Setting a scene with a micro budget?

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whitefalconiv

So, I'm working on a project, it's my first, and it starts as a gangster film set in the 1970's, 1978 specifically, which is before I was born, so my knowledge of what things looked like back then is limited.

I'm minimizing the number of cars that appear as much as I can (I have access to 3 vintage cars), and every house I have access to was built at least 50 years ago. However, fashions, home decor, etc. have changed wildly in the past 30-40 years. I'm planning on spending hours poring over the thrift shops in town to try and find vintage clothes that fit my actors.

So I'm wondering, since I can't really afford to buy vintage appliances/furniture, haul them into my or my friend's homes, and haul them back out a day later, is there a good way to really sell that a scene took place in the 70's without an obvious title card and keeping modern anachronisms to a minimum?

Specifically, I need a shot in a bedroom/hallway, a kitchen, and a living room w/ fireplace in the same house, and a kitchen and entryway in another house. I also am filming a scene in a bar and a liquor store, but I'm under the impression those types of settings haven't changed too much from the way they are now, as long as I avoid getting any modern tech in the shot (cash registers and computers, obviously) Are there certain things I should look to make sure I get accurate, while letting others slide and trying to keep from jarring my audience out of the setting?

I've been trying to do my research, and I can get ahold of vintage beer cans/bottles, which feature pretty prominently. I think I have a decent idea of what EXISTED back then, but I don't know what was common/rare, popular/unpopular, what were signs of wealth/poverty, etc.

So, anyone who's done anything set about 30-40 years ago on a low budget, how did you go about it?
 
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Zensteve said:
Better get started watching some of those films made in (or set in) the 70's. There's probably more than five.
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You mean there was more than just Star Wars, Jaws, and Taxi Driver? Man. I've got a lot of learning to do :-p

Yeah, in all seriousness I've been collecting a lot of reference material. I just wanted to see if there was anything specific I needed to make sure I didn't overlook.
 
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Well you won't be able to make it look organic with micro budget. Thats it. You need professional people in your crew and quite a bit of money for - props,makeups,clothes etc. etc.

Just re write your script for smth nowadays - it is not like organised crime doesnt exist ;p
I mean on a micro budget u will get micro budget looks. No way around it.
 
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I've made several period films with a slim-to-none budget, one of which I spent a grand total of $100 on and it won an Audience Choice Award (so I'm guessing it sold the look lol). The way I go about selling a time period starts in the script. Get the language and slang right. If you over do it, modern audiences won't follow and it can come across cheesy. The trick to writing period dialogue is to remember that it's contemporary actors portraying time-specific people. So again, hit upon phrases and slang from that time, but don't over do it.

Second is costumes. Find ways to maximize the costumes you find by reusing them on different actors throughout the film, mix and match, etc, that way you can get away with buying a few articles and shopping them around. Props are the same way. You can reuse items in your different shots. Like you said, there's a shot in a living room...you can always pull a lamp that you used in the kitchen and use it in play there (make sense?)

Overall, really do some research and dig around (one of the most important things). You'll find that while styles were different, there are a lot of contemporary objects, clothes, etc, that can be fashioned a bit to look like they belong (I did this recently with a film set in 1945). Spread everything you buy to it's limits in terms of where it appears in the film. Using things more than once is the way to go on a low budget. 90% of the time the audience won't notice.
 
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Check out Argo. They sell '70s/'80s with costume, hair styles, technology, toys etc. and not so much cars.

They also blew up 35mm to give them heaps of grain, but whether you can afford to shoot 35mm.. ;)
 
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baoliun said:
Well you won't be able to make it look organic with micro budget. Thats it. You need professional people in your crew and quite a bit of money for - props,makeups,clothes etc. etc.

Just re write your script for smth nowadays - it is not like organised crime doesnt exist ;p
I mean on a micro budget u will get micro budget looks. No way around it.
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Well, the issue is that the story is part of an overarching story that starts in the 70's and then fast forwards to today, where I'd say 90% of the story takes place. I'd rather do what I can in the first couple shorts than have to come up with something futuristic in the majority of the episodes.
 
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I've been taught, period pieces on a micro budget are usually doomed.

It's hard to do sufficient long shots when you don't have the budget to make everything look right. Then again, it does depend on your script. Who knows, you might have the vision to make it work.

It also depends on what you call a micro budget. Some people call that 2-5mil. Not my idea of a micro budget though.
 
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If it is a very small portion of the overall narrative, it is probably doable. Just make sure you have someone around your monitors each day (who was a young adult in the 70s) to tell you if something is in-frame that shouldn't be there. Not too long ago, I watched a period piece that was filmed in a nice period farmhouse in KY, but there was a brand new modern Kohler faucet visible in one kitxhen scene that would not have existed in the 1930s. One strategically placed turkey could have obscured the giant faucet easily.

If you end up doing a close-up of something on the floor, be sure to go to a carpet store and get a sample of some shag first.
 
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Also, you might want to advertise the need to borrow items on sites like freecycle, craigslist, etc. Some local folks might still have 8tracks in their attics it basements.

Also, see if local stores will loan you pieces for nothing but the advertising exposure of product placement. John Nicholson's etsy store could probably use some exposure. Also hit up Cherry Bomb, WHY, Nitty Gritty, and Queen of Rags.

I assume you've already dug through items in places like Portland's Unique Thrift or the flea market Peddler's Mall...
 
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