Film Courage: Okay so labeling yourself a "low-budget indie filmmaker," for whoever is sort
of taking on that title. How can filmmakers hurt themselves with
trying to stay so frugal? How do they end up sabotaging themselves? I know they
have a limited budget. It's not that they're trying to stay in that realm but
it's just how things are dictated at the moment with their financial
circumstances or the investors, crowdfunding...whatever credit cards. But
how does that somehow sabotage their production with this viewpoint?Jason Satterlund, Writer/Director: Well I personally don't
like to label myself like that. I I know some people who do. I think that's
such a weird thing to label yourself if that's what you're going
choose to do "I'm a low-budget filmmaker." That's just like why not choose I'm the
guy that makes people ask questions about food or well I don't or you know
what I mean like I feel like that would be a healthier way to frame it as
opposed to with low budget that's a that's a strange way to like because it
ah it's it's sort of a downer and you work anyway it's a it's like a damn
place to start so I think the trap that a lot of people fall into when they
start to label it like low budget eggs they start to I made a motto of myself
that years ago I didn't I never wanted to work on a film that was just a I used
to call them the just AF films oh this is just a slasher you know it's just
what sets doing is this you're automatically lowering your expectations
look this is just a corporate video let's not break myself well can we do
better you know I think that's the mistake when there's no budget look
there's no budget we can't break ourselves to do this it's just a simple
little drama about two people falling in love like man what then why even make it
if you're gonna do that then why even you give the script to someone else
who's not going to call it that and let them run with it other mistakes I think
is lack planning the lower your budget the more planning you need to
I think it's inversely proportional like you can't throw money at your problems
you better think about every frame and every you have to be so hyper efficient
about the way you're shooting scenes the way you're constructing the way you're
working with your actors you can't afford for lack of communication when
the budgets get low and I don't want to hear the excuse that you can't make good
art for cheap that's BS yes you can I mean have you seen like I don't know I
really like tellin mariachis it was a great entertaining film for six thousand
bucks like Chris Nolan made following I don't know what his budget was but it
was very sound that budget it's amazing I was so frustrated when I first saw it
too because my first film was 12,000 and my first film had light mob scenes and
car chases and 200 or sequences in it like a really complex thing and his is
like about a writer who follows and it's three characters shot man Christopher
Nolan you're so bright give me a chance but like automatically assuming that
your project won't be good because of money is a huge mistake and not the
place you want to start that's oftentimes where you can make your best
work we're like that we talked about Jaws earlier the shark didn't work so he
had to think of a way to tell a story without a shark
a movie about a shark to tell a story without a shark that's the most
memorable part of that whole movie is the fact that you never see it so
looking at your project like that and not using money as your hinderance maybe
it's your opportunity to do something that no one has seen that goes back to
that looking at the problem with a with a joyful excitement as opposed to like
it Oh rolling your eyes because we don't have the budget to solve our problems
kind of thing I think that that happens all the time all the time people just
get frustrated that their budgets aren't bigger well here's the thing budgets are
never going to be big I don't care how big your budget is it's
never gonna be enough even if you're doing these big-budget commercials
you're always gonna run into the end of the budget at some point it's just going
to stop it's going to have a cap like and you're always going to wish you had
more that never changes and the better you get at functioning on that level
oh man the better that's gonna carry you when you're functioning on a larger
level I feel like sometimes though people bandy around that term low budget
the same way maybe someone says well we're a non-profit so Canada you know
what I'm say so it's like this badge of like we'd like this but we can't pay for
it kind of thing but can you still give it to us and that's the tough part yes a
lot of this is done with borrow time or favors or borrowed locations but that
people then label themselves as such and it's also a way that just as a
non-profit would say what we sorry we wouldn't be able to afford this can you
donate this to us because we're a profit yeah and I think it'd be much better to
be instead of labeling yourself as low-budget labeling yourself as the guy
that when people watch your film they go you add how much oh my god like that's
what you want you know that comes from again planning really being creative
making it clever you know all that stuff you can do it it's it happens all the
time it happens all the time with people making something for nothing that's the
fun that's fun so the first camera you got your hands on was at this cable
access yeah and in Morgan yeah okay what kind of camera was it I made a cameras I
probably I think it was free bait I think it was an s s VHS maybe like old
school with a big it wasn't just a camera it was one with a deck attached
to it you know I've tried to shoot I think I did a little slasher film and I
was in high school but yeah man it my mom hated it because she's my mom's very
religious so like I'm making a slasher film with this Oh anyway
that was takes me back I'm very thankful to those people you know because and I
if this is an opportunity that they still do I don't know why they wouldn't
I would highly suggest if anyone's having a problem getting access to
cameras that's a good place to go because that's that's where you have to
you have to keep practicing I look back on that very fond memories like yeah the
first time I was able to finally play do you remember when you walked into that
suits like ha oh you're 16 you just go into the studio and yes absolutely and
just like again I felt like my feet were leaving the ground like just of like wow
this is kiss you it's like it's like you want to build a house if someone just
pulls up in front of with a truck full of tools it's like the possibilities
here to create that magic is that's how I felt
that's I still feel that way going into a camera house going into a grip house
just looking at the lights and stuff and imagining what you can make like that
feeling has never left that's why I keep doing it like it's it's the possibility
you