Micro-Budget Filmmaking with Sailfish Features

This year, I decided to do something totally crazy. I got with a small team of filmmakers, and we made a feature film for less than $15,000, all-in. Actually, it was probably closer to $10,000… but let’s be modest. First takes? It was grueling, exhilarating, and exhausting. It was the hardest, most completely rewarding experience of my life. It took us all far outside of our comfort zones, and challenged us to learn new skills, adopt new mindsets, and adapt our processes.?Was it worth it? In a word, yes.?Will I make another sub-$15,000 film again in the future? …Maybe. More on that below.

Here are some of the takeaways that our cast and crew gleaned from this year’s micro-budget filmmaking journey:

1. The team you choose to work with matters. Keep it small (but not too small), and only bring on people who you really, really trust. Skill matters… but when you’re working with extremely limited time and resources (…we shot 9 pages a day for 10 days straight - nope, I’m not kidding), you’ll likely start to value other traits more than raw talent or ability. Choose to work with people who are adventurous. Who possess above-average grit. People who are down for the struggle, and adapt quickly to curveballs. Choose to work with people who you know absolutely will not give up no matter what challenges come your way.

Early in our production, we got a call from one of our supporting actors that he was stuck at the airport, and that his flight had not just been delayed… it was cancelled. There was no chance of him getting to set. By the time we received the news, we had less than an hour before we absolutely needed to be filming his scene (lest we fall irreparably behind schedule). Our production team adapted quickly, and we gave the role to an extremely awesome, professional, flexible, down-for-the-struggle crew member. (Shout-out to Adam Chaffin!) He spent his lunch hour learning lines, and we pressed onward through production. Adaptability matters.

2.?Get used to DIY. Try your best to fill the main crew roles with trustworthy individuals. But know that there will be some roles that you do not fill. I ran camera, sound, and DIT?myself. I tried my darnedest to keep the craft services table and meals up too, but?when I ran out of time, hands, and brain power to do an adequate job, my amazing?husband stepped in and kept us going. Luckily, I’ve been involved in the technical side of production for years - so the cinematography and editing didn’t seem all that daunting. If you’re a writer/producer without any production background, and plan to make a micro-budget film, you may want to spend a good bit of time learning the ropes beforehand if you don’t know a free (or close to free) cinematographer and editor who wants to make a movie just for fun.?

3.?Plan like crazy. Our goal during pre-production was to set the team up so that there would be zero decisions to make on set. …Let me clarify. You’ll be putting out fires on set no matter how perfectly prepared you are. But at least try to get to a point during pre-production where you have every single element nailed down in advance (or so you genuinely believe). This includes shot maps, wardrobe, props, meals, and a zillion other little things that will be unique to your film. We had a scene during which I had planned to record all of our dialogue using lapel mics. When we arrived on set, I remembered that this scene was also supposed to take place in the pouring rain. Because I hadn’t made a concrete plan for waterproofing our gear, I found myself wrapping our mic packs in zip lock bags and praying for the best. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that our mic packs didn’t get destroyed on Day 4 of production because I didn’t plan for water. With that said, don’t be like me! Plan for contingencies.

4. Micro-budget filmmaking will teach you that you are not in control of everything - and that’s okay. Throughout pre-production and production, I found myself repeating Colossians 1:17 to myself. “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” I knew that I was not the one holding our little movie together. My job was to show up ready to do the hard work, to keep at it, and to give my all to the task at hand. Looking back, I can’t help but think that our little team of filmmakers accomplished the impossible. We didn’t control the weather. We didn’t control the people around us (and yes, we ran into a few rude ones - but let’s be honest, I wasn’t always at my best either that week). We didn’t control the elements and its effects on our technology. (Pro tip: Recording to SSD isn’t a great idea in >90 degree weather. Lesson learned.) All we did was keep moving forward. …And by God’s grace, we reached the finish line.

Back to the question of whether or not I’d consider making a sub-$15 grand movie again in the future. The next time I take on a project like this one, we’re going to need to fill a few additional positions. A full time craft services professional is a must. A dedicated line producer is a must. We really lucked out on audio this time around - but in the future, a dedicated sound recordist will be essential. Next time, I’m going to have to insist on setting aside a larger locations budget. All in all, the next time I do a micro-budget feature, perhaps something in the range of $35K is more reasonable.

If you’re interested in following our great little film project, check out www.sailfishfeatures.com.