The short answer is no, which is probably the one most people would like to hear.
Although you may not need a ton of money, you will require a ton of resources.
Okay so you know you’re gonna be the next big shot director Tarantino or Hitchcock or whoever’s films inspire you the most.
How are you gonna do it without a big studio backing and multimillion pound budget?
Shorts Shorts Shorts.
Short films are the gateway from my point of view. Making short films is a right of passage for any film maker. Short films are an art form of their own. They spam from micro shorts one minute to sixty minutes. Telling a story in that length of time can be challenging or perhaps easy for some.
So how can you do it with little or no money the burning question for the burning desires?!
Number one build a network of creative friends, other filmmakers, whether that be producers, writers, DOPs, actors. If you’re someone who went to film school or equivalent that would be pretty easy of course.
We are part of a very fortunate internet generation, where you don’t have to get out of your pjs to go to work theses days. So you can network online find other film buddies.
It’s most likely you have a smart phone so use it.
Make a short film on that, film some wild life, I’m sure family and friends could help out or if not go to the park.
Please do not film members of the public with out written consent! We’ll talk about that another time.
If you do by now hopefully have at least small network of creative film folk pals. Get to work do a collaboration. If you’re all starting out it’s fine to work together and grow professional skills, creativity and confidence. This goes the same for actors at the start of their creative endeavours.
Don’t expect to ask professional crew and actors to work for free. They are professionals for a reason they most likely have done free projects and collaborations at earlier stages too.
Ask for advice anything is possible.
From my point of view we must value the work and craft we do as actors, directors, filmmakers, etc and that mean we must also get paid.
Of course you make films with little and no cash you just need wonderful people who have similar aspirations and visions as you.
The money will come I promise you, the budgets will get bigger and short films will become features. Remember to have fun on your filmmaking adventures.
Here’s one of my first short films I made in 2016 Kat in the city when I spent a summer in New York the entire budget for this was about $250.
With gratitude
Randa Ray