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3. Budget Analysis and Rationale

The scenes featured in this microbudget film include a media company, a supermarket, a convenience store, a cafe, a library, an apartment, and street shots. The more important scene is in the apartment. Scenes such as the supermarket, the convenience store, the cafe, and the library are public places and need to be shot in real environments. There are many storefronts open to the public in Melbourne, so it is not particularly difficult to find a suitable shooting location according to the shooting needs. When shooting in public places, because professional large-scale shooting equipment is not used, there is no need to agree with the store owner to set aside a certain period to complete the shooting. However, it is necessary to communicate with the shop owner in advance whether it is possible to shoot at the venue, and can shoot after permission. The company venue can contact a company I previously interned at, a three-story media company. The company is open to the public and allows filming, which perfectly fits the script. I have an aunt who is a real estate agent who is in charge of renting out apartments and can help me in finding the right room. And in the off-season, if there is a vacant room, you can lend it to me for free, on the premise of ensuring that the room is not damaged or polluted.

In the choice of shooting equipment, I use my iPhone to shoot and record on the spot. One is to reduce costs, and the second is that I think the pictures taken by iPhone are more breathable and realistic. During the five-day shooting process, the first day of shooting tasks was relatively simple, mainly giving more time for everyone to get acquainted with each other, and facilitating more tacit cooperation in the follow-up. The film required two actors, with a total salary of $1619.72 (MEAA, 2010). Actors can wear their clothes or buy clothes in stores that can be returned. Actors keep clothes clean during shooting and return them after shooting. Also need a makeup artist, a lighting engineer. Makeup artists are paid $510 for three days (MEAA, 2010). Lighting engineers are paid $691 for two days (MEAA, 2010). Since I learned how to work with Adobe Premiere Pro in the previous semester, post-production video editing and audio editing can be done by myself. The special effect sound, Foley sound, and background sound required in the film are considered to be downloaded on a free website, and copyright issues need to be paid attention to.

The cost of meals for the actors is $347 for five days (MEAA, 2010). There are also scenes in the film that require the actors to buy things, so there are extra costs for coffee, food, and daily necessities. First, consider contacting the owner of the cafe if they are willing to cooperate. I can promise to advertise the cafe for free, and maybe the owner is willing to provide free coffee. Supermarkets may not be able to get a deal because I’m doing a microbudget film and I’m a new director, so may not have much publicity power. If there is no cooperation, you can choose cheap food and daily necessities, so there will not be too high costs. The budget for the entire film was controlled within $5,000, and the biggest expenses were incurred by the actors. In terms of venues and shopping, the cost is as low as possible.

4. Creative Statement

My film genre is horror and the tone is scary, anxious, and urgent. Use this form to set off the atmosphere, make the audience feel the same, and really immerse themselves in the film.
Shooting tools I choose to shoot with an iPhone and use the 16:9 aspect ratio. The flat size increases the narrative sense of the scene, allowing the audience to see more of the scene space, making the scene look richer and more compact. The shooting method is a handheld iPhone, and some shots are shot in the first-person perspective, which can give the audience an immersive experience and a strong sense of substitution. Scene transitions use the fade-in, fade-out, and dissolve built into the software to achieve a natural transition effect.
The main scene design appears in the room of the apartment, and the props that appear were all white and light colors and the color matching was natural and harmonious. At the same time, the props in the scene are traces of a person’s life, and it can be seen that Avy lives alone. Actors’ costumes can be themselves or bought at a returnable store, and then returns after filming. In addition to the smart business attire need to wear at work, Avy’s clothing is clean and comfortable for daily wear and will be matched with some accessories. Reflects that Avy is a person who enjoys life, loves life, and is delicate. Most of the shooting lights are natural light. When walking at night, if there are no street lights, need a light engineer creates a weak light so that the audience can see the actors’ movements clearly. There is a scene in the script where the light of lightning is reflected on a man’s face. At this time, a close-up shot of the face is taken, and a reflector is used to adjust the appropriate angle and place it under the face to highlight the horror effect.
For safety and work reasons, actors often need to walk between filming locations, so the distance between filming locations cannot be too far, and there are many shops nearby for daily life and recreation. Actors need a man and a woman, and professional actors are invited. The woman is mainly the victim of being stalked. The man requires to play multiple roles, such as suspect and police officer. When the man is a suspect, he covers his face and wears a completely different costume from the policeman, so don’t worry about finding out that it was played by the same actor. Hiring one male actor can also cut costs.
The microbudget film shooting days are 5 days. On the first day, there are not many shooting tasks, mainly to let everyone get to know each other. The filming process is based on the development of the script. The second day of filming is to make Avy aware that someone might be staring at her, and the third day of filming is to make Avy confirm that someone is following her and she calls the police for help. The fourth and fifth days of filming were mainly about Avy’s mental breakdown of fear. The filming process follows the plot of the script so that the actors can fully feel the changes in emotions and achieve emotional explosions, rather than an emotionless exercise, which is driven by the actors to resonate with the audience.
The sound is recorded live using the iPhone. However, it is inevitable that the actor’s voice cannot be clearly recorded in a noisy environment, so it may be necessary to dub the actor later or replace the environment sound with background music. Use music or special effects to convey the atmosphere expressed by the scene. There are also some special effects and foleys that need to be highlighted. Such as heavy breathing sounds, footsteps, the sound of thunder, and the creaking sound of opening the door. Consider downloading them from free websites or dubbing them myself with some props in a very quiet environment and recording them by iPhone.

5. Reflection

I hope that the final work can convey the main ideological objectives of the studio in a thought-provoking way. The script of the film is based on the point of view of the personal safety of single women and uses shooting techniques and storylines to convey social phenomena aimed at women’s safety. Avy in the script is a woman who loves her life, but then gradually mentally breakdown after realizing she is being stalked. It is hoped that the audience can reflect and resonate, reminding women to pay attention to protecting their safety, and calling on society to resist behaviors that are harmful to women.

If I can keep working on the short film script in the form of microbudget production, I hope to be able to complete a film that can attract audiences with a rich plot and story in a limited set of scenes. I might start by editing the plot to reduce some repetitions and similar plots. This may reduce the use of some scenes and unnecessary costs. For example, the convenience store and supermarket can choose one of them, and the cafe and library can choose one. When I first conceived the script, I thought that more scenes might enrich the content. But after reviewing, I found that too many similar plots led to a very bland story, which could not attract the audience. Reduce the repetitive shooting of scenes, and use other forms to tell the story of what happened instead of finding sites and actors to act. For example, from someone else’s mouth or on the radio and TV. In this way, the cast and crew are saved in shooting time, and production costs can be reduced.

The key challenge encountered in this studio is that the script is too long and the plot is bland to attract the audience. When I first thought about the theme of the story, I didn’t think about how difficult it would be to write a script. When I wrote the first version of the script, I wrote all the ideas that came up, but the plot was monotonous and the content was not coherent. This made me think about how to create different storylines and be able to progress the story gradually. I re-decomposed the plot outline and refined the character psychology. After reflection, some new plots were added to reflect the theme, I portrayed an extreme character that represents the evil side and contrasts with the peaceful life making the story richer. In this film, I didn’t create a happy ending. I hope the audience can think about how to protect their own safety, and at the same time hope to attract social attention to reduce the harm to women living alone.

Reference:

Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance,  (3 August, 2016). ‘Motion Picture Production Certified Agreement 2010’, viewed on 26 May 2022,
Available at: <https://www.meaa.org/download/motion-picture-production-agreement-mppa-2010/>

2. Budget Analysis

I think the script can be a micro-budget film or not, and it can be a successful micro-budget film if the budget, cost, and idea design are controlled. Meanwhile, there are also some challenges to face. First of all, the shooting locations need to determine. Several important sites in the script are countryroad, manor, and children’s room. Countryroad is relatively easy to solve, a desolate countryroad can be found in remote suburbs and no cost. A manor is a potentially expensive filming location because what the script calls for is a large manor with a yard and fence around it. A manor is a difficult expense to control, and it can be at the core of an unsuccessful micro-budget film. My solution idea is that under normal circumstances most of the manors are built in the suburbs or areas far from the city center. Can try to find a suitable manor in the country, and the countryroad can also be solved for shooting. The shots of the manor didn’t need to be very long, and the required shooting time was at dusk, so it could be done in a few hours. The manor can be rented for a day, so there is plenty of time to set up the scene and give time for the actor to prepare before the dust, which is probably the most expensive part of shooting a micro-budget film. The children’s room can be borrowed with the cousin to complete the shooting, and don’t use the room in the manor because it takes extra time to tidy and remodel. In this way, the grasp of the shooting time may not be able to accurately estimate, and more rent may be generated, but it can be avoided.

The second is the choice of the actor. Based on shooting a micro-budget film, it may not be possible to invite professional and well-known actors without a sufficient budget. Such consider acting students or teachers in universities. But need to communicate the fact that doesn’t have much budget, maybe not a high salary but provide meals. The importance is to ensure the safety of the actor and a good working environment. Communication with the actor during filming is also very important, may collide and come up with new ideas.

Next, according to the analysis of the script, most of the props and the arrangement of scene arrangement can also be found in the living environment. Most of the props appear in the children’s room. The children’s room needs to show children’s style, which is the warmest part of the whole micro-budget film. If don’t have a blue cycle, can buy blue stickers to stick on the cycle in advance, so don’t need to spend to buy a new bike and it won’t affect the subsequent use. Two photos are also required, which can be achieved using composite techniques. In my first year of college, I learned how to use photoshop software, so composite photos can be done by myself without having to pay for professional personnel.

Finally, there are the challenges of sound and post-production. Don’t have enough budget to prepare shooting equipment and radio equipment, can use home cameras or iPhone to ensure the greatest extent quality on the premise of ensuring a micro-budget. According to the script analysis, it is suitable to use the natural background sound of the scene for the first three shots. The children’s room is a smaller space, and the radio effect of the mobile phone is not too bad, and additional dubbing may not be needed. Different background music according to the needs of different scenes can be found on the free website, and the special effect sound can be completed the foley dubbing in the post-production to ensure the sound is clean and clear. In post-production, I can do it by myself. I have used Adobe Premiere Pro frequently in the past year, and I have mastered the skills of how to edit. I do the post-editing to better find out if there are any omissions or missing shots, then record and rectify them as soon as possible.

Getting a successful micro-budget film requires a lot of thinking ahead so as not to incur too much cost and there are challenges to overcome. Overcoming the challenge is solving the problem for a rare cost while ensuring the quality of the shot. This also requires me to study and consider more.

3. Creative Statement

First of all, for shooting, I consider a home camera or an iPhone. Compared two, the mobile phone is more convenient to carry and use, so I prefer to use a mobile phone to shoot. Currently, mobile phone pixels can already achieve the final desired effect, which is a suitable choice for the shooting of micro-budget films. For example, in the film”Tangerine”, due to the limited budget, the director chose to shoot with an iPhone 5s and gave up professional film shooting equipment, but this did not affect the scene quality and shooting skills. I think the biggest advantage of mobile phone shooting is the realism and breathing of the scene, and it can be used flexibly during the shooting process, which is convenient to follow the actors’ movements. Mobile phone shooting also has time-lapse photography, zoom-in, zoom-out, and other functions. There are filters of different colors to choose from, which reduces the workload and time of post-production to a certain extent. It is also convenient to upload to a computer during post-production. But at night, the quality of the camera will be degraded, so the limit is to complete the shooting in the daytime as much as possible, but for the scenes with horror elements, the shooting scenes at night may be more atmospheric. For example, there is a scene in the script where the man walks down the hallway and turns the handle to open the door, using a night shot to create a sense of suspense and make the audience look forward to what happens next.

I think the whole micro-budget film shoot, from writing the script – script breakdown – shooting – post-production to the final test, takes 25 days to the production schedule. After analyzing the script, the shooting time will not be too long, and the focus may be on the film editing after each day’s shooting. This process requires repeated viewing and checking whether the requirements are met, to ensure whether the shooting clips can be used or need to be shot the next day. This way is also for post-production to be carried out more quickly and efficiently. The production design is mainly for scene layout and lighting requirements. For example, in the manor described in the script, the entire manor is white in the production design, with large areas of desolate grass and withered flowers. Because the shooting time is dusk, the light is bright enough but also dim at the same time to set off the bleak atmosphere, and there is a feeling of being out of the real world. The candlelight mentioned later in the script, due to the instability of the light caused by the gradual burning of the candle, I need to invite the help of a light engineer to achieve the effect that can shoot all the time but the light remains the same. The color design is monotonous, mainly black and white to create the fact that the man is dead. At the end of the script, the brick wall is gray when the man is awake, the real color shows that the man has returned to reality.

Sound design is also another way in which a film presents the good and the bad. According to the script, I pursued natural sound for some shots on countryroad and don‘t need obvious radio effects. But with the action of the man, such as the sound of a man walking on the sand road, the door of the manor being pushed open (creak), the footsteps of walking down the hallway, the sound of gently opening the door. I want these sounds to be obvious when they appear in the film, so need to re-do the foley production to highlight them. In the script, the man shouts the lines (Anyone there?!/ Please, let me out! Is anyone there?!). The lines are not planned to be re-dubbed later, but directly use the sound recorded on-site, so that the open sound and echoes can be heard, but the shooting environment needs to be very quiet.

4. Reflection

The script for this exercise was not written by me, so the first challenge was understanding other author’s script. In order to better understand the meaning of the script and figure out what the author wanted to tell the story, I read the script three times in total. The first thought was that the man in the script might have died, the second time was that the man might have been burned to death, and the third time was probably a combination of the first and second thoughts, that the man didn‘t realize that he was dead, he returned to the place where he was most nostalgic before his death. Finally, the man may realize that he is dead but was in pain that cannot return to real life and the sadness of not being able to be reunited with his family. This is my personal understanding, and I hope to understand the author’s ideas and restore the storyline as much as possible. In the process of analyzing the script, I realized that I wanted to resonate with the author and feel the story of the man in the author’s pen. It was new to me. I learned to understand and think deeply and have the scene design and the storyline and even every changing expression of the man will emerge in my mind. I think these may be some ideas and production designs for making microbudget films, which will be a great help for me to start making my own microbudget films later.

In the process, I overcame my shackled thoughts. How to plan a movie on a microbudget. I thought about finding a cheap manor in the country to shoot, but if there is no suitable manor or the manor is not white by my definition, what should I do? The rented scene can’t be changed in color, is it possible to use special effects to overlay white in post-production, or find several free places to shoot separately and montage together (countryroad, abandoned fenced yard, free open manor). I try to jump out of my fixed thoughts and look for more possibilities.

Through this exercise, I have a better understanding of how to shoot microbudget films and think about more ideas and possibilities to achieve satisfactory micro-budget films with the least cost.

1.

Last semester, I took the Mass Media class, and I learned some basic knowledge of analyzing movies and how to edit movies from the class. In the process of learning, I found that I am very interested in the film-making process and film content, so I became more interested when I saw the introduction of the course for Media 5. According to the introduction, I learned that this class can learn a deeper level of film elements and a more comprehensive film-making process. At the same time, it will also involve the explanation and teaching of ‘Microbudget films’. In daily life, when I see beautiful things or landscapes, interesting scenes, and moments that I think are memorable, I like to shoot videos and record them. Sometimes they are edited into videos and made into memoirs for easy collection. I usually know little about the production process of “Microbudget film” and rarely watch “Microbudget film”. The “big production film” attracts me to watch. I know that ‘Microbudget films’ are ideal shots on a very small budget. It could be reducing manpower, using free filming locations, reducing scene changes, not using lights, not using specialized shooting equipment, or needing to give up some pre-formed concept of filmmaking. But I think for me, although I don’t have rich theoretical and practical knowledge, I have a deep interest in film production. Starting to learn from ‘Microbudget film’ is more helpful for my growth in film production. Firstly, it can help me lay a good foundation, and secondly, I can have more opportunities to learn and practice. So I want to use this class to learn how to do a ‘Microbudget film’. And I want to learn more about shooting methods, techniques, and the film-making process through the study of this class. I think these can help me improve my ability to film production and budget allocation and control.

2.

Reflection on a class exercise：

In the second week of class, we started the preparatory work for the ‘Microbudget movie’ by working in groups to analyze the script decomposition. The plot is set in a dining room and analyzed based on the place, backstory, actors, filming locations, props, etc. First of all, we need to take into consideration that ‘Microbudget movies’ cannot generate too many costs. When we choose only one dining room as a shooting location, can save money for changing different scenes. Actors can be around friends, costumes can choose their clothes, and props can be provided from their own homes. It saves the cost of hiring actors and props groups. But if hope to have a perfect shooting effect, may need a piece of good shooting equipment. The highest spend may be on the equipment but can also rent it.

Secondly, need to pay attention to details and shooting content when analyzing the script breakdown. If it is a low-cost restaurant, the preparation of clothing or props may be more ordinary, and it does not need gorgeous and bright colors. And during the discussion, some students proposed to use candles, which I think is a very pleasant idea. It fits the theme and scene and is a small payout. But when filling out the script, try to supplement the ideas as much as possible. For example, the tableware is all white china, a blanket is placed on the seat, and a bouquet in a glass vase is placed in the middle of the dining table. It is necessary to make full preparations for the scene content in advance, to avoid finding any gaps during the shooting that will affect the shooting progress, which may result in some unnecessary costs on the shooting equipment.

Reflection on homework：

I watched a movie called ‘The Rider’ by Chloe Zhao. I think the film is a bit like a documentary, with a ‘naturalistic’ feel, and there’s no denying it’s a ‘Microbudget movie’ worth learning from. The film is directed and written by Chloe Zhao, so it saves a lot of money in terms of hiring the director and writer. But Chloe Zhao spent a lot of time observing and learning about Brady’s life in the early days of filming, and there should be some expenses incurred during this period. In terms of actors, because actor Brady is himself, a professional horse trainer, there is no extra cost for training, and the other actors are his relatives and friends. There is a lot of spectators at the scene of a horse-taming competition. These people may be paid by the director or they may be volunteers. Horse training grounds may also cost money to rent, and I think the main expenses are probably spent on the grounds, horses, cattle, and post-production. It cost about $6,000 in total on film-making, but it ended up with $4.2 million at the box office, making it a very successful ‘Microbudget movie’.

The shooting method is very realistic, and some shots seem to be hand-held without any shooting tools. It seems that the person watching is also immersed in the scene, standing aside and watching as a bystander following the camera. The tone throughout the film is harmonious and natural, especially in one scene where Brady gallops across the grass on his horse. Without any other lighting tools at all, the blue-gray sky gradually darkened as if seeing the ending of Brady. I think the most moving part of this movie is that although Brady has the regret of shattered dreams, he has the understanding and support of his family. As the cut on Brady’s head slowly heals, he finds himself back after being devastated both physically and mentally. It may be the ‘The Rider Spirit’ that the movie shows.

3.

After gaining a certain understanding of ‘Microbudget movies’, I watched a short micro-movie called ‘The Birth of a Masterpiece’. The film was directed and starred by Xu Zheng in 2011. The total length of the film is only 8 minutes and 57 seconds. The content is about three kidnappers who kidnapped a rich girl in order to make a real movie and wanted to shoot a blackmail video to raise funds for the filming. However, because the director of the kidnappers loves the film career, he is extremely devoted to shooting the extortion video, making the extortion video into a “masterpiece”, and finally letting the kidnapper go. The film has some witty humor at the end, and is a creative ‘Microbudget movie’.

For the filming location, there are corridors and underground parking lots, and in the end, it was completed in a simple room. The room looks a certain sense of age. and the costumes of the actors are very ordinary as if they are wearing their own clothes. If the room is owned by the director, then there will be no expense in renting locations and costumes. The whole shooting method is handheld shooting, and it can be seen that there is only one shooting equipment in the whole process. The screen moves with the action of the photographer, and when watching it, it seems like the first perspective, with a sense of substitution. When the rich girl was kidnapped, a black commercial car appeared, and several kidnappers kidnapped the rich girl. Probably the biggest expense was renting a car, hiring actors, and filming equipment. The kidnappers also stood in the background during the filming. But they only have simple scenes and no lines, so they may be hired extras, and the cost is not much. There is a double-length red sofa in the shooting room. In the environment of white walls and monotonous colors, and the costumes of the actors are also black and white, the red sofa grabs the eye and seems to be a point of attention. As the filming of the extortion video progressed, the conversation between the kidnappers gradually deviated from the original track, no longer focusing on extortion, but focusing on the acting itself and the expression of emotions. Can feel real love for film-making. At the end of the film, the people in the police station, including the cleaners, were attracted by the blackmail video. There is no doubt that the blackmail video was successful. The director completed his purpose and everyone who saw the microfilm was attracted by it.

Because the film is very short and has not been shown in cinemas, there is no film publicity. There is no money for publicity. Maybe not many people know the film so far. Although this ‘Microbudget movie’ is short and has no revenue calculation, the impression left to the audience is memorable and thought-provoking. I think that being able to achieve such an effect and impact in a very short period of time is worth learning and reflecting on when shooting a ‘Microbudget film’.