PODCAST: How To Direct & Execute a No-Budget Production Without a Crew

Written by Noam Kroll

Making a micro-budget film is hard. Making a no-budget film is even harder – especially when you are the only crew member.

In this episode, I share some actionable tips and advice for no-budget filmmakers who need to act as the Director, DP, and Sound Recordist all at once. From making adjustments to the screenplay, to modifying blocking, lighting, and sound recording techniques, there are countless ways in which no-budget filmmakers can ensure they are still achieving a high production value, even without a crew to fall back on…

All of this and much more on this week’s episode!

Listen to Episode 16: How To Direct & Execute a No-Budget Production Without a Crew

Subscribe to this podcast via iTunes

Subscribe to this podcast via Google Play

Subscribe to this podcast via Stitcher

Subscribe to this podcast via SoundCloud

Subscribe to this podcast via RSS

And for more content like this, be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

About Author

Noam Kroll

Noam Kroll is an award-winning Los Angeles based filmmaker, and the founder of the boutique production house, Creative Rebellion. His work can be seen at international film festivals, on network television, and in various publications across the globe. Follow Noam on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more content like this!

6 Comments

Low Budget Filmmaking on an iPhone - Ashik Satheesh
at

[…] We either used locations we already had access to, or we secured them for free. I had rewritten the script to let us shoot a major chunk of the film in my bedroom and places at a walkable distance from my house. All the actors used their own costumes. We had our maid cook delicious food (the most important aspect to keep morale up in a low budget production). For more information on how to execute a no budget production, listen to this podcast. […]
Reply
Jesse
at

I want to tell narratives, but avoid dialogue scenes altogether. If there’s no dialogue, then your actor salary goes way down. So I want to tell complete stories, sequence by sequence, but in montage only. So you just have people act out ‘stage business’ while using a gimbal and dolly in or slide or whatever. In post hire someone to do vo narration. I just don’t know how long anyone can sit through a montage-only short or feature and not eventually get bored?
Reply

Noam Kroll
at

Cool concept – and I think you can definitely pull it off. It’s all in the execution. As an obvious example, if you’ve written a story around characters that don’t speak (or can’t speak), that could make for a really unique film that takes advantage of your technical limitation… VO is an option too, although it can be tricky to get right.
Reply

Georgia A
at

So glad I found this! I’ve been to your website before for the article of the $1000 camera setup and you always provide really good info that’s relatable to all of us who are working on low to no-budget films. What you said about making the right decisions on set is a really interesting point that gives me something to think about.
I need to check out the rest of this podcast series. Thanks for making such great content!
Reply