Today I want to break a low budget film production into five stages. Like with any goal, a film production is a goal and therefore you need to break it down into steps or stages. That is why, I will break down a film production into five stages. This way it become easy as you focus on just one stage at a time.
Every film should have a goal precisely set. An example for a beginner would be as follows. Make a 10-minute movie that gets into 5 film festivals and a 100,000 people or more, watch the film online. This will be achieved within 12 months.
President John F Kennedy said in May 1961
“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” It happened in July 1969
It was a very specific goal with a deadline and when you set a goal with specific time frame and deadlines, you will get results.
For an experienced emerging filmmaker, a good goal could be the following.
- Make a feature film 80 minutes long in the next 12 months and then find an audience with 10 Film Festival Selections or more and 3 awards or more and 3 million people see the film on streaming services around the world within 3 years.
For a Beginner making a Short Film
- Make a 10 Minute Short Film and complete it in the next six Months and then over 18 months, get it selected in 10 Film Festivals, win 3 awards and one million people see the film online.
The above two realistic goals have all the parameters necessary for success. Now that you have your goal set, it is time to break it down into stages.
Stage 1 Screenplay:
Everything starts with a screenplay. It should be the sole focus of Month One for the
Short Film or the first three months for the feature film. You can either buy or write a screenplay or hire a screenwriter, the choice is yours. Make sure that you are scoring a great score of 7 out of 10 to 10 out of 10 when you get your screenplay assessed by screenwriting experts.
I always do this with all my screenplays. I always pay for three expert assessments.
If you want to find out who I use or want to learn how to write a screenplay, check out the link at the bottom of this page for our Online Indie Filmmakers Course.
Stage Two: Make the Shoot Happen.
First up you need to decide on your method of finance.Is it micro- budget finance or full finance? If you are an experienced filmmaker with some major success or you have won a huge lottery win, full finance is the way to go.
If you are an emerging filmmaker with one or two short films that have done well, and you are ready for your first feature film, micro budget finance is the way to go. This also applies to you if you have made a feature film, but it had little or no success.
We are the kings of Micro Budget filmmaking and that is why we can green light a film anytime. We make films using the Prime Directive of Micro Budget Filmmaking Finance and we limit our cost and maximise our return. We teach all this so when you are finished reading, check out details below.
Stage 3 Preproduction: Preparing and Producing your Film Shoot.
Once you have decided on the model, every film has the same needs, you must lock down the big 4,
- Cast
- Crew
- Locations and Sets
- Film Equipment.
Each one of these areas has to be completed. You have to find and lock down your cast, your crew your locations and then book the film equipment. In its barest essential, this is a film production. Once these areas or complete, one needs to organise the shoot with shooting schedules and call sheets and location logistics such as catering and creature comforts.
Stage Four: The Fun Part the Shoot.
Once you have learned on a great film course how to direct, you will hit the set running and make the film shot by shot as you and the crew shoot your movie.
You will need a minimum of 3 days for a short film and 16 Days for a feature film
Stage Five: Postproduction.
Once you have learned how to edit a film, add music, colour and sound produce your film, you can save thousands of dollars on Postproduction. The other option of course is to hire experts in each area. For Example, I can do all of my own editing and I am good at it. I colour my own films and add music from stock sites But for Sound Post, I hire the best Sound Designers to complete my film. This way my movie sound and looks like a Hollywood Movie. Once Postproduction is complete and the final film is exported, it is time for the final stage.
Stage Six : Find the Audience. This takes time. 
For Short Films, enter film festivals, win some awards, and get on the top Online Short Film Sites. After a year, place it everywhere on YouTube, and on Facebook and get people watching. For Feature Film Enter film festivals win some awards and then find a great Distributor and get your film seen on Streaming Services such as Prime Video. Then you will be a filmmaker.
Having read the above, you may say “OMG this sounds challenging.”
But it’s not really when done over time and you have some great mentorship. You must have mentorship and the “How to”
You need a system that shows you how to do it. Start with a short film if you are a beginner or a feature film if you are experienced emerging filmmaker and use our mentorship system that will bring you success.
Go here for Filmmaking mentorship and the System that gets films made.
