Big Screen Writing on a Shoe String Budget

Write in Limitations

We’ve already got limitations as independent filmmakers - understatement of the decade. But too often we get so caught up in all the cool stuff that can be done cheaply; we forget that we’re shooting a film to tell a story, not the other way around. Everything is inherently story-driven, yet project limitations are often not fully considered until AFTER the script is written. So let’s think about how we can turn our limitations into boons by writing them into the script.

GET EVERYONE’S INPUT EARLY AND OFTEN
What was it that we all learned in film school? What you don’t prepare for in pre-production, you pay for in production. What you don’t prepare for in production, you pay for in post. So let’s have all key crewmembers sit in with the writer, producer and director during pre-production to brainstorm how to work limitations into the story. It will pay handsomely for everyone - not just writers - to think creatively about the limitations that are intrinsic to a project.
!Tip: Consider using Edward De Bono’s “Six Thinking Hats” method of brainstorming to leverage everyone’s knowledge

ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
I don’t have money to shoot in Australia, to hire top-notch graphics specialists, to block off Times Square, or to hire hundreds of extras. Budgetary limitations can actually help shape the story. The key for the writer is to ask the right questions involving those limitations with the characters. The worst thing you can do is to throw in a location just because it’s convenient. That kind of behavior smacks of a producer doing the writing and of a crew that’s too anxious to get into production (for those writer/producers out there - I don’t mean you!).

WRITE LOCALLY
If you’re still coming up with the story concept, consider using your local area to generate ideas. It will eliminate a lot of hassle right away! It will also make for a more natural story since you know the area so well. Make a list of ten to fifteen places within two hours of your house and spend some time at each location with a notebook writing whatever moves you. I know at least of few you have a moleskin buried under a thick layer of dust. Brush it off and enjoy some time out being sensitive.

AT LEAST REMEMBER THIS
The cardinal mistake independent filmmakers make is writing for a big budget, then trying make up for the unrealistic writing during production and post. So don’t sweat the lack of major effects, aliens, talking animals, multiple exploding buildings, or faeries. People want a great story where actions, circumstances and interactions all ‘make sense’ with their environment. Focus on creating stories that feel natural, are believable and communicate something you feel strongly about. If that means miniature faeries that grow human-size in a matter of seconds on screen, well, I hope you have a high placed friend. If you do, hook me up yo.

!Tip: Read up on Constantine Stanslavski and Lee Strasburg’s - Method Acting - for great ways to discover answers to the four W’s (who, what, when, why, and how).