Let's forget about the obvious expenses such as salaries for the technicians and actors.
Even if everyone works for free, have you ever tried to shoot with a permit? The permits are generally free, but to get one you are REQUIRED to buy
liability insurance, which will set you back many thousands of dollars. Many major cities now require coverage of $2-million (It used to be $1-million), plus you are required to hire off-duty policemen for traffic control, and a fire inspector to check your electrical cables...
As for "taking you seriously" (your words), with a small budget...the short answer is "probably not". If you don't have a "name actor" in your movie, it's hard to get someone
to even
look at it, let alone BUY it.
My wife and I have produced EIGHT feature films...all on budgets of around $2500.00
...and I can tell you from experience how hard it is to get a distributor to even LOOK at
our films. We personally have three friends who are each sitting on films with million-dollar
budgets...all action films... that they
can't sell, because there are no "name"
actors in the films. Two of them have been seeking distributors for over 2-years.
Are there exceptions to the rule? Sure. But even an Oscar-winning indie film such as
"The Hurt Locker" barely makes back it's production cost.
But let's face it, all of "us" filmmakers are dreamers. Miracles DO happen once in awhile,
and at very least we love the process of actually MAKING our movies whether they sell
or not. That's what keeps us going.
The trick to it all is to never go it debt making your film. If you only have a thousand
dollars, don't spend five-thousand...because chances are you'll never make a dime on
your film anyway.
As for our own films, all eight have been distributed in some fashion...largely by small
distribution companies. BUT, none of them have ever paid me a DIME in royalties (which
is another story all by itself). (Here's our stuff
click here)
Have fun...