ow, where do I start? When I was asked to write a piece for low budget filmmakers, I wasn't really sure what to write about. Should I try to give advice on how shoot a low budget digital feature? Shall I talk about horror films and reemergence of the greatest genre? As a festival director, should I tell horror filmmakers what I look for in a good film? Or as a producer, should I talk about the reality of distribution deals for no-budgeted to very low-budgeted movies? Maybe I should try to offer a few words of encouragement to the filmmakers that are about to take the ride of their life and make their first feature film.

Several castmembers from Biohazardous

Nope, sorry guys you're on your own. The reality of making a feature is just that simple : You ARE on your own! As a filmmaker, the sooner you figure that out, the better off you'll be. It's the best advice I can give to any aspiring moviemaker. "You're on your own" so learn it, live it and learn to love it.

Allow me to explain: Sure, you have a loving and supportive family that (most likely) gave you a few bucks toward your budget. You have great friends that will hold boom mics and play bit parts for you. You have a slew of people you met in school that want to help you make the movie. What you don't and never will have, no matter how successful you are as a filmmaker is someone to take the blame when things go wrong. You don't have anyone to help feel the pain of a major (or minor) festival rejection letter. You don't have anyone to share the blame (or the hurt) when you read a review trashing your movie written by some snot nosed internet geek sitting in his parents basement. Catching my drift? A feature filmmaker better have a very thick skin because in the end: YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN! Now that we got that out of the way, on with the show!

Money

From the front office on a three million dollar picture, to the on-set craziness of a low budget shoot, I have seen a lot. The inner workings of making a feature film are daunting, whether you have money or not. In fact, the old adage is true: more money, more problems! Money can be a great thing, but it comes with pressures that can be avoided if you can pull your film off for less. Where did the money come from and who do you owe? Do the investors have any "artistic" say in your movie? Did you have to cast the investor's daughter (who couldn't act her way out of a paper bag to save her life) as the lead? Most importantly, if the film goes on to make money; will you get any of it? So, on a low budget project, more money is nice, but isn't always the answer.

Distribution

What is a low budget picture anyway? This is very hard to define, there used to be a standard of anything shot for under a million dollars was a low budget inde. Nowadays, we have the digi revolution (which I am a proud member of) that has flipped the inde world upside down. A million dollars?! That's a laugh, hell I'll settle for twenty grand, a handful of good actors and a dedicated crew any day! In fact, unless you hit the inde filmmaker's lottery (which is getting in, then selling your film at a major festival) you have the same chance of getting a distribution deal with a decent "High End" digitally shot feature as you do with a movie shot on film shot for $150.000.

The reality of low end distribution is this: You most likely won't make much (if any) money at all. The money is really all in the "Cash Advance" (if you're lucky enough to get one) and if you don't you'll get killed on the advertising and packaging of your film that the distro company always throw at you. Sounds terrible, I know, but remember they say that almost 80 percent of all the independent films made every year NEVER see the light of day! So if your one of the few lucky filmmakers that does get picked up with your first film, money shouldn't be an issue because you're already ahead of the game and remember, there are films out there that are better than yours that will never be seen!

Film vs. DV

Sure, film is nice, looks great and will certainly help the chances of the sale of your movie, but is shooting film worth the risk? In truth, unless you get really lucky, even if you do shoot film, your chances of distribution are about the same for high end video as 16mm film. As director of the New York City Horror Film Festival, last year our filmmaker's discussion panel, (which included such high profile horror icons as Sam Sherman, Bill Lustig, Rosemary Rodriguez, Joe "The Phantom of the Movies" Kane, Jeffrey "Doc" Hogue, Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Ruggiero, Larry Fessenden and John A. Russo.) The DV vs. Film question raged. Everyone had an opinion, but the one thing that even the people that were against shooting DV had to admit that eventually, even Hollywood would be shooting DV. Hell, just look at directors like George Lucas and Peter Jackson, both the recent Star Wars movies and Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movies used more DV then ever before. So, don't think for a second that a digi movie can't sell. That being said, film still looks much better, but soon it will all look the same.

My opinion (and it's just mine) unless you have $200,000.00 to shoot 35mm, I'd shoot DV!

Shooting your first feature

Scheduling, Scheduling, Scheduling!!! Have a god damn plan people! I have worked on too many features where the filmmakers didn't have a real "plan of attack." Things like: "We'll shoot scene 24 on Tuesday, but maybe finish it on Friday?" What the hell? Why didn't the actor know she was supposed to be on set today? Why was there no "Plan B" when we had exterior shots planned, but it rained all day, so we all went home instead of going to an interior set to shoot something, hell, anything!

Budgets

Don't ever go into a shoot without figuring EVERYTHING out! Make calls, get prices, work out deals, make sure you have your location sound and editing deals all worked out. Buy enough tape or cans to shoot everything you know you'll need. (And forget about that one minute per page rule, its complete bullshit) Get the entire budget worked out in preproduction and ALWAYS keep whatever you can spare for your "oh shit, we went over budget" emergencies. (They do happen).

Directing

Michael J. Hein

Techniques always differ, so I can only tell you how I like to work. There is no right answer or way of directing. I'm a big believer in a group effort, trust your cast and crew. I think a good director and producer should put together a good enough crew (especially your DP) so that you can delegate jobs on set then worry about working with your actors. Have a "lighting" scheme going into the shoot, not on the fly. That way your DP can take control on set and you'll only have to "Tweek" before you block your actors. The most important thing is to keep your cool when things go wrong (and they always do). On very low budget movies, your crew is probably working for peanuts (if anything at all) so always treat EVERYONE with respect and like they are doing you a favor, because in the end, they are!

DP (Director of Photography) and your AD (Assistant Director)

These can be your most important relationships on set. You're making a movie and need to delegate who does what, right? WRONG, you shouldn't have to make all the decisions and it is critical to have a DP that can get things done without having to ask you about every little detail. All these "little" things can become huge problems on set if you haven't discussed them all with the DP in preproduction. (i.e. lighting, camera angels for important shots, etc.) Your DP will make or break the "look" of your film. He or she will also help pull it all together when your crew is tired or pissed off and you need them to work a few extra hours.

Your AD can help in the same ways, but your AD is your right-hand man (or woman). A good AD runs the crew under you. A film crew is like a family. In other words, if the director is the father then your AD is the mother. The AD does most of the scheduling, sets up cast and crew calls for the next day, usually calls the camera rolls on set and generally fixes all problems that come up. The AD is always the one to break bad news to the cast and crew, so I recommend finding a good "People Person" (if you know what I mean). Bottom line: You need a good, dedicated and multitasking AD and a hard working talented DP.

Working with Actors

I like to read through the entire script with the full cast at least twice before the shoot. That way, you can direct them before you shoot and they'll know what you'll be looking for on set. I found this very helpful. When shooting DV, allow your actors input on their characters, they may add great things to the role that you never thought of. Since it costs next to nothing to burn tape, try lines in different ways. If you're shooting film, you're probably shooting on a 2 or 3 to one ratio, so there is little room to take risks or fix a bad performance. (That's what I mean by: you're on your own).

Sound

Get a good mixer. You can't edit a film without good "on set" sound mixer. Make sure you have wireless (LAVs) on set or you'll end up spending a lot of your hours in the editing suite fixing audio problems. Sorry, but your pal holding a boom with a mic running straight to camera won't work. (At least not very well).

Production Design

Here is one of my admitted biggest mistakes on my first feature. (Especially in a horror flick!) We didn't have a production designer and I think it hurt the film a lot. Get somebody, anybody that can pull off and "dress" your sets as needed. Put some thought into the "look" of your film before you start shooting. Don't ever underestimate the input of a PA or intern to come up with a great idea for a set dressing.

Working with Special Effects

As a trained FX artist, I can say without a doubt a director should always take the advice from the FX artist on how the effects scenes should be shot. You wrote it, but they designed and built it, so they will know better than you how it should be shot or at least the best angle to shoot for best coverage.

As an FX man, I once did an effect where a guy had to be stabbed in the neck. I explained to the director before the shoot how I'd build it and how it should be shot, he agreed and off we went. But, when the time came to shoot the scene, the director set up the shot and didn't like the angle, so he reversed it. I went ballistic, warning him that if he shot from the new angle, he would most likely screw the effect up. We got into a bit of an argument off set, and the director ignored my advice. Bottom line: They screwed it up and the scene looks like shit in the movie. On "BIOHAZARDOUS" I had two great FX artists, Dan Jouett and Anthony Pepe. We all worked very hard together on how the shots and effects would be made, set up, and shot. End result? The film won awards at two different film festivals for the FX work!

Craft Services

I can not stress enough how important it is to keep your cast and crew well fed. As I said before, you're probably paying everyone in peanuts, so treat them all like stars. (Cast and crew alike) and a belly full of good food will go a long way in helping attitudes on set. It will also keep extra crew helpers hanging around, which is always a good thing. Red Twizzlers, Black Coffee and Marlboro Lights are a must on any set!

Interns or PA's

You need them, period!

The Buzz and Festivals

It's all about the buzz and at the point when you've finished the film and no one has seen it yet, you're the only one that thinks it's a masterpiece. So it's time to start the ever important "BUZZ". Firstly, get involved with film groups and the inde film scene in your area. Trust me, there is a film community in every corner of the world! Talk about your film and send out screeners to get reviewed by people you are fairly sure will (at least) sit through the entire film. Get a good quote and put together a solid press kit. A few 8" by 10" color glossies, a brief synopsis of the story and your cast and crew info. Don't ever send a festival an old VCR tape with the film title hand printed in maker and a crumpled piece of paper that says "I made a film", because no one cares!

Be professional, get or borrow a computer, a scanner, a printer and use them! Message boards can help your movie's "buzz" as well! (Example: The Blair Witch Project) Festival entry fee's can add up quickly, so I recommend asking question to the festival directors you're thinking of sending to. Ask what type of films they tend to program, ask if they think a film of your genre will have any chance. You'll find that most "respectable" festivals are more them happy to give you honest answers.

I hope I have touched on a few points that help you on your way to making your movie, I could go on forever, but like I said in the beginning of the article, you're on your own!

Good Luck!