Making a movie is an expensive enterprise no matter which way you try to cut costs. Many women filmmakers find themselves trying to stretch miniscule budgets without compromising quality. This book offers practical tips on how to make a movie without wasting money. Rick Schmidt suggests saving money by shooting titles on location, renting film equipment at special weekend rates and building your own editing bench in your home. This is the kind of practical information that an apprentice would learn on a movie set. For example, the chapter on lighting explains ways to light a scene and what kind of lighting equipment to use. Rick suggests adding up the cost of different lighting ideas and the difficulty and time involved before proceeding, and then describes the lighting he used in several of his own feature films. Even simple housekeeping tricks can save money, and this book includes an array of checklists, sample budgets and contracts. With the humor of someone who has been there and made plenty of his own mistakes, Rick makes the mammoth task of making a movie seem within reach.
Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices: How to Write, Produce, Direct, Shoot, Edit, and Promote a Feature-Lenth Movie for Less Than $15,000
