Low Budget Filmmaking

A step-by-step short film budget guide from real indie shoots. Covers what a beginner short costs ($700-$1,500 per finished minute), why budgets fail as shopping lists, and how to build yours as a risk doc in four sections — ATL, production, post, G&A with 10% contingency. Includes a $5,000 sample that reconciles to the dollar (ATL $450, production $2,760, post $770, G&A $1,020), schedule-first rules, gear vs people ratios, $30-$35/day food, and the five costs beginners forget.

Stop blowing your first film’s budget on the wrong things. This guide breaks down the $1,000 buy order, real co-op rental hacks that cut gear costs in half, and the free phone-to-pro pipeline competitors never mention. Written by a working director who already made the expensive mistakes — lost weather days, unusable audio, and all. Learn where your money actually moves the needle: sound, light, and a fed crew. Read it before you lock your shoot date, not after the account’s empty.