Blog - Micro Budget Film School

Start with nothing and make a feature film in 12 months

If I told you that you could start with absolutely nothing and make a feature film in the next 12 months, would you do it? +

What if I told you that you don't even need a single dollar to start? +

Look at today's date. Add a year. +

Write it down.

At this time your film will be available for purchase to your friends, family... and to people you haven't met and won't ever meet. +

Today I'm going to show you a detailed month-by-month plan to take you from no money and no idea to completing a feature film in a year. +

MBFS Episode 0: Our Manifesto

By Bradley Stevens | Podcast

Welcome to Episode 0 of the Micro Budget Film School Podcast. In this short 14 minute episode, we outline what Micro Budget film School is about, starting with a Manifesto.

This manifesto is a public declaration of what we consider valuable, what our priorities are, and what we are trying to do.

Listen to episode or read the manifesto below to decide if this is for you!

A Lesson on Micro Budget Filmmaking Buried Inside the Movie Se7en

The Micro Budget Filmmaking lesson hidden inside the movie Se7en

By Bradley Stevens | Case Studies

Hidden inside David Fincher's 1995 thriller 'Se7en' is a lesson on Micro Budget Film Making... and it's too good to miss.

To be clear: Se7en was a $30million film, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, so it doesn't even come close to being 'low budget', let alone 'Micro Budget'.

But towards the end of the movie, around the 1 hr 42 mark, there are two brilliant scenes back to back that can teach us a huge secret to keeping film costs low.

Let me show you what's there.

How much your Micro Budget Film should cost and why it doesn't matter

By Bradley Stevens | Budgets

If you've been kicking around in the film world, you've probably heard the term 'Micro Budget' come up, along with other phrases like 'No Budget', 'Big/ Mega Budget', and similar. Most of these terms are very general and no-one really defines what exactly they are, but they are usually thrown around as a way to measure the scale of a film.

The idea is pretty simple: no-one will trust you to be responsible on a big budget film until you've first proven yourself on a smaller scale. And that 'smaller scale' film? Often that's a Micro Budget Film.

But it's easier to think of a number to start. So let's look at the generally-accepted 'cost' of a Micro Budget Film:

The Short-to-Feature Film Gap: why it's important to cross carefully

By Bradley Stevens | Budgets

Do you know anyone who has sold a short film? I know only 1 person that has. Only one. They spent somewhere around $3000, submitted it to 80+ film festivals, and got 1 buyer. Germany bought the rights to screen the film god-knows-where, and what did they pay?

$650.

To the average businessperson, filmmaking is a stupid idea. Business people will make an assessment on the viability of a business based on ROI- "Return On Investment". Making $650 off a $3000 investment is not smart business. That's just over 21% revenue. That's a 78% LOSS on investment. Ouch.

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