Filmmaking / Directing : Start with a Micro-budget Script (My Post for July Filmmakers Club Week 1) by Maurice Vaughan

Do you have a specific genre you think would be ideal for a microbudget that also would have an easy marketing appeal? I know horror is one.

Great question, Maria Restivo Glassner. Yeah, definitely Horror. Thriller, Comedy, Mystery, and RomCom too. But really, if a filmmaker can get their hands on low-cost props, costumes, and furniture, they could make a micro-budget contained Sci-Fi, Fantasy, or Period Piece movie. There's green screen and CGI as well.

Thrift stores, yard sales/garage sales, and flea markets would be great places to look for low-cost props, costumes, and furniture. And there are online thrift stores, yard sales/garage sales, and flea markets.

I made a feature back in the day when I was in film school, and it was a coming-of-age fantasy. I was at the end of film school and had connections to get a few free locations and friends from the school who were more excited about getting credit on a feature than great pay. Good friends in film who were passionate about the project made it possible for me. My budget was 75,000. I think my mistake was changing the script to fit what I had available without making sure it also fit the story properly. I got too excited about making the project while I had the community's support. I wish I had more time to develop my writing to make the script completely solid. It feels more like an artsy kind of trippy project that has difficulty fitting into a specific genre because of it. I never really pushed marketing it because of the gargantuan effort to make it, and the self-criticism of its imperfections took it out of me. I think if I were to do another microbudget film again, I would start with a high concept logline, a bulletproof script, and solid enough interest from distributors that it could get placed and marketed before even starting pre-production. At the end of the day, selling the film is the goal, and sometimes, it is super hard to get all the way there if you don't start with that already in mind or have connections in that realm.

Great points, Maria Restivo Glassner! You said, "I think my mistake was changing the script to fit what I had available without making sure it also fit the story properly." Changing the script to fit the budget and fit what a filmmaker has available (like props, costumes, and location) are important, but so is the story. If the story isn't solid, it'll show on screen. And making the story solid up front will save money because there will be less "figuring things out" and reshoots during production. Thanks for sharing your experience and insight.

Maria Restivo Glassner, I think that any production that is a "bottle episode" or something that is contained primarily in one location, can reduce costs significantly. for instance, a family drama that takes place in a home over one day, or a post-apocalyptic move that takes place in a fallout shelter.

I will second Maurice Vaughan 's assessment - sometimes it has more to do with taking an inventory about what resources are available to you FIRST and then writing to the genre that makes sense for the story that comes from those resources.

And ditto to Tom Lapke 's assessment - a single location is SUPER helpful to keep costs low! Especially if it's one location with lots of different nooks and looks around the space.

For me, I'm writing a micro budget mockumentary because I already wrote/produced the short film with limited resources, so I know what it would take to make the feature - including a limited cast, a single location, and plenty of dialogue-driven scenes.

Maria Restivo Glassner LOVE that you did a coming-of-age fantasy! How cool! Coming-of-age is definitely my jam. What was your inspiration?

"Sometimes it has more to do with taking an inventory about what resources are available to you FIRST and then writing to the genre that makes sense for the story that comes from those resources." Exactly, Karen "Kay" Ross! I know filmmakers who do that. And it's not the same thing, but sometimes I'll look at a photo and build a script around what's in the photo.

I agree with Tom Lapke - company moves are time and budget busters. If you can write a film that takes place in one location - or that can be shot in one location doubling as others - you are already ahead of the game in terms of keeping your costs down.

Those are good goals! Short films, even with their small run time, can have a great, big impact if a person puts their heart in their story! In terms of scheduling ahead for film shoots I recently created a free unlimited no-signup no-ads film planning software, I hope it proves useful!!! :D

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Very Nice Maurice Vaughan

You're right about short films, Maia Buljeta. Thanks for sharing the film planning software.

Thanks, Mark Deuce.

So many things go into a budget, but for the most part, any story can be made at any budget, it just takes some tweaking and innovative crew to get a $15 million dollar film down to $3 million or less. With your consistent presence online I have not doubt you can figure out a way to do it, Maurice!

Thanks, Laurie Ashbourne. I'm not going to produce again, but learning more about filmmaking and other areas of the industry helps me as a screenwriter, ghostwriter, and commercial writer.

Karen "Kay" Ross, Thanks so much! It was trying to infuse an odd Alice in Wonderland style with a dash of humor into the journey 2 young siblings go on to find out what happened to their parents who succumbed to a traveling cult. I was inspired by the Jonestown tragedy and other similar issues throughout history. I feel like there is a lot of focus on what the parents go through but not enough on what a young kid can do in that situation to possibly help get their family out of scenarios that seem pretty absurd and turn into downright danger. The themes are youth empowerment and strong family unity in times of hardship.