The creative potential of low budget filmmaking

Script to Screen Writer’s Room assembled a veritable ‘who’s who’ of small budget filmmakers who set out to prove that big money is not necessarily better when it comes to providing creative opportunities.

MC Vanessa Alexander (writer/director/producer) spoke with Jarrod Holt (thedownlowlowconcept), writer/directors Stephen Sinclair and Jason Stutter and producer Leanne Saunders about taking a low budget film from concept to completion while working on a shoestring.

All panelists had one thing in common: extensive experience making shorts and features with little or no funding.

Jarrod’s thedownlowconcept production company won the Best Short Film Script at this year’s Qantas Awards for Only Son.

Jason has self funded his film projects including Tongan Ninja and Diagnosis Death, most recently working as writer/director on the NZFC funded film Predicament.

Stephen is a well known playwright and made his debut as a writer/director with the film Russian Snark.

Leanne was part of the Headstrong team and lists many other credits including producer of Christmas (Greg King),  executive producer of Devil Dared Me To and most recently has produced a low budget feature with the New Zealand Film Fund called Desert.

Vanessa began the discussion by asking the panel to describe the advantages of making a film on a low budget.

Jason felt the greatest appeal for him was the freedom to make the film you want to make. “No one can tell you not to. I pay for the films I make so I can do what I want and can just get on with it. Careful with that Crossbow is one of a trilogy of short films that has sold really well around the world. It was shot on a Canon 7D. It was just me, a camera, the kids (acting in the film), one other person and that was it. We went up to the park, thought ‘this’ll do!’ Catering was a sandwich each and it took half a day. Everyone will tell you that they know better, even those who want to develop a script with you, but no one knows better than you.”

And is it possible to make money from short films?

Jason said Crossbow was shot on a tiny camera, cost about $100 to shoot with $3,000 spent on post production. “The trilogy of films has made a good amount.  I made Careful with that Axe and then had a chance meeting with a development person at the Film Commission. They liked my idea and the film would not have received as much worldwide festival attention without their involvement. But I didn’t make the film thinking I’d send it to Cannes. I made it because it was a fun thing to do.”

Jarrod felt low budget film making offers fun. “Enjoy what you’re doing and ensure all who participate in the film making process are treated with respect and appreciation so they can have fun too. People are working for free at this level. You can’t pay them so put on lunch and a few beers, listen to what they have to say and make them feel appreciated.”

“A big advantage of low budget is creative freedom,” said Stephen. “My work went off in a new direction while writing Russian Snark. When you’re writing to please bureaucrats, you unconsciously think in more ‘genre’ terms so it was a huge freedom for me to be as eccentric as I wanted to. I’ve done my time obsessing about three act structures!  Narrative is like a clothesline. You can either devote your energy to creating a line or see it as something to hang things on. Whilst Russian Snark has an accessible narrative, I’m playing with mood to create a more poetic feel and low budget lets you get away with that. No one can stop you. It’s very liberating.”

As a producer, Leanne has a different perspective. “I see a lot of low budget scripts and often there’s a gut instinct that makes me want to get involved. I look at projects one step removed from the creative angle. I’m more analytical. All the low budget projects I’ve been involved with have been achievable. They have a strong concept; I know where they are going, can see the audiences and I trust the vision of the writer/directors. I always encourage film makers to follow their own vision and be prepared to make films for no budget because a lot of time can be wasted trying to get a little money.”

The low budget area of New Zealand film making is paying real dividends for back end investors. 

Jason spoke about his horror film Diagnosis Death, inspired by an idea from Raybon Kan. “We had a solid plan for the project. We wanted to pay people so worked out a budget that wasn’t huge and asked friends to invest. Raybon and I went to LA and attended a film market. We had a promo for the film so went round all the production houses. We weren’t hard selling and that obviously worked in our favour because we sold the film to Lionsgate, Revolver in the UK and Warner Brothers in Australia and managed to pay everyone back and make some money to pay for post production. It was very satisfying but we did start out with a plan and knew what we wanted to achieve.”

Leanne said it is her responsibility as a producer to know where a film is going and how people are going to be paid.

“I can’t ask people to work for nothing. I’ve never paid less than minimum for any film I’ve made.  The Film Commission used to have a back end corridor for producers of 10% from net income. It was tiny and meant that everyone kept loading their fees up front because no one ever got anything from the back end. Now there is a corridor for debut features of 40% and if other investors put up money you can negotiate other corridors. If you’re making a low budget then you have to figure out how you can share this and it’s important to determine that before you contract people.

"It’s a recent change that has come directly from the low budget side of film making. Actors and crew are aware of this – they’re far less naïve! The director makes the most mileage out of a film. If the director is picked up, the film will do well but it’s important not to lose sight of the crew and actors, ensuring their input is recognised and rewarded.”

Working around the constraints low budget imposes can inspire some creative film making techniques. 

“When you work in low budget for a while you tend to internalise the constraints,” said Stephen. “When writing the script for Russian Snark, I did not include any massive crowd scenes or night scenes. I just didn’t go there. Whilst this doesn’t constrain the script, it’s sensible to bear these things in mind.”

Jarrod sets a budget first and works backwards. “Starting with our limitations and working backwards is a normal approach for us now. With our 48 Hour films, we find locations where we can shoot for free – there’s always a video store in our films! This year we found a factory where we could shoot for free and thought, “What story can we tell in there?” We knew three actors – a Tongan, a girl and an old man – so we wondered, “What can we do with them? Can we pay them?” With our first feature, we wanted to shoot somewhere that looked nice. We decided on an island and went from there. It works for us. Sometimes you can look at a story and chase your tail. Low budget can be an advantage because you can make the most of the money you have.”

Leanne stressed the importance of finding a concept that suits the limitations of low budget. “I read over 400 scripts for Headstrong and my best advice is to be inventive and have fun. We tend to be a bit boring – too many ‘bleeding heart’ or ‘coming of age’ ideas. Unless you have something interesting to say, please don’t!”

To illustrate the point, Leanne related a story about a visit to Cannes when she found herself sitting amongst a group of film executives.  “They were talking about a film they wanted to buy called Rubber. It’s about a telekinesis tyre that hunts down people and kills them. I thought it was a joke but later on I Googled it and there’s a shot of this tyre going off in search of someone to kill. People were fighting over it and Rubber got the big money. It may have been a low budget film but it’s all about the idea. You may think, “Why would anyone want to make that film?” but then ask, “Why not?” Take your limitations, create and have fun. We tend to be way too serious and dark with our subject matter.”

Two films that do not conform to the traditional conventions of genre but yet deliver great cinematic experiences are Greg King’s Christmas and Stephen Sinclair’s Russian Snark.

A clip from Greg King’s film was shown and Leanne described it as a low budget black comedy filmed inside a family home. “It shows small town New Zealand reality where everyone is in a social breakdown situation, a dysfunctional family. It was shot entirely inside the house and yet has a rich texture and makes a powerful social and cultural comment.” The film screened in several international festivals and launched Greg’s career.

Stephen spoke to a clip from Russian Snark, a 90-minute feature with a script that was only 60 pages long. “Making this film was very liberating, taking film beyond the conventional arena of narrative, trying to push in new directions.  You can tell a story that is more slanted towards the visual. The clip we saw of an actor with his clothes off is a good example of how you can create something visually interesting that doesn’t cost much!”

Is there a particular audience that will come to see low budget films?

Jason said audiences don’t really care about budget. “They don’t think to themselves, ‘Oh they made it for a little bit of money so I won’t go.’ They just go along.” Leanne felt much depends upon the marketing and the story. “There is a general audience who will go because it becomes that ‘art house low budget/ festival’ type thing. But if a low budget is picked up by a major studio, it’s less about the budget and more about the film. An audience does have expectations around the budget but really they just want to see the story.”

The panel accepted questions from the floor and the first concerned the financial parameters for a low budget feature.

Leanne replied that it was difficult to be specific but that budgets tended to follow ‘bands.’   “In New Zealand, $600,000 to one million would be called low budget. Three million would be a healthy budget here but considered low internationally. All New Zealand films are low budget, internationally speaking.”

Leanne said crew and actors would expect payment from a budget of three million. “Headstrong films were made for half a million but they weren’t really low budget in terms of scale of crew. We had all the usual health and safety issues covered. Cast and crew were on a flat rate and rewarded through the back end. Of course once money is involved there are contracts to be signed and production financing agreements require health and safety reporting – and that costs more money!”

Jarrod said a lower budget allows more time for writing the script and working on scenes. “When we’re working with two or three people things go along really well. But then when you get money, it slows things down. The more you add, the slower the film making goes.”

You Tube may provide an opportunity to showcase original short films but opinions varied on how effective it could be. 

Leanne felt You Tube offers a valuable marketing tool for films that no one has heard of for a long time. “You Tube has little clips of some long lost films and it serves to promote them.”  She also described how Song of Good was screened for 24 hours, free of charge, as a promotion for the DVD release, receiving 2500 views.” After that I conducted a poll, asking how much people would pay to download a New Zealand film online: $1.99 if it wasn’t Peter Jackson or Taika Waititi, probably because people are used to paying that amount on i-Tunes.”

The panel was asked to offer some final words of advice for those wishing to make a low budget film.

“Think about your market before you make a film,” advised Leanne. “Team up with someone who knows about digital media marketing.”

Stephen praised the use of digital technology for low budget. “A lot of film makers are shooting on 16mm but it’s a real money hose and you don’t need all that crap. It’s about the raw stuff.” And Jason added, “don’t try to make Lawrence of Arabia for ten grand. That’s silly.”

Jarrod encouraged would-be low budgeters to shoot their films on anything. “It doesn’t matter about the camera. It’s all about the idea. Nail the script before you start filming. It will be a better film if you take another year to work on the script. Much of New Zealand product goes into production before it’s ready. And remember to manage your time well. If you’re not experienced in this area, seek help from someone who is.”

Jason offered the last words of advice. “Make the film you want to make, especially if you’re making it with little or no money. You have to like it yourself – and no one cares how you shoot it! Just make it.”

Transcript from September 2010 Writer's Room written for Script to Screen by Jane Bissell.