Wanting to make a film and have absolutely no money or crazy expensive equipment? Wondering how you can get any of it done without a large budget? I am telling you it can be done. I made an incredible short film with a full cast, and on an extremely tight budget. Here’s how I made a film with little money, and you can too:

WRITE THE FILM YOURSELF: I know its easy for me to tell you to write the film yourself, but I promise you, you can do it! If for some reason you feel as though you can’t, then connect with a friend you trust and have them be your writing partner. As someone who works best alone, I prefer to write all of my material. Writing with a partner is an awesome way to bounce ideas and character content off of another person. Your writing partner can help you hone in on your films message.

MATCH YOUR BUDGET TO YOUR SCRIPT: I have several big budget screenplays written that I cannot make on my own. Meaning the scripts do not match my personal budget. Instead of only focusing on pitching/selling my big budget screenplays to a studio, I wrote a short film I knew would fit within my budget. Whether it is a short or full length feature, make sure that your budget matches your script. It’s important to create a film within your budgetary means so that it will be seen by the audience at its best. You do not need to spend thousands of dollars to make your film.

PREPARE YOUR SHOT LIST/LOCATIONS: You’ve written your script and feel like you’re ready to shoot it. Gather your shot list first. What scenes are you going to film and in what order depends on your budget as well. For my short film, In This House, I was able to use my parents home to film the entire thing. I purposely integrated the house into the script and made the home its own character. Figure out where you are going to shoot your film and create a calendar that reflects which scene(s) you will be filming. Factor in the time of day, amount of people needed and time it takes to get back and forth between each location as well. Hit up friends and family members to use locations i.e. their house/backyard/pool etc. so you do not have to pay location fees.