Since microbudget filmmaking is what we discuss here, I did manage a few notes at that presentation. The opening remarks should solidify for everyone reading this publication what it means to work microbudget. The panel agreed that making microbudget films has to be fun, as your motivation is primarily creative expression. To make microbudget films in order to make money is not the right way of looking at it. Microilmmaking is a lifestyle choice, a mindset, and if you can make money by doing it, that is a bonus. If your angle is to make millions, those deals are few and far between and if that is what you expect out of it, find another profession. Panelists included Sandy Lieberson, formerly head of 20th Century Fox and now Chair of Film London; Caroline Cooper Charles, Head of Creative Development at WarpX, a digital studio developing low budget features; Helen Grace of sales agency Left Films that represented the no budget horror film "Colin" at last year's Cannes; Kolton Lee, a microfilmmaker and director of "Freestyle," ; and Tobias Morgan of Garage, a digital production studio and online distribution platform .
The advice for getting started in microbudget filmmaking was to start with the idea and not to develop it to death. "With big budget films, by the time the film actually gets made, the script has been reshaped so many times, the studio can get bored with it. Micros feel very relevant, very contemporary and fresh and have an energy about them which stems from just wanting to go out and try things," said Caroline Cooper Charles. "That doesn't mean a development process isn't valuable for micros. At WarpX we make films for under a million pounds and we do have a rigorous development process. But we always have the intention of making the film, we aren't developing it without being sure we will ever make it. Knowing that the film production is within your grasp in the next 12 months not the next 12 years is our aim." Morgan, Lee and Lieberson all said that it is most important to evaluate what resources you have access to and what story can you tell using those resources? "The budget should match the intention of the film," said Morgan. Productions that try to do too much for the resources they have will not succeed, storywise or financially if that was a goal.
Lee acknowledged that making films on a microbudget isn't easy. "It is about deciding 'right now I am going to make a film and I only have a small amount of money,' and for me it was about coming up with a concept, a script that was manageable within the few resources I had. I gave myself very clear parameters, certain locations I knew I could get for free so the story had to encompass those places, certain actors I needed to rely on for the whole shoot, but I wrote the script to incorporate certain actors I could get for only a day or two. So the basis of coming up with the concept for the film, I knew had to be something manageable. It helps to be practical, to think like a producer as well as a director.
Much was said about the need for a microbudget filmmaker to be multiskilled and know the business side as well as the creative. "You won't find many people willing to devote their time and energy to you without pay. The advantage is that you have complete creative control and you get the benefit of working all of these jobs you probably never would if you were employed at a studio," said Lee. While some may still see their role as only being a director, Morgan had this advice. "That is a very top down attitude. If you aren't willing to get into the business side as well, you should just join the ranks of the studio system employees. Auteur in the twenty first century is finding new ways to both bring your story to life and getting it out there. "
On hand, there was a representative from E1 Entertainment whose name I missed and when the conversation turned to distribution for micro films, he offered his company's perspective. "There is a certain prejudice around low budget movies. It is part of our strategy to package these films around the big budget studio films we are selling. If you are talking theatrical distribution, we have to pay as much money to market and book a microbudget film as we do on a studio budget film. So for distributors like ourselves, with a Summit Entertainment movie, there is some risk when we spend P&A [prints and advertising] but, with a microbudget, that risk is considerably higher. 9 times out of 10, the spend on P&A is more than the MG [minimum guarantee]. Those costs are prohibitive, a real barrier to entry. Those costs are not coming down even with digital. Cinemas want to still charge high costs for access, for virtual print fees, and still you have those considerable marketing costs. The conflict comes when films want that big theatrical splash, no matter how much they cost to make. It still takes considerable cost to make that splash. " Tobias Morgan, whose site Garage is a subsidiary of MUBI and specializes in microbudget film production and distribution said "We, at Garage, are interested in finding the new auteurs. We look at microbudget films in terms of distribution, we have a VOD platform and the filmmakers can set up their film's page, viewers can get film recommendations and become a fan of a certain film and that is the way you can start to see monetization. Recently, we have set up a direct to cinema model in Paris. This is probably the new model for micros. In going digitally directly to a cinema, that film is yours, you hold the rights and you can start to cut out a lot of the expenses that have kept a stranglehold on theatrical distribution. " I look forward to speaking with Morgan in a future issue of Microfilmmaker Magazine so that he can tell us what Garage offers in terms of distribution for microbudget films.
