What are ways of bringing down the cost of a movie while making it look good?

Answer 1

There a a number of ways to make a low-budget film look and feel like a bigger-budget masterpiece. Here are a few:

1. Make sure your script is awesome. The biggest reason low-budget films look and feel amateur would be an amateur script. If the story, dialogue, and characters are solid, your film will resonate more with audiences, and thus they will be more forgiving with the technical limitations that come with money limitations.

2. Hire good actors. Do not hire your friends and family (unless they are good actors). This doesn't need to be a huge expense, either, as many great actors will work for cheap if the script is good enough. That goes back to the script. It has to be a good script!

3. Hire talented crew, specifically in these positions: director of Photography, sound, and editing. If you have talented people running these departments, then it will compensate dramatically for the less talented peeps working under them.

4. Eliminate any big-budget FX needs, and instead spend those dollars on good actors and good crew. If you're trying to make a sci-fi action flick, it's going to be expensive. Stick to subject matter that is cheap to film (i.e. contemporary stories with small ensemble casts, etc.). You don't need Michael Bay-esque explosions and stunts to make a meaningful, entertaining film. Ever see Dan In Real Life? Limited locations, a small (yet extremely talented) cast, and no special FX. Let Dan be your guide.

5. Use affordable camera equipment that you can either buy or rent for cheap. Canon DSLRs are a great, low-cost solution to obtaining cinematic looking footage whilst costing next to nothing, and just about ever good DP will know how to use them. Shoot, they all probably own their own cameras too. Get the best possible image for the lowest possible price.

Depending on the genre, format, and length of your film, this list can get pretty lengthy. But these 5 tips are a good place to start. If you revisit your project and realize that the biggest money eaters are written directly into the script--and it isn't your script--then I'd have a good heart-to-heart with your writer and figure things out before cameras start rolling. Good luck!