry. :-)Digital Video and film require different skill sets. Having DIFFERENT historical and TECHNOLOGICAL timelines spanning 150 years. Educate by having pride in the gear we use including the words that describe what we do. Our tools are Digital Video, Non-linear, and CGI. We are moviemakers, not filmmakers. Videographers and/or cinematographers. We video, we do not film. That's the other professionals who know how to use film and film cameras, like an ARRIFLEX 435 Panavision R-200 and Steenbeck flatbed film editors. Know the difference and be better at your craft. Want to know how Orson Wells shot Citizen Kane you need to understand film. Differentiating between the two. How Lucas produced Star Wars you need to understand the filming process and its difference from video. Differentiating between the two. Lucas was keen enough to remaster his films to Digital Video once the technology was available. Respect and keep up the great work. :-)
Thanks for sharing your horrible experience.. Losing 20 pounds and spending two years. Great ! You have survived all that !
Very helpful, greetings from Brazil. Here we either do the film for really NO money at all or dont make the film
simple here is keep it simple logistically mainly
you are awesome brother!
Keep going never give up
Love the channel man.
How did you take care of the expensive post elements such as sound design, stereo and 5.1 mixing? Having a qc passable master is expensive man. Even if you’re willing to learn to do yourself which is opening a whole another can of worms, the plugins and libraries you need are ain’t cheap at all.
Thanks- some really useful insights.
thank you, these are really good tips!
bro I am starting my feature film and just jumped into your video and these mistakes which you mentioned are all which I am thinking for my film.....now I dont know what to do
Needed this. Thanks!
Thank you for your words of wisdom!
i tried making a movie with a bunch of my peers. we faced so so many issues but the main worst issue that we faced was the lead actor. he begged me to be on the movie but is one of the most unprofessional people ever. didnt show up on time, never bothered to care for the movie. it was a chaos. but we move and we learn...
Such honesty and the generosity in sharing such valuable information! Thank you so much for the video.
Do you think you could share those sheets with me that appear at 04: 28 to download?
And do you have a Facebook page for channel?
Thanks! No Facebook yet but will do a Facebook group in the future. You can sign up for the email newsletter in the description to stay posted. I’ll also be releasing things like budget and scheduling templates there.
a few years ago I was paying way too much money& had like every tier of cable... All the showtime, hbo, etc.. I spent all my time watching every movie on this thing called "streampix".. I was looking up all the film's on imdb while I was watching them & surprised to find some of my faves were made with budgets of 20 to 40k.. real eye opener.. was then I realized I love Indy film! anyway imdb doesn't include as much information as they did back in those days.. at least for free.. maybe it's still being the imdb pro paywall...
One advantage of a tiny budget is lots of creative freedom!
Omg I feel like I am so walking into this 😂
This is a good video. Thanks for the insights
I want to see it.
"My Life in Weeks" has got to be the most depressing poster I've ever seen.
pls do a vid on the 40 plot point structure
I would love to see the movie hope you decide to release it keep in mind there are a ton of low budget bad movies out there that are still making money streaming services like Netflix and tubi has made a ton off of low budget movies that make no sense LoL no diss my point is you put the work in. from watching this video sounds like you put a ton of work in. the work is done good or bad you should let us see it you're your own worst critic I'm sure it's not nearly as bad as you feel it is just seeing the trailer made me interested I would love to see the movie personally
I may throw it back up or try to do something with it here at some point
Still waiting patiently would love to see the movie hope you decide to release it soon even if for rental I wouldn't mind paying to see it I actually watch this video often and after seeing the trailer numerous times LoL I don't think I've ever wanted to see a movie more in my life LoL
Hi Recently subscribed and enjoying the info - wondering how long your first film and this second film ran for - I hear you refer to them both as features and I wonder if your aim was to make a full 90 minute film. Would it be better to make a 15 or 30 minute short film for your first few films. Wondering what your thoughts are on film length and whether it is better to make a 10 minute short with fewer locals and fewer actors. My son is always pushing me to film a feature on my own but I reckon if I need to make a compelling short before I attempt a feature. Anyway happy to have found this channel as I have attempted to make a few short films on my own and I am getting a lot of great advice cheers
make a documentary about how you made the movie