How I made a HIGH-BUDGET film with NO MONEY - 6 TIPS

Check out my other films below:

The dream team:
Cinematographer @nikpilecki
Actor @jacquelinedsantos
Producer @atotheje
Producer @Gina_simone
BTS WIZARD @ryngrg

The making of @filmriot
FREELANCER
THE STATEMENT

⚡️FOLLOW ME on INSTAGRAM: @zachramelan

MUSIC:

GEAR IN THIS VIDEO:

[stevenkralovec]

Heck yeah I’d love to see your budget breakdown from the $8, 000 film.

[endiasings]

I would love a breakdown of how you hired cinematographers! How were able to pay them, as well as pay for permits, spaces, etc

[thelibrarystudios]

Shooting a Full Film Next Weekend Biting My Nails, But after watching this, I AM INSPIRED!

[visualsofnova]

The fact that you’re steadily gaining subs with barely any views is proof of how good your content really is…… also, I salute you for putting out such great content even though fucking YouTube doesn’t incentivise with any reach at all…. Like it pisses me off so much !

[oliverbury]

All such great films, excited to see Clementine!! Please do a budget breakdown to see how you spread costs! Thank you! Keep up the brilliant work.

[markbone]

Heck yes!! CANNOT WAIT to see this film

[kevindud]

Would love to hear a breakdown of the budget. And can’t wait to see the film.

[jacoblea]

Great video! I’ve had the chance to work with both Nik and Gina before. You had a great team with you, excited to see the film!

[thetooginator]

A layman’s rant/advice: don’t make a dystopian or post-apocalyptic film unless your idea is REALLY original. The DUST channel is PACKED with good-looking, but boring dystopian and post-apocalyptic films that are usually just pitches for a bigger-budget film. So, if you’re going to make a sci-fi film, try to imagine a likely (near) future that makes sense. A good example of this is the movie “Her”. The premise for that movie seems VERY likely, and it’s a little unsettling. A lot of thought went into that movie, and it looks like most of the budget went to the actors.

Just my two cents.

[lasvegasnextexit]

I have to say up front, Very Impressive short films...
But now on to the "real part, " I've been an independent filmmaker for over 30 years and now I do grip & electric as well as camera department for a living. I have made "no budget" features and short films and the equipment you guys are using is out of reach for most Indie or No Budget guys. Each c-Stand is around $200, the flags used are over $50 each, the tripod in some of these shots is over $300, gimbles are over $100, costuming can cost over $50 per actor for clothes from Ross or a thrift store, the camera shown is over $1, 500 used, each V mount battery costs over $50 and getting locations is one of the biggest issues that plague Indie filmmakers....so this leads to one seeing at least $20, 000 in equipment, props, costuming and man power used in what is supposed to be a production made "for no money." I have been buying equipment I can afford for over 30 years and a big amount of the stuff you guys are using, I can't afford to own, I can rent this stuff from a rental house like JR Lighting here in Las Vegas but is is not cheap and one needs at least $1 million dollars in Production insurance before they will rent to you.

Here is the thing, I could make a movie or short film with "stuff laying around in my backyard" too if I had thousands of dollars in professional film equipment just there to use for free...but it isn't free. Someone paid for it and that cost has to be included in the budget or you aren't being 100% truthful with other filmmakers. Even on big productions, they don't own the equipment and send folks out to make movies with the stuff they already own, they rent it. If the production company does own the equipment, they factor in Daily Kit Rentals for costs on production gear. To rent the camera you guys used is hundreds of dollars a day (with Production Insurance) and a basic grip & electric package in a small truck package is over $1, 000 per day. The problem is, most of the people making movies for no money do not come from white collar upper middle class families that have helped to fund their pursuit into filmmaking, know rich people or have jobs where they can afford to spend over $2, 000 on just a camera and another $4, 000+ to drop into production gear. We aren't even talking about editing yet or the hours of labor it takes to color correct and cut into a motion picture. I'm sure that your cast and crew was not assembled in a short amount of time but instead the result of months or years of friendship, so their labor and time is given for free. So saying, "We shot this film for $200" when you have $30, 000 worth of equipment is on set, is kind of misleading.

Now if you guys showed us a video where you got a used $150 DSLR, use lights found at the hardware store (or under $30 LED lights from China), DIY tricks, where to source actors willing to work for free (or under a $150 a day), where to find production crew that works for free (or even for a couple hundred bucks), where to find talented script writers that will work for free, how to source props for free (or close to it), how to get people with expensive equipment to come out to help you for free, free editing software, color correction software, how to feed your crew/cast for no money and things along those lines, I feel it would be much more insightful as well as inspire more no budget filmmakers, but it kind of glosses over a bunch of aspects of pulling a film together with no money or where to get good help when starting out.


I know you guys have your heart in the right place and the video looks as well as sounds great so you get a thumbs up from me.

[Parallelvideos]

Great work dude. Leveraging what you have is the key to indie :D Looks awesome and a great team. I'm prepping for a shoot in a weeks time and making props and costumes right now - restaurant buckets cut and glued together+spray paint looks like 35mm cans. Did you raise your budget or you managed to get this idea commissioned somewhere?

[theghostsofgiants]

You should absoutely get into the budget, one of the really frustrating things about Youtube filmmaking channels is the hesitance to talk about money but it's super important for people who are still learning and growing as filmmakers to have a sense of how much things cost.

[ericlopez]

I am trying to kickstart my film project, and I like the idea of using a few i-phone shots. The project does not require, if any, high tech props or scenery. I firmly believe the story and script will carry most of the weight. It is a futuristic, dystopian, survival, and music story based on my book, Soothing the Savage Beat (not "beast"), by E. Augustine. I also wrote the script, and got favorable reviews at AFF. I expected sharp criticisms, but got none. So I'm moving on. If I cannot get it done, would you be interested in helping? I also have other very unique, so I'm told, stories. I enjoyed your work. Thanks!

[nbgrooms]

Interesting how you broke down the costs for each project. Question is do you ever determine a budget based on how much of it you think you can recoup? Is there a way independent filmmakers' budget to make projects pay for themselves?

[ZenaCristiana]

Very helpful! I'm an aspiring filmmaker and will most definitely use these tips thank you ❤

[MartinVlog]

great video - thanks for the BTS. will be watching the short film.... I would love to see the budget breakdown in a youtube video.... thank you

[ThePottersHandsMinistries]

I've always wanted to be an actor, but never went the distance. I have all these movies ideas strolling around my mind but don't know what to do with them! What do I do guys??? A little guidance

[ShangleLP]

I would love to hear where the budget goes into

[soundbreaker]

High budget film with no money is a contradiction. “How I made a Hollywood looking film with no money” or “how I made a low budget film look like millions of dollars” or something similar to that is more accurate

[theresemarkham]

Congratulations!! It is going to be a good one.