A lot of people have dreams about making it in the film business, whereas others simply enjoy messing around with a camera and being creative as a hobby. No matter what your reasons behind writing and filming a low-budget movie are, it’s important to have the right equipment and plans in place to achieve the best results. If you are planning to put together a low-budget film this year, here are some tips to help you prepare for it.
- Get the Right Equipment
Your smartphone might have an excellent camera, but this will not suffice if you want to give filmmaking a true go, whether it’s a hobby or for professional purposes. You will need to invest in quality cameras, microphones, editing software, and lighting if you want to capture the images properly and set the scene for your film. You can hire this equipment if you would find that preferable, but if you are planning to make more than one short or feature-length film, purchasing this equipment might be more cost-effective in the long term.
- Find the Right Locations
You also need to make sure you are carefully choosing the filming locations. There are a few things you need to think about with this. Firstly, does this setting fit the scene you are filming? Secondly, do you need to hire a space to do this and can you afford that? What times will you have access to this location? Finally, do you need to get any permits for filming in that location, particularly if it’s in a public place?
- Costumes and Makeup
You’ll also need to provide the actors with costumes for their roles – which fit them properly and are of good quality. You might need to arrange fittings with a dressmaker or find out their clothing size if you need regular clothing rather than historical or fantasy costumes. In addition to having the right costumes for your actors, you’ll also need to think about makeup. You may need to hire a makeup artist to make sure actors don’t look washed out on film and/or have the correct look for their characters. Special effects makeup might also be required depending on what is happening in the script. You can purchase theatrical makeup supplies online and can usually find good discounts to help you stay on budget.
- Creating a Filming Schedule
Another key part of sticking to your budget is by staying on schedule when it comes to filming. Delays can end up increasing the costs of your film, particularly if you are paying crew and cast by the day or having to hire a location space for additional days due to scheduling conflicts. Make sure you have planned this out carefully before you start filming and come up with a contingency plan in case of unforeseen issues.
Finding a great team of people who are passionate about your film and reliable is also key to success, and while there are other things you will need to keep in mind when shooting a low-budget film, these are all good places to start.
