Your mom always loves your work.
It’s okay to run a script by a buddy or two, but don’t go overboard.
(more…)Category: Preproduction
Child of tip – Preproduction
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Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #118
It still beats low-budget CGI!
A dog isn’t a werewolf, but careful application of camera angles, cuts, reaction shots, and good interesting sound can fool most anyone.
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Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #112
Time for a gritty remake of Empty Room?
The fewer the actors, the fewer the sets, the fewer effects, the simpler the movie will be to make. Be realistic about what you can chew before you bite.
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Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #91
Nobody wants to use tubes.
The easier it is to get in and out of your ground-breaking weird sci-fi costumes, the less the actors will curse your name whenever they have to pee.
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Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #89
…or lost in a lake. Just sayin’…
If you have a special hero prop, try to make twice as many as you might need. If you need four “phase pistols,” make eight. You definitely won’t regret it.
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Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #76
Cinder blocks are sturdy.
Make your props out of something sturdy. Cardboard and balsa wood will shatter if you look at it cross-eyed.
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Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #68
Choose Wisely
Trust your Assistant Director. If you can’t, then at least figure out what your expectations should be and make sure the two of you are on the same page. If your AD is both untrustworthy and unpredictable, get a new AD.
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Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #62
But order it in advance!
If you have to rent a van, rent a van. It’s only about a hundred bucks a day, but think of what that hundred bucks gets you: You don’t have to worry about who’s bringing what piece of gear. Everybody just brings everything the few nights before to one location, and the night before, you pack it all in one van.
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Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #59
Call it “Gravitas”
If you are using any miniatures (whether motorized or not, but especially if motorized), fill ’em with lead, wax, anything that’ll dry solid.
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Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #51
The “Scotty Method” isn’t real.
If the makeup you want is going to take half an hour or an hour to apply, plan for that time. Don’t assume your makeup person is lying about how long it’ll take.
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