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watch Light Of Eden < Teaser

SEE!? I've said all along you can get amazing results with no budget :) Time = Money, and if you spend the time on making something right, you won't need to spend the money on it (assuming you have willing participants to work for free who believe in what you're doing as much as you do).

Nicely done. How much of the look was done in-camera/in-post? If in-post, could we see before and after shots of a frame or two? And to all the nay-sayers, some of the comments on the page say this was shot with an XL2, LONG LIVE SD :P
 
awesome... I'm just interested to see what people are shooting in camera and what they're doing to it afterwards to make it seem filmlike.
 
FCRabbath said:
Hey guys just wanted to share our latest film teaser. I will be releasing all the films right after our big premiere. They are all done tho. Anyways enjoy!

Oh and this is the film i showed the screenshots from.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYHcfMNZ1cE

&

http://vimeo.com/2497790 HD!
Click to expand...


Just wondering, because I have budget dilemma myself, how do YOU define zero budget?
Is the actual amount of money used zero dollars? Didn't you eat for three days? Or did everybody just pay for their own food? Or is zero budget just a euphemism for that you paid for yourself for everything?
Did you pay for any equipment? If not, shouldn't you put the value of those equipment as the producers side of financing, and do a budget from there?

The reason I'm asking, is that I've recently got a short film ready, and the budget could be Zero - 5k - 24k or 75k budget, depending on the point of view.

Let me explain, first, of all, 95% of ALL the actual money used was my own money. My own money which I worked for. The sum is roughly 4500 to 5000 euros. Now, of course as an ambitious film maker, I gathered my contacts and got stuff for free, or with a big discount.

Zero - I dont count shit, just put as a zero budget cos' I paid it for myself
5000 - this is the actual amount of money involved
24000 - money + equipment, edit, material, food etc. got for free, sponsored or discount
75000 - all the above + salaries (estimated)

Now the "big" reason for me asking this is:

Which should I use?
- Is it good to let everyone think that the budget is nothing, could this give a wrong impression?
- Was the actual budget for "El Mariachi" 7000 dollars in the books, or was it just the amount of money used? I bet RR got some free stuff from somewhere...
- The 24k would give a realistic image of the productions real production cost in money, this is atleast what it would have cost, e.g. if all equipment was rented, no sponsored beer or food etc.
- Same as above, but with the salaries of the crew / cast

Is there a difference when festivals ask in the submission form for the budget? Does anyone care? Does a decent budget give a feeling of a well thought production?
 
Is the actual amount of money used zero dollars?
No money at all.

Didn't you eat for three days? Or did everybody just pay for their own food?
They paid for their own food.

Or is zero budget just a euphemism for that you paid for yourself for everything?
I used old DV tapes that i bought of other films.

Did you pay for any equipment? If not, shouldn't you put the value of those equipment as the producers side of financing, and do a budget from there?
I had won the money for my XL2 which i purchased in 2005 that i still use for each of my films. Same goes with my equipment.

Which should I use?
- Is it good to let everyone think that the budget is nothing, could this give a wrong impression?
Depends. What kind of help are u getting?

- Was the actual budget for "El Mariachi" 7000 dollars in the books, or was it just the amount of money used? I bet RR got some free stuff from somewhere...
I have no idea.

Is there a difference when festivals ask in the submission form for the budget?
I'm not sure. I think the budget for a film is separate than festival stuff.

Does a decent budget give a feeling of a well thought production?
Again it depends. I mean just go out look, ask, shoot, and run! lol.
 
On El Mariachi, RR spent $7k getting the thing made shot and put onto VHS for editing, then out to VHS after editing. He borrowed the camera (not on the budget), borrowed the recorder/microphone (not on the budget)... the 7k was just to get to the point where he could shop it around.

The studio that picked it up for distribution paid tens of thousands to get the original negatives reedited, resynched and blown up to 35mm for distribution. That's not said in the reports of it, as distribution cost wasn't figured in the original budget, that was up to the distributor from the get go.

I personally like to think of no-budget (really an impossible goal) as literally not planning to pay for anything other than the tapes (I always use new ones to shoot on so I can archive them and they are known to be clean tapes). I also try to stick to the point of not paying for anything as well. If a location asks for money, I'll tend to decline (a few notable exceptions) gracefully. There's thousands of phone numbers in the yellow pages, someone will say it sounds like fun, my 15 year old son is fascinated by movies and how they're made... could they help out?

To quote my father: "Ask them, the worst that can happen is they'll say no." Never be afraid of the phone, you can get just about anything for free by just asking a large enough sample set of phone numbers/ homeowners/ business owners.
 
Thanks for the answers, they didn't help that much, but I should have explained myself better.
This is not about making films with zero budget, I don't have any interest in that. I wish to make quality movies, regardless if the budget is 0 or 1.000.000 euros. I like to work with crews from 15 - 30 people, and I don't intend to get anyone work for free anymore. Therefore zero budget is not a possibility.

I believe a well planned & executed budget is very important to a production and to a producer because it can keep a production together. Now, I understand that when it comes to amateur mini-dv films which are made by a couple of dudes with their friends a budget doesn't matter, but if your working your ass off to get a few grand together to create something that can help you to get more funding and even more after that, don't you think it would be good that you can also show that you can handle the money?

I also believe that a good filmmaker / director does know a lot of every aspect / position in film making, and that includes budgets, deadlines, costs etc. It gives such a broader view on what is possible in different productions.

But, this thread has now taken a turn to something totally different than it was created for. So I hope this can be transferred to a new thread. But if not, I believe I got the answers to the questions, although they were not the one I hoped for, or needed.

P.S.

I agree that "budget stuff" is separate from festival stuff. BUT, a lot of festivals still keep asking the films budgets in their submission forms....hence the Q.
 
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