Creating a low budget short film
“Reynolds” - Played by Drew “Andy Pants” Petersen
I’ve been building my YouTube channel, or at the very least trying to. And honestly, I’m not sure what it is I’m going for either. The video topics themselves, and my delivery, are all over the place. From wildlife photography to starting a production company, from making a short low budget film to dealing with bad clients, it’s a mess! Clearly I’m in the trial and error phase, which actually has its benefits in terms of throwing a bunch of shit at the wall and seeing what sticks.
Anyways, my latest video is all about making a low (no) budget film and trailer. This is something I have at least some experience with, as our last film “Elgin Park” was done in this way. But I think this is a common struggle with filmmakers, or at the very least aspiring filmmakers. Choosing what equipment to use, how to light a scene, composition, etc. and so on. Even with some pre-production and a mood board, we get caught up in the art and tend to overthink things. Or, even worse, we tend to think about all the things we’re doing wrong instead of right. Some of this can come from valuing our own work in comparison to others. Some of it can come from being overly self critical and a quasi-perfectionist.
On the flip side, there is nothing more freeing than being an aspiring filmmaker. No one is counting on you to deliver award winning films, top notch cinematography, unparalleled acting, and flawless stories. There is quite literally 0 pressure to create anything incredible (outside of the aforementioned pressure we put on ourselves). This is what makes the process so enjoyable. Experimentation, being resourceful, DIY guerrilla filmmaking…that’s what it’s all about! This is THE WORK!
The obvious caveat with all of this is: the bills need to be paid before we can endeavor upon passion work. This is something I made an entire separate video about HERE, but it’s the truth. I’d love to just run around in the woods, abandoned buildings, industrial basements, and film cool stuff. I’d love to have nothing to work on but passion projects, conservation and wildlife documentaries, short narrative films, etc. But to do all of this, to do any of it, means that I need to take on client work and make an income as a production company. And the reality is, some of this client work is boring as all hell. *Luckily some of it is actually enjoyable and pays well though. But I digress…
As it stands, the goal with this is to create another short film - this one being around 15 minutes…or half the length of my last “short” film - and just see what’s what after that. I’ll submit it to some smaller film festivals, share it on YouTube and Vimeo, and get some portfolio pieces and demo reel cinematography out of it. And you know what? That’s good enough. Because amidst all of my other creative struggles, one thing I am grateful for, and that I don’t struggle with is…thinking that every project, every photo, every social media post, every YouTube video, every creative endeavor…will be a career altering thing. That it will change my artistic (and even professional) trajectory and catapult me into creative freedom. I truly believe process driven work, being done in the absence of recognition and reward, is the key to real freedom…assuming we still can make a living and pay our bills ;)
In any event, check out my latest video about low budget filmmaking below. Cheers!
