y

They're late to the party.

M.

I hope this fails miserably.

Too many hard working people in Los Angeles depend on employment from productions that have moderate to outrageous budgets.

Micro budget movies pay no one. If they make it big, some network exec lines their pockets.

It really screws the hardworking below the line backbone of the film industry.

The ends don't justify the means.

I would avoid "crowd scenes" like sporting events or elaborate parties. They require hiring a huge number of extras.

Plus, how many movies have we seen where there is like a dozen dudes pretending to be inside a "crowded" night club?

Scott -

Several things:

- while they call them "microbudget", $2M is not micro budget. A ton of HBO original movies were made for $2M or less.

- these movies pay a lot of people in a lot of ways. I received my first official writing credit on a low budget movie. Because that happened I was hired to write other movies - some for equal, others for higher budgets. many of the people I worked with were able to get some of their paperwork signed off for the union so they got credited for their experience as a camera op, DP, etc...

- At $2m, you can make an action film, a thriller, a horror movie, whatever. You just have to do it creatively. I agree with many of your points regarding locations and script length. One point I would add is from my friend, Bill Martell - because it's a 90+ minute movie, structure the script into 3 equal acts so you don't have "2nd act drag" . It gives your story momentum...

- that script had better be packed with as much visual punch you can add, and the crew can achieve.

- look at some of the microbudget fare coming out of the UK like DONKEYPUNCH.

I see the benefits of microbudget. It's a shame that when a movie does hit the wealth doesn't get spread around, but this is a great way (at least in theory - we'll see how it pans out) for young directors and new screenwriters to cut their teeth. Hopefully, less money upfront means more amenability to risk and a more hands-off approach by the studio suits during production, as the article promises.

The studios will have to go in this direction. Technology has made production cheaper.

The studios can play the numbers game. Invest $200 million in 100 movie projects or $200 million in 1 movie production?
If 10 of those 100 micro budget movies make 30 million that's $300 million! A 30% ROI is pretty good. And if the other 90 just make their budget back, then it's just gravy.

This is great news for everyone. 100 movies need 100 writers, directors, editors, etc. which translates to more jobs for everyone!

As for tips.

Your main protag doesn't have to be named talent. All you need to have is their name on the poster. So target side characters for those named talent. Then the named talent doesn't have to carry the movie, nor stay the duration of the whole production, and they can still be paid their rate.

Good tips, Jason, Cunningham, and Ferdinand.

@Cunningham: I agree, $2M really shouldn't be considered 'microbudget.' Ed Burns new movie "Newlyweds" apparently cost $9K (before post). Now THAT'S microbudget! But from a studios perspective, even a mini-major like Lionsgate which typically rolls out movies with more modest budgets ($10-50M), $2M is still a small number. So perhaps from their perspective, it qualifies as microbudget.

Is the 90 page limit and mainly outdoor locations guide the same if you are planning on producing your feature outside of the studios (independent investors, etc.)? That worries me as my script has so much indoor stuff!

@Yasmeen: Indoor and outdoor both have benefits and challenges. Lighting is an issue all the time, so minimizing the number of setups can help. For example, if you have several scenes in one interior location, if you can set it up and shoot them all back to back, that's a time-saver. While sometimes you can pretty much use available light outside, there are weather concerns. The main thing is to write locations that support the narrative. Just be cognizant of budgetary considerations. Once you get funding and move into pre-production, you can go at your script to figure out ways to minimize costs by retooling scene locations.

@Scott - yeah, they're thinking "Hollywood Microbudget".

I would also let everyone pick up some movies from THE ASYLUM and study those. They are made for around $200K and always premiere on the SyFy channel, etc...

The co. I used to work for made movies for $100K... on 35mm short ends no less.

In both cases you MUST have a bulletproof concept that people get right away. You won't have money for stars so the concept has to carry the star power. Someone has to see the artwork, read the synopsis and want to see the movie right then and there.

That's what I call a "pulp movie."

There are other things to consider when choosing locations. Filming outdoors because of lighting would be cheap, but make sure it's in a place like a forest. Filming in a downtown area like LA could be really expensive. Permits, insurance, police to stop traffic would drive up the production value.

For interiors, it's not just the lighting, but businesses or residents may charge for their use. The production could spend weeks at a location. A business wouldn't do that for free.