Funding a $10,000 Student Short Film?

What is the best way(s) for a student filmmaker with little money to fund a short film with a budget of about $10,000 in 2 months?
 
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A - Rewrite the project for the budget you actually do have. AKA: There's the house/car/girl I want vs. the one I can afford.

B - James Cameron did it. Christopher Nolan did it. You too can shelve your project, work on something else, then get back to it when you have the fiscal/technical resources to pull it off.

C -
512pCrZRhdL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
 
The thing is, no matter what my script is, it will cost at least a few thousands dollars, probably more, just for equipment alone. Anyone have any success with product placement or trading credits for rented equipment?
 
The thing is, no matter what my script is, it will cost at least a few thousands dollars, probably more, just for equipment alone.

Are you making friends with other filmmakers? Other filmmakers with gear?

Are you working on your friends' movies? 'Cos they'll owe you, if you do.

If you worked on a project of mine, for example, I'd totally be up for reciprocatiing if you ever had a need for awesome lighting. If there ain't no money, it's time to call in those favours you've been saving up.


Anyone have any success with product placement or trading credits for rented equipment?

Not for gear rental, but we've had luck with food from restaurants... far away from Los Angeles area, mind you. In the smaller towns where filmmaking is a novelty. We always send the same sweet-talker in. He's got that kind of Blarney-esque gift. :cool:
 
Im not an expert by any means, but I cant honestly see you being able to exchange credit and product placement to fund a project like this...
Mabe you could use them to get some cool locations to shoot for free (example: offer to show the local grocery stores logo in the film if they let you film some scenes inside).
I have heard of some ways to obtain funding you might be able to try:

-Darren Aronofsky funded his movie "Pi" for 60,000$ by asking friends and family to donate money (Hal Warren apparently did the same with his movie "Manos")
-Robert Rodriguez lent his body out to a drug testing lab for a month to help fund a portion of his movie "El Mariachi" for 9,000$ (only used 7,000$ of it)

and if all else fails, that Deuce Bigalow suggestion by rayw might be fun to try LOL.
 
Shake that tail, young man.
Be grateful the weather's warm streetside.



The thing is, no matter what my script is, it will cost at least a few thousands dollars, probably more, just for equipment alone. Anyone have any success with product placement or trading credits for rented equipment?
Shelve it.
Change how you think about doing a film.
Google "no budget filmmaking."

Want this
newport-mansion.jpg


Can afford this
images




Want this
Emma-Watson_jpg_200x200_crop_upscale_q85.jpg


Can afford this
crying-girl-scout.jpg




Want this
MMS%202%20Panoramic2.jpg


Can afford...
 
Do you have a complete line item budget yet?

It seems there is a difference between "at least a few thousands dollars"
and $10,000. What exactly do you need to make this film?
 
The thing is, no matter what my script is, it will cost at least a few thousands dollars, probably more, just for equipment alone.

1 week rental for the following equipment from borrowlenses.com:
$118 - Canon 7D
$20 - extra LP-E6 battery
$75 - manfrotto tripod
$55 - 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
$158 - Lowell DV creator 55 kit
$46 - Tascam DR100
$53 - ME-66 shotgun mic
$27 - K-Tek boom pole

total: $552

Buy a few cheap memory cards, maybe rent a couple C-stands locally for $6/day, add in a couple hundred bucks for food for your cast and crew - your budget is still well under $1000 and that's really all you need to make a decent short film. Well, that and a good script, and some skills.
 
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... and that's really all you need to make a decent short film. Well, that and a good script, and some skills.
Bingo.

And exactly my point.
OP has gotta change the way he thinks about moving from the principles of filmmaking into the practical aspects of it.

IDOM, you've not included the budget for actors, costumes, props, green screens, jibs, dolly tracks, stunt coordinators and stunt doubles, body padding and crashpads, firearms master with full functioning blowback replica firearms, MUA, night lighting, location expenses, vehicles and helicopters, 40 post SFX compositions, and, and, and, and...
Wait, this isn't a period fantasy piece with horses and dinosaurs, right?

Will these things make a better product?
Possibly. Likely.
We've all seen multi-million dollar experienced directors produce cinematic excrement at rate of hundreds of thousands of dollars per screen minute.
It can't be that difficult, right?


Write a story for the resources you have, not the resources you don't have.
- Actors
- Locations
- Equipment
- Budget
 
Are you guys actually students making a 'student short film'?

Check gear out from the university.

I am a student, but I will not be part of the film program at my university until next year. This is a summer project that I want to work on. I could shelve it and wait till later, but I won't have another opportunity to have 3 months of free time to film, for a while.

Do you have a complete line item budget yet?

It seems there is a difference between "at least a few thousands dollars"
and $10,000. What exactly do you need to make this film?

No I do not have a budget yet. That is just an estimate. I highly doubt it will cost $10,000, but the estimate is based upon the cost for equipment such as a camera and lens (preferably a canon 5D Mark II or similar), better lighting equipment, an actual dolly, not a homemade one like I have been using, an actual boom pole (been using homemade one), better sound recording equipment, and a better Steadicam/shoulder mount.

Also, this will account for catering, and the cost of paying actors (I find that paying actors a little yields much better reliability and professionalism, for most films in the past, I have used friends as actors, and the films have suffered because of it)

Also, this accounts for the cost of any props and costumes I might need, or any other unseen expenses. Now that I think about it $10,000 definitely is much higher than it will end up being.

Are you making friends with other filmmakers? Other filmmakers with gear?

Are you working on your friends' movies? 'Cos they'll owe you, if you do.

If you worked on a project of mine, for example, I'd totally be up for reciprocatiing if you ever had a need for awesome lighting. If there ain't no money, it's time to call in those favours you've been saving up.




Not for gear rental, but we've had luck with food from restaurants... far away from Los Angeles area, mind you. In the smaller towns where filmmaking is a novelty. We always send the same sweet-talker in. He's got that kind of Blarney-esque gift. :cool:

I have worked on friends projects, but they are not much better off than me in terms of equipment, been able to score a mic and a cheap shoulder mount, that's about it.

Im not an expert by any means, but I cant honestly see you being able to exchange credit and product placement to fund a project like this...
Mabe you could use them to get some cool locations to shoot for free (example: offer to show the local grocery stores logo in the film if they let you film some scenes inside).
I have heard of some ways to obtain funding you might be able to try:

-Darren Aronofsky funded his movie "Pi" for 60,000$ by asking friends and family to donate money (Hal Warren apparently did the same with his movie "Manos")
-Robert Rodriguez lent his body out to a drug testing lab for a month to help fund a portion of his movie "El Mariachi" for 9,000$ (only used 7,000$ of it)

and if all else fails, that Deuce Bigalow suggestion by rayw might be fun to try LOL.

Yeah I agree, as for family, that guy must have had a pretty generous family, I could probably get 60 times less than that from my family.

Can we see the work you've done? No one will invest in you without seeing what you produced before!

Sure. http://vimeo.com/user10035857
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlsfdaE3_3o

The best improvements can be made to my films through improvements in scripts and acting I think, but better equipment wouldn't hurt either.

1 week rental for the following equipment from borrowlenses.com:
$118 - Canon 7D
$20 - extra LP-E6 battery
$75 - manfrotto tripod
$55 - 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
$158 - Lowell DV creator 55 kit
$46 - Tascam DR100
$53 - ME-66 shotgun mic
$27 - K-Tek boom pole

total: $552

Buy a few cheap memory cards, maybe rent a couple C-stands locally for $6/day, add in a couple hundred bucks for food for your cast and crew - your budget is still well under $1000 and that's really all you need to make a decent short film. Well, that and a good script, and some skills.

Oh wow, that is pretty cheap, thanks for this!

Bingo.

And exactly my point.
OP has gotta change the way he thinks about moving from the principles of filmmaking into the practical aspects of it.

IDOM, you've not included the budget for actors, costumes, props, green screens, jibs, dolly tracks, stunt coordinators and stunt doubles, body padding and crashpads, firearms master with full functioning blowback replica firearms, MUA, night lighting, location expenses, vehicles and helicopters, 40 post SFX compositions, and, and, and, and...
Wait, this isn't a period fantasy piece with horses and dinosaurs, right?

Will these things make a better product?
Possibly. Likely.
We've all seen multi-million dollar experienced directors produce cinematic excrement at rate of hundreds of thousands of dollars per screen minute.
It can't be that difficult, right?


Write a story for the resources you have, not the resources you don't have.
- Actors
- Locations
- Equipment
- Budget

Yes I know, that's why I just recently completely scrapped an idea I was working on, because it was too expensive. But, learning how to finance films is something that I gotta do eventually, and the solution isn't always just make a cheaper film, but with my limited resources, I do agree I gotta work with what I have.

I understand filming with no budget, since all of my films have had little to no budget. I've basically used home made equipment for almost everything, except the camera, mic, and tripod. I've had to mostly use friends who are often unreliable, bad at acting, and difficult to control because they don't take filming seriously. Anything like catering or props I've used my own income to buy, which is not easy considering I get payed minimum wage. As for the screenplays, I have had to rely on family and friends to critique it, which is not the best idea considering they normally just say the script is perfect. Hiring a script analyst would be nice, because it would help make my screenplay better. all my films have been done on practically no budget, which is why I asked for advice on how to finance short films better. Yes, writing a screenplay that needs little money is preferable, but even the simplest of screenplays need a certain amount of money to maintain a professional look.
 
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No I do not have a budget yet. That is just an estimate.
But, learning how to finance films is something that I gotta do eventually,
So you could start by putting together a complete, line
item budget.

Maybe the project you have in mind using exactly the
equipment you want is within your reach. ItDonnedOnMe
put together a nice starting point already. No time like right
now.
 
But, learning how to finance films is something that I gotta do eventually, and the solution isn't always just make a cheaper film, but with my limited resources, I do agree I gotta work with what I have.

Watch some of the biography channel specials that cover the making of big popular movies. One of the constant refrains is how things are constantly changing because the filmmakers have to work within the limitations of their budget - and these are often fairly big studio films. No matter how good you get at financing the ability to adapt your film to the limitations of your budget and resources will be an incredibly important skill.
 
I know this has been said. But I just have to stress...

You do not need to buy your own Equipment!!!

Renting is going to cost you less, plus you don't have to deal with buyers remorse when a month after you buy your camera it's outdated.

Unless you want to be a DP or Soundie, then you should start building out your kit with things like lights, filters, mics, etc. Things that don't really lose value over the years.

But just for a writer/director/general 'filmmaker' person, just rent.

Don gave you a great link: http://www.borrowlenses.com/ and a great list of a filmmaking kit for a simple beginner shoot. So find yourself a 5-page script without a ton of fancy stuff like hot rods or special effects or airports or police cars, get some friends together for a day or two and shoot it! I bet you can get your parents to give you $500 bucks, right? If not, you could earn that in three weeks at a part-time job (20 hours a week) paying minimum wage.

So don't wait to get 'funding,' go make your freakin' film!
 
I agree with Dreadylocks.

Renting is really good. I didn't think it was that good until a few days ago when I was looking around, and the prices were reasonable. If you have a schedule planned, then it won't cost you a lot to hire them.
 
Thanks everyone for your advice, I think that renting is probably my best option now. I'll be posting my line item budget when I make it, and will update this thread with details on how everything is going. Thanks!
 
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