Film Budgets and Creative Results...

Can any movie be made on a smaller film budget with the same creative results? False! The budget of a film determines how much a film spends on every category. "Titanic" could not have been made for $10 million and "Paranormal" could not have been made for $20 million. If James Cameron made "Titanic" on a significantly smaller budget, it would have looked like a bathtub video and audiences would not have become engrossed in the love story that was the heart of the film. Similarly, audiences would have never believed that an expensive Hollywood version of "Paranormal Activity" could possibly be true. Sometimes money is wasted, but every movie has an appropriate budget level.

Check out www.QuickFilmBudget.com for a guideline on film budgeting.

Low Budget Films and Locations

Film locations have a multiplying effect on a film's budget. Even if you can get all of your film locations for free, the more film locations you have the more time will be wasted on company moves, transportation costs (ex: gas), set-up time, construction and set design costs. Movies like Paranormal Activity and Saw not only saved money on using fewer locations but made their film better by focusing all of their time and money on a couple locations which gave them high production value and gave the director more time for the actors as opposed to waiting for the crew to constantly build sets and make company moves. Too often do I see low budget movies trying to act like studio films by picking stories that require many locations which all end up looking cheaply done.

Check out www.quickfilmbudget.com for a guide on budgeting for locations on low budget films.