If your plan was "I'm going to make a short film, get a million visits on Youtube, receive a call from Steven Spielberg asking me to be in his next movie, earn billions, date Scarlett Johansson...", forget it. I mean, it's a great plan and you should definitely go for it, but there's a chance or two that the results will be different. Making a short film has nothing to do with earning money.
If your plan, on the other hand, was "I'm going to do the greatest short film of the year for no money at all, just using the spirit and will of my friends and colleagues...", forget it too. To make a short film you need some money. Not much if you know how to move around, but you definitely need some.
So you are not going to earn money and, instead, you have to put it. And no Scarlett Johansson. So why would you make a short film? Well, first because it's fun. Second because you can do it, you have everything you need to make it happen. And third, it's a wonderful tool for self promotion, make experiments, tell something to the world. And sometimes, miracles happen. Take the example of Fede Alvarez. He made his short film "Panic Attack" with friends and a lot of hours in front of the computer. Just one day after he released it, he got 100,000 visits on Youtube and started to receive emails from USA production companies. 8 days later, he was in Los Angeles having meetings about projects, and shortly after he signed a contract with Sam Raimi's production company, Ghost House Pictures, to direct Evil Dead. So... yes, miracles happen, but for miracles to happen you need to work a lot as well.
So, back to budget. You need "some" money to make your film. First thing you need to do is to create a budget of everything you "think" you need. And then add between 20% and 50% extra on top of that, because no matter how accurate your budget is, there will always be something you missed or something breaks, or you need a taxi in the last minute, or the main actress' hair is too red!
So, a short version of our list is shown below:
If your plan, on the other hand, was "I'm going to do the greatest short film of the year for no money at all, just using the spirit and will of my friends and colleagues...", forget it too. To make a short film you need some money. Not much if you know how to move around, but you definitely need some.
So you are not going to earn money and, instead, you have to put it. And no Scarlett Johansson. So why would you make a short film? Well, first because it's fun. Second because you can do it, you have everything you need to make it happen. And third, it's a wonderful tool for self promotion, make experiments, tell something to the world. And sometimes, miracles happen. Take the example of Fede Alvarez. He made his short film "Panic Attack" with friends and a lot of hours in front of the computer. Just one day after he released it, he got 100,000 visits on Youtube and started to receive emails from USA production companies. 8 days later, he was in Los Angeles having meetings about projects, and shortly after he signed a contract with Sam Raimi's production company, Ghost House Pictures, to direct Evil Dead. So... yes, miracles happen, but for miracles to happen you need to work a lot as well.
THE BUDGET
So, back to budget. You need "some" money to make your film. First thing you need to do is to create a budget of everything you "think" you need. And then add between 20% and 50% extra on top of that, because no matter how accurate your budget is, there will always be something you missed or something breaks, or you need a taxi in the last minute, or the main actress' hair is too red!
So, a short version of our list is shown below:
- Cast travel expenses.
- Crew travel expenses.
- Cast and crew fees.
- Equipment.
- Camera.
- Still cameras.
- Dollies.
- Light equipment.
- Sound mixer.
- Microphone and pole.
- Batteries.
- Gaffer tape, measuring tape.
- Tracing Paper.
- Locations.
- Green screen studio.
- Hotel bedroom.
- Taxi hire.
- Visual Effects.
- Bus model.
- Taxi model.
- Graphics.
- Online (grading and conform).
- Food and drink.
- Other.
- DVD postage.
- Festivals.
- End of shooting lunch.
CAN YOU GET IT FOR FREE?
Now you have your list, try to get as many things for free as you can. If you think about that for a moment, you can save a lot of money. For instance, do you know someone who could lend you a camera, or sound equipment? Do you know someone who owns a studio or place to make the auditions? Can we use someone's car? Can we change a location on the script if that means we can get it for free? Can you prepare some sandwiches instead going to a restaurant?
One important thing is about cast and crew costs. Dan and Jesús agreed to get no money at all for the film and also put money from their pocket when it was necessary. We shared all costs at 50%. Luckily for us, the technical crew, wonderful people, excellent professionals and even better friends, also agreed to work for free. Be careful when working with people that don't get paid. You have to take care of them a lot. They are using their time to help you make your movie. Understand that they are not obligued to do it, and maybe they got a new job or their child gets sick, or many things can happen. But you still need to make a movie so you cannot lose control there. Be aware of that. One important thing here is communication. At the beginning of the project we told everyone: "Hey, it's ok if at some point you cannot do it, because you are busy with other things or simply you are no longer interested. But in that case, simply tell us, so we can find someone else". Communication and trust is key.
At the beginning we told the actors we were trying to get some funding but until then, we couldn't guarantee that they would be paid. We were lucky again to find some wonderful actors who believed in the project and agreed to do it for free. As soon as we got some money (and we did), the first thing we did was paying the actors, then expenses, then the rest.
Some key points to remember:
- As much as you can, try to pay the actors and the crew. They are spending their time and talent, so they deserve it.
- You are the last one to get some money from the film, if any.
- Always have plenty of food and drinks on set. You can save some money by cooking yourself.
- Travel costs for everyone are on you. Try to borrow cars.
- Save some money for a final wrap-up party or lunch when you finish the movie.
- Send DVDs with the movie to everyone involved.
GIMME THE MONEY!
Ok, you have a budget, you can get some things for free... now, where do you get the money from? Dan and Jesús were co-Directors, co-Writers and also co-Producers. That means all the money was coming straight from their pockets. But there are some ways to get some extra money. You can ask your family or friends to lend you some money, because this time, you promise-promise that it's going to work, unlike the 23 previous times you asked them. You can also try to get some private funding, sometimes companies will lend you some equipment if you put them in the credits. Robbing a bank is always an option but be aware of the risks. Another way is using a crowdfunding site.
Jesús and Dan used Kickstarter, a very succesful crowfunding site. This is a "democratic" fund system, where people from everywhere in the world can invest some money in your project, if they like it. It can be from just £1 to hundreds. It's amazing how people you don't know, from the other side of the world, make some contributions to your humble project. It's really touching and makes you feel proud of what you are doing.
Kickstarter (and other similar sites) work like this: you set up your project, with descriptions, pictures if you have them, trailers... anything that can make your project look interesting. Then you add some awards to the contributors. Depending on how much money they give, you can add a credit for them in the movie, or send them a DVD with the short film when it's finished or invite them to an official screening with cast and crew. Try not to offer "a threesome with the Directors"... we tried, it didn't work.
Then you set a money target and a lapse of time to gather the money, it's usually one month. If, after that time, you get the money you asked for (or more), you'll get that money into your account. Be aware that Kickstarter will keep 5% of the money for them and then there's an additional 3-5% for bank transfer fees. If, after the time finishes, you don't get your money target then you get nothing.
It's very important to keep your Kickstarter profile updated with news, pictures, etc, to keep your investors interested. Use other means as well, like webpages, blogs, Facebook... It's also important to send periodic communications to them explaining how the project is going. If there's a delay for any reason, also tell them, it's their money!
You can check our Kickstarter page and our Facebook page.
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