Hi I’m Sareesh Sudhakaran.
In this video I’ll show you how to make a short film on a low budget. A good short
film, okay?
The reason I’m making this video is because everyone has to start somewhere and most wallets
are empty, so what?
It’s been done before. Somebody somewhere is making a movie right now. If you want seven
powerful tips on making a short film you can be proud of, then watch this video.
Tip #1. Stop making excuses. Some people look at the empty wallet. and say: Oh, that’s
a problem. Others say: So what? That’s one less problem I have to worry about.
The people I see fail the most in life are those who are great at finding reasons not
to do something. I don’t have a camera, I don’t know anybody, I don’t have 10-bit
4:2:2.
No, what you don’t have, is a spine. You’ve been complaining all your life, and you’re
an expert at it. And you’re going to keep doing it while the other guy or gal makes
their movie. I have a great tip for you: Stop watching.
To everybody else, hello. Sorry I had to take out the trash first. Tip number two is for
you, it’s the secret weapon, because I know you mean business.
Tip #2: Write stories about the people you know. A lot of filmmakers write scripts that
take place in their rooms, because that’s all they have. I’m talking about writing
about people you know. It’ll make your short film look real.
If you don’t know anything about firefighters, for example, but your short film is about
a firefighter somehow trapped in your room, it’s going to come out fake. But let’s
say you know the postman very well, and have chatted with him, know everything about him.
So why not write a story with the postman trapped in your room? If you don’t know
a postman, make it the landlord. Will you be able to tell a better story?
You don’t have to change the genre. If horror’s your thing, or comedy, whatever, pick characters
who you know, and place them in those situations. Don’t write characters that you have never
met or know personally. Kurosawa made Samurai movies, Spielberg made and still makes films
for kids, and Scorcese made movies about Robert de Niro and Joe Pesci killing people. Tarantino
makes movies about psychopaths cracking jokes before and after killing people. They write
about things they know.
Tip #3. Don’t make your film in 4K or 8K. Many Oscar winning films are shot and projected
in 2K. That’s HD for all practical purposes. 1080p. If you’re not convinced, here’s
how it opens some magical doors:
You can buy a cheaper camera with better image quality. You get higher frame rates in 1080p.
You don’t need the sharpest lenses. You can edit, grade and finish on a cheap computer
system. You can make focus mistakes and it’s not so evident in 1080p. Neither is bad makeup,
problems in costumes or hair. All the things that make low budget look worse are hidden
in 1080p, which is the exact same reason major Hollywood films are finished in 1080p. They
might shoot in 4K, and maybe Netflix wants 4K, but your short film will be just as great
in 1080p.
Same goes for audio as well. Don’t overcomplicate audio with more characters, overlapping dialogue,
sound effects and complex music. A good simple stereo mix is better than a bad 5.1 mix. It’s
not a compromise. You’re just deciding to eat a fresh apple instead of a rotten apple
pie.
I know it’s hard. For most guys watching this I know it’s tantamount to losing your
manhood. Let me tell you, it’s not. A few years from now, you’ll understand. Shoot
in 1080p, and breathe easier now and in the future.
Tip #4. Learn the right process. Taking steps in the wrong order wastes a lot of time and
money. The best way to take down a monster is not by approaching it head on.
Download my blueprint about making a movie on a low budget. I’ll put a link to it below.
I’ve laid out the steps I would take to make a low budget film - in the order that
I feel is the best strategy for all filmmakers.
I know you might have read some books, good for you. You might have been in film school
or have read magazines or Wikipedia on how a film should be made. That’s great, at
least it shows you are proactive. But these techniques don’t work for low budget films,
and even less so for zero budget films.
You’d be better off watching McGyver. Okay, maybe you’re too young to know who McGyver
is. How about Jackie Chan? He’s still making movies, and using things around him to kick
ass. Look around you. What you see is what’ll be in your movie. The locations, the props,
the things you have access to. They are your assets. Do what Robert Rodriguez did with
El Mariachi.
Don’t feel restricted by it. Think of it as a game. You have to make it work, somehow.
So start focusing on the how. Failing is part of the process. To get those gears turning
in your head download my blueprint so you have a starting point.
Number 5. This is my most powerful tip. This is jedi master level. Ready? Tip number five
is: Make the world small. What do I mean by that? Let me explain with an analogy. How
do you make a mouse roar like a lion? Pause this video for a second and think about it.
Don’t say it’s impossible. Don’t be like those complaining turds.
There is an answer. There is always an answer. Here it is. Make the room smaller, and bring
the walls in close enough to make the squeak reverberate. When you make the world small
and bring in the walls, a squeak becomes a roar. Even a mouse can terrify.
You make the world small in your movie and outside your movie. Everything becomes small.
Locations are smaller, the number of actors and crew members are smaller, the number of
days you shoot are less, the number of scenes are lesser, you shoot lesser shots, lesser
lights, you get the idea.
The world outside your movie gets smaller as well. You find locations in your town or
village. You talk only to your friends, family, and people in your locality. You don’t travel
far, and most importantly, you set your sights to only what you can see. Don’t make travel
plans for the moon when you don’t have money for a bus ticket to go down the block.
In the age of the Internet, you’d think it’s a crazy idea to restrict yourself,
but it’s not. You’re just preparing to roar like a lion. Even if you live in a town
or village with just a thousand people, by involving everyone in your film, you’re
going to get stuff done for free or peanuts, and they’ll gladly pay you to watch your
film at the end.
Just put up a projector or find a projection room and show your film to everyone who already
knows about your film and have probably contributed somehow to your film. Charge them something
nominal. You’ll make your money back and be ready for your next film. You can only
do this with people you know, and who know you. Most filmmakers ignore the people closest
to them and then complain when strangers don’t care. Grow up.
Tip #6. Don’t buy a camera. It is the single dumbest mistake you could make. There might
be scenarios where the camera rental works out to be more than the purchase, but in that
case you can still save money by finding a cinematographer who owns a camera.
Let’s face it, humans are primed to buy stuff, sometimes for no damn reason. So it’s
easy to buy a camera, but it doesn’t take you closer to making your movie. Just like
buying a race car doesn’t take you anywhere near winning a race or even being able to
race.
I’ve seen countless examples of filmmakers who won’t pay peanuts to a cinematographer
with a camera, but somehow insist on buying their own camera. I’ve done it myself, I’m
sorry to say, and I know how powerful the impulse is. I also know I was wrong and dumb,
and I hope hearing it from me makes a difference.
I made my first short film with a Digital 8 camera. It was an embarrassment, but today,
about 18 years later, it doesn’t really matter. What I remember most are the things
I learned, the friends I made, and the fact that I got it done on a zero budget. Except
for lunch and the auto rickshaw fare. I was able to do this because of:
Tip #7. Put together the A-team. No, not the Avengers, these guys. A bunch of misfits who
somehow complete each other and make everything seem fun. The Avengers? A bunch of egos who
can’t work together and failed to save the world. Time travel isn’t valid. Why not
go even further back and just kill themselves?
Back to your A-team. You have to motivate them, you have to take charge, and you have
to believe in yourself. And all this happens in your head and theirs.
Sharing excitement is infectious. It works. Show people a mountain peak and motivate them
to climb with you. I didn’t say ask. You don’t ask them. You don’t tell them. You
motivate them. You don’t have to pretend you know the way. All you have to promise
is fun. You keep the fun coming, everything else will take care of itself.
Don’t believe me? Speak to other filmmakers who have made their short films and feature
films. There are millions all around the world. Ask them what they miss the most? Was it the
camera, or the technicalities? I can speak for myself: What I miss most about all the
work I’ve done over the last two decades is the experience of doing it, the fun.
If you gave me the option of going back in time to shoot the same projects with the same
crap cameras and money, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Because today, I can make a bad camera look
good. It is not as important as I thought it was. I had to become better, and it took
me two decades to learn.
You can’t buy time travel, my friend. No matter how challenging your film, always remember
to have fun. Make it the most important thing on your list, pronto.
How do you go about doing it? Treat your short film like an event, like a night out with
your new friends. It’s not business, it’s strictly pleasure. When that’s obvious to
everyone, you’d be amazed how that attitude changes everything.
And here’s a bonus tip. If you can’t motivate others, or even get out of bed or finish a
script, then filmmaking is probably going to be hard for you. You might get there, but
only after you change first. That won’t happen by itself. Watching movies does not
make you a filmmaker. It makes you the audience. Studying and practicing filmmaking makes you
a filmmaker.
Even if there’s nothing to do, spend your time learning, studying, practicing, and engaging
in the art and craft of making movies.
If you’re passionate but are not a good talker, beg a friend to be part of your A-team.
They might not care about your film, but they care about you. Filmmaking is painful, and
that friend is the glue that will keep your ragged band together even when it hits the
fan.
So, no money to make your film? Be thankful because that’s one less problem you have
to worry about.
If you liked this video please hit like, and don’t forget to subscribe and hit the bell
you’ll see on the right - because every time you hit the bell a mouse roars.