Budge It

If you don't have a budget, budge it, but don't fudge it. Hey, that's kind of catchy. Like conjuctivitis , only without the redness. But does it make sense? Here's what I mean...

Movies cost a lot of money to make. Even simple independent movies. If you haven't read "Rebel Without a Crew" by Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids, Sin City, Grindhouse), be sure to read it. He made his first feature for $7500. And he shot on film. That's insane. He couldn't do it today for that much, and he is probably the only person who will ever pull off what he pulled off a decade and a half ago.

That said, with the advent of digital video and a community of talented people willing to work for little to nothing, it is possible to shoot a mini-DV feature for just a little more than what Mr. Rodriguez spent on his first feature, El Mariachi. The budget for Horror House, by the way, was considerably more than $7500 and it was still too small to do all I wanted to do with it.

I am no authority on movie budgets or movie making. I simply have gone through the process and am sharing my opinions based on what I learned. I mentioned in a previous blog the importance of professional sound and that is reason enough to secure enough financing to hire a qualified sound team. But it is also important to have other talented crew. With a low budget, you won't be able to pay them Union wages up front, but offer deferred payments that amount to Union or slightly above Union minimums. They may never see that money, but at least it shows you are committed to rewarding them for their efforts if indeed you are one day able. And don't underestimate the importance of food and drink on set. A happy crew is a hard working crew. We were happy and we worked hard for 12-14 hours most days.

I could go on and on about budgets, but I see this is a topic that needs to be broken down more. I will touch on specifics in upcoming blogs as well as writing more about Robert Rodriguez. He's good.

Happy birthday, Dad.

~ Justen