Is $10,000 indie feature possible ?

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I actually think a $10K movie making it's money back is not such a crazy idea. If the filmmaker is willing to open their minds up a little to what constitutes a movie and where it shows. I think there are better opportunities to open up to the mediums you are shooting and showing on, and gear your content to those. A well-shot standard narrative film won't play all that well on the web. But lonelygirl15 did. Because by design, it embraced the medium. And I think this is something filmmakers need to wrap their heads around more. And maybe that doesn't make your money, but maybe it's a $10K investment in your career, if it leads to some notice, which in turns leads to other things. Which is not so bad. $5mil cannot be that.

Or, I think if you're going to do a $10K film, you need to really understand your limits and play them as strengths. Maybe that's saying the same thing...

But I agree with Barry on the filmmaking aspect. If you can't make a good movie on $10K, simply raising the budget isn't going to help you. But if you got your chops, you stand a better chance at $10K, than a n00b with $5mil, I think.

Comparisons to RR now are about as valid as comparisons to Howard Hawks. It's ancient history. Even as regards the festivals, given that they no longer are nearly as likely to propel you into a big sale, and fame and fortune. I was just at the Slamdance Filmmakers' Summit in Park City, and the biggest topic was that: festivals are trying to figure out their places and roles now that he paradigms are shifting. So in today's climate, where studios are canning low-budget divisions, and Indie film is old hat, would RR have sold El Mariachi at all? Quality movie or not.

I think it's trouble to try to compete with something that looks like a Hollywood movie on $10K. But i think if you made "Following" today, or something of equal quality and simplicity, you might have a shot at making $10K back on it. That film can be made for $10K, easily.

And I think it's a lot less likely that you would make your $5mil back than your $10K. Hell, for $10K, I could sell the damned thing on the subways. $5mil, you have one option only: Someone big buys it. And the likelihood of someone big buying it for that $5mil is getting less and less as the days go by. You might get dist deals, but your likelihood of actually making that $5mil back is pretty small.
 
Excuse me I read the original post and skipped through to the last page. Been having a mad week, writing something for 8 months now and have just begun shooting. I read maybe three 'is it possible to shoot a feature' posts today. I've been asking myself the same.

I think the only person who can really say yes to your own question is yourself. It's tough. But it really is all you man.
 
It all comes down to using your resources to your best advantage; locations, crew, favors, what is available to you for free or next to nothing.
 
I think too many people get caught up in how much movies cost to make, instead of the creative aspect of it.

I hate hearing how much movies cost, because it means little to me in terms of anything. It doesn't make the film good, or bad.

You can make a film for pennies if you have the right tools, right people, and luck at your disposal. Ask Faith Granger.

If you worry about whether or not you will be able to sell it, you probably aren't making the film you "want" to make.. your probably just making a film that you think will sell and to me thats where the problem lies. Make films that you enjoy. I love horror films, so I'm making a horror movie. Luckily those have a higher selling rate than alot of other genres.. but being able to sell it has little to do with my reasons for going into that genre. I simply love that genre more than any other.

It is indeed extremely hard to get distribution, but much like the music industry. Having a good film has very little to do with whether or not that happens. There's tons of crap on million dollar record labels, and tons of amazing musicians struggling to survive. Its just the way it works. You need to network with people, and network with more people..

I know several film makers personally, who have all gotten distribution and made enough to pay everyone, and make another film with a higher budget. Anywhere from Lionsgate, Tempe, to Brain Damage. And most of their films (no offense to them, I love em) look like someone went outside with a VHS camera and said "GO!".

Make a film for what you can afford, with what you have available. You'd be surprised what you can accomplish with the most simple of story/setting.

"Flywheel" was made using no professional actors, no sets, and was restricted to 3-4 locations for the entire film. I'm pretty sure the made their money back 10 fold. However, they shot the film they wanted to shoot, and not what they thought would sell.

I'd say stop worrying about what something costs, and make films with what you have.
 
Mark, i know that you are trying to say that 5mil won't buy you talent but still at that number you can surround yourself with plenty of talented people who might cover up your inadequacies.

And no, you can NOT make another "Following" at $10k.
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
Mark, i know that you are trying to say that 5mil won't buy you talent but still at that number you can surround yourself with plenty of talented people who might cover up your inadequacies.
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But the question is, can you make your $5mil back doing that? Even name actors, a pro DP, etc are no guarantee that you will make a dime off of your film, or that it will sell.

And I'll add, in this climate, I don't believe those things get you that much further down the field towards a sale either.

And no, you can NOT make another "Following" at $10k.
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You're probably right. But I see no reason why you can't make a movie just as intriguing for $10K.
 
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Mark Harris said:
But the question is, can you make your $5mil back doing that? Even name actors, a pro DP, etc are no guarantee that you will make a dime off of your film, or that it will sell.

And I'll add, in this climate, I don't believe those things get you that much further down the field towards a sale either.



You're probably right. But I see no reason why you can't make a movie just as intriguing for $10K.
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Well at 5 mill you can saturate your film with name talent which means everything for foreign sales.
Yes, you can pre-sell (well I can NOT but there are producers out there who can) a film filled with stars. For instance did you know that films with Paris Hilton are big in Russia, so big that they get theatrical distribution?

The reason why you can NOT make a decent film for $10K because of simple mathematics. Here is a low low budget i created when similar discussion was happening on another topic:

15 day shoot. 12 hours each day.

Director: $100/day = $1500
Producer/AD = $100/day = $1500
Junior DP + camera + gear: $400/day = $6000
Lighting person: $150/day = $2250
Camera PA: $100/day = $1500
Sound + gear: $200/day = $3000
PA: $50/day = $750

Actor 1: $50/day = $750
Actor 2: $50/day = $750
Actor 3: $50/day = $250 (5 days)

Gear truck = $50/day = $750
15 pass van = $600/week = $1800

Wardrobe: free provider by the actors
Locations: free
Food: $100/day = $1000

Above TOTAL: $21800
10% unforseen expenses: $2200

TOTAL BUDGET: $24000
 
Can you get Paris Hilton on a $5mil budget?

As for your math, I can cut that budget in half, esp if I am shooting in NYC.

And again, this goes back to what I said above. I would not try to make something that looks like $100K on $10K. I would look at my strengths and work toward those. I would look for what I could make that would be intriguing on that budget. And as a producer, I would look at what relationships I could leverage to get it done. My uncle owns grocery store! Okay, go from there. But ultimately, there's no point in debating this. I've give in on that, and agree with you.
 
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You can get pretty much anybody but the biggest stars on 5mill budget.

And i shoot in NYC all the time so those are NYC numbers.
 
You can cut the budget in half if you get your friends to do those jobs. But how talented are they at it, really?
 
I've been watching this and I want to jump in.
Yes you can make a feature for under ten grand. Yes you can make your money back if you either A)know how to sell, or B)can learn how to sell. You guys can argue with me all you want, but it really is that simple. Will you get an Oscar? No. Will you have name talent? No. Here's how I look at it-you will have learned more about making movies than you would at four years of film school. You will have broke even, and can go make another movie in the same budget range, having applied what you've learned. You can then take that second film and use it as a calling card of sorts to get more money for a larger budget film.
But money aside, if you really want to make movies, you'll make movies, whether you have money or not.
Let me show you some math: You, as the director, cameraman, and editor will work for free. Your actors will work for food. You will find local bands that want to get their names out there for free. You will find locations that you can use for free. If you shop smart on Ebay and through people you know, you can get a camera, sound gear, and editing gear for $10,000. Add it up, and you have a $10,000 movie.

Now, the making your money back, since that is what makes a film successful. if you sell DVD's at just $10 a piece, you only need to sell 1,000 copies to make back your budget. Now, if you want to be anal, you'd have to take into account the cost to make the discs, so let's say an extra $2,000. Now you have to recoup $12,000, which means you need to sell 1200 discs. Seriously. It's not that hard, especially if you load your discs with six hours of extras like I do. =)
 
I shot a feature 90 minutes 2 years ago for 2500 bucks..landed a DVD worldwide deal a year ago and get my checks every 3 months. Ok..it's a family faith Market..but so what. Now I"m working on a 13 part TV series for a Faith network. Just believe and go do it!!!
 
I think some people have different definitions of what "success" is.

My film, which isn't even shot yet... already has a premiere set up at the local cinema. Where it will be shown to every person in town and will be up there on the billboard with the big Hollywood movies. If it goes no further than that, it was a success.. in my eyes.

If It gets sold to any DVD distributor that allows people all over the place to view it. It was a success.

Not all of us care about being the next El Mariachi, or the Next Paranormal Activity. Most of us aren't making movies for the money anyway. At least I'm not. For me, its just a very expensive hobby and a way for me to stand out in my community.

There is no formula to get distribution.

Go to netflix and click on "B Horror", you'll see some of the WORST movies ever created. I don't know how much money they sold the film for.. but the fact is.. somebody liked it enough to want to buy it and put it out for others to see. Its not that far fetched to think someone might like your film enough to do the same. I just made friends with another director recently.. he's on his 4th film. The 3 before it ALL got DVD distro deals, and he made a profit. All 3 of his films were made for LESS than 10,000 dollars. This 4th one is the most expensive of the 4, and is being done because of the money he made on his previous attempts.

If you know that you aren't going to break into big budget hollywood with your films, and you think realistically and know who your audience is. You can make a micro budget film, and make some money off it. El Director beat me to the punch with the "sell it yourself" notion.

I've sold more than 1000 copies of my own music before. If you use the resources available to you, its really not as hard as people try to make it out to be. There is someone out there who will like what you did.. the key is making sure they are the ones who know about it.
 
I would agree that if any genre has the chance at making it is the Christian films and B Horror.

Interesting combination, no?
 
J.R. Hudson said:
I think we have in this thread is a duel opinion between the optimistic and the disenfranchised.
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I think if you're content to work with a very low budget, self promote, and serve a small niche market you have many reasons to be optimistic these days, as the internet has made it easy to get your work out there. If you're an indie filmmaker who is seeking a wider audience, wanting to be the next Tarantino, your odds of success are getting smaller every day.
 
Plus any finished film you make, whether it's considered successful or not is at least something great for the resume.
 
Optimism is great and all, but not blind optimism that can lead you into foolish choices.

Knowledge is power, people. Learn how things are done and maximize your chances of "success" however you choose to define it.
 
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