Show Don't Tell: Micro-Budget Filmmaking

One of the most essential ingredients for success in today’s filmmaking landscape, is the ability to build an online community that is supportive of your work. Many of the most successful filmmakers, artists, and other creative entrepreneurs have been able to thrive artistically and financially, simply by harnessing the power of community engagement. While building a sustainable community around y...

Last month my feature film - Shadows On The Road premiered at Dances With Films here in Los Angeles. Using my festival experience as a case study, in this episode I detail exactly what to expect after you get your acceptance letter. Topics covered include: Deliverables, DCPs, Press Kits, Publicity/PR, Festival screenings, Distribution, and much more. For more content like this visit www.noamkroll...

Filmmaking is one of the toughest businesses to work in, as there is no clear path to success and a tremendous amount of competition. The amount of turnover in the industry is staggering, and many aspiring filmmakers only make one or two films before they call it quits. In order to succeed in film, it's clear you need to play the long game. It can take years to develop the right skills, cultivate...

As a filmmaker, understanding how to find work, land bigger and better projects, and actually make a living while freelancing is as important (if not more) than learning the craft itself. No one knows that better than today’s guest - Cole Walliser - an acclaimed commercial and music video Director based in Los Angeles, who went from shooting skateboarding videos with friends to directing content f...

The film festival submission process can be extremely daunting for filmmakers, especially those that have no experience on the festival circuit. Many filmmakers neglect to understand what festivals are truly looking for with their submissions, and don’t give themselves the best chance possible to get programmed. In today’s episode, Karolyne Sosa, Programming Director for DTLAFF, sheds light on the...

Micro-budget filmmakers are often far more focused on the creative aspects of their projects than the business side. This can pose challenges for those aiming to raise a substantial budget for their films, as many don’t know where to start, or simply assume crowdfunding is their only option. In today’s episode, we break down the basics of each of the major financing options indie filmmakers have a...

Many filmmakers end up editing their own feature films, as low budget projects typically call for everyone on board (including the director) to wear many hats. These same filmmakers are also usually left with the responsibility of cutting their own trailers too, which can be far more challenging than feature edit itself. Trailer editing really is its own art form. Large scale feature films are alm...

As expected, NAB 2018 brought us some of the most exciting camera and gear announcements of the year so far, and there is a whole lot to unpack. While Blackmagic once again stole the show with their Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, many other cameras - such as the Sony FS5 II, Canon C700 FF, Fuji X-H1, and Kinefinity MAVO have been making waves too. Over the course of the episode, we delve into these came...

On today's show we are joined by none other than Alex Ferrari, a micro-budget filmmaker and true hustler - known widely for his popular filmmaking podcast Indie Film Hustle. After 20 years in the film business, Alex turned to micro-budget filmmaking as a means to take control over his own destiny and bring his feature narrative projects to life once and for all. This has culminated in the creation...

Most filmmakers have a laundry list of excuses for why they're not making their film - They don’t have enough money, can’t find good actors, or don’t have access to the right camera package. But more often than not, these excuses are self-imposed, and it's the filmmaker themself that is holding the project back, often unwittingly creating hurdles that will prevent them from ever making thier movie...

Back in episode 35, Jamie Jung was on the show to discuss his experience acting in a $7000 feature film, funded by Robert Rodriguez for his “Rebel Without A Crew” series. Today, Jamie is back on this show with his director Alejandro Montoya Marin who, as a one-man-band, directed and produced his feature film in just 14 days. Over the course of the interview, Jamie and Alejandro not only speak to w...

Arguably the most important element to get right when producing any micro-budget film is crew size. When crew size gets out of hand, production is bound to lose efficiency and momentum, which equates to the film's limited budget getting burned through in record time. While many filmmakers and first time directors aim to work with larger crews that offer a more “traditional” setup for a feature fil...

It’s been said that locations can play as great a role in a film as any character, and no one understands that more than today’s guest. Brian L. Tan is an action filmmaker and entrepreneur who worked at Dreamworks, Paramount, and Digital Domain, before eventually launching the prominent location booking service Wrapal. He’s also known for appearing on the most recent season of HBO’s Project Greenl...

It goes without saying that a great screenplay is the backbone of any successful film, but this sentiment is doubly true of micro-budget productions. Without spectacles, name actors, expensive visual effects, or other bells and whistles, micro-budget films are often made or broken by the quality of their underlying screenplays. With that in mind, today’s guest - Craig Walendziak - is here to share...

One of the most frequent questions I am asked by up and coming filmmakers is - “How can I make the transition to being a full time filmmaker?” Really what they are asking is how to make a living off of filmmaking, so they can focus on their artistic efforts every single day and not have to worry about paying the bills by doing work they aren’t passionate about. Over the course of this episode, we...

In recent years production value in micro-budget films has skyrocketed thanks to more affordable cinema cameras and post-production tools. Even still, one of the remaining issues that still plagues indie filmmakers with regards to production value is the musical score. For many micro-budget filmmakers getting a custom score done is prohibitively expensive, and the vast majority of affordable libra...

Over the past few years, color correction tools have become extremely accessible, and more filmmakers than ever are now color grading their own footage - often using LUTs, or Look Up Tables. While LUTs can offer filmmakers an incredible way to improve their creative results while also dramatically reducing post-production time, they need to be used carefully and purposefully in order to achieve th...

Robert Rodriguez, the single biggest pioneer of micro-budget filmmaking, recently launched a new filmmaking initiative called Rebel Without a Crew. His goal was to give 5 filmmakers each a budget of $7000 and some guidance so they could each write and direct their own feature film. The whole process was documented as a series and will air in the near future on Robert’s own El Rey Network. On today...

Every filmmaker dreams of screening their work at Sundance or Cannes, but only a select few will ever have the fortune of receiving a coveted acceptance letter from a notable festival. And while there is no denying that it is only getting harder and harder to get into any film festival with each passing year, there are countless ways in which any filmmaker can increase their chances of beating the...

Productivity expert Tim Ferris often talks about the 80/20 principle, which states that 80% of our results can be attributed to just 20% of our efforts. While this principle can be applied to virtually anything - from business decisions to our personal lives - it has some uniquely poweful benefits for filmmakers that are looking to optimize their creative output and increase their income. Many fil...

It’s always so inspiring to hear about filmmakers that are truly able to make something from nothing, and that’s very much the case with our guest today - Rebecca Weaver. With a production budget of only $11,000 and a crew of only 2 (Rebecca and her boyfriend, Chris), the filmmaking duo was able to pull off a successful feature film that spanned several months of production and later went on to to...

How do you make a feature film for just $8000 in 13 days? For writer/director Joe Baddon and actress Linnea Gregg, it was all about leveraging resources, maximizing creativity, and avoiding perfectionism. With no experience directing narrative content in the past, Joe Badon was able to pull the trigger on his first feature - The God Inside My Ear - by thinking outside of the box and surrounding hi...

Micro-budget filmmakers often put a tremendous amount of effort into production and post, but tend to lose steam when it comes time to distribute their work. Unfortunately, this means that many great films never find an audience, and end up collecting dust on a shelf rather than generating income for the filmmakers behind the project. On today’s episode, Noam interviews Liz Manashil, the talented...

For the first time on the podcast, Noam takes listener questions that were sent in via e-mail and Twitter from micro-budget filmmakers looking for advice. Topics covered includes: the creative process, career advice, working with unprepared actors, abandoning projects and much more. If you would like to have your question answered on a future episode, be sure to ask Noam via twitter at www.twitter...

For the past two years Timothy Plain and Alrik Bursell have interviewed countless filmmakers on their popular podcast - Making Movies Is Hard. Over the course of these interviews the filmmaking duo have benefitted from a tremendous amount of professional insight covering every stage of the process from conception to distribution. In today's episode, Timothy and Alrik generously share some of the m...