Making A Low Budget Film: Fit Script to Budget.

So you decide instead of waiting around for somebody to give you lots of money to make your dream script that stars Genevieve, Jim Iyke and Yvonne Nelson, you will instead write a script that can be made for a low budget. Low budget is whatever you believe you can raise and in today’s environment with all the digital tools out there, you can make a film for a very low price.
Let’s assume the extreme in that you have little money available for your film. So here are some tips on fitting a script to a low budget.

Limit the Script to 90 Pages: 90 pages using Courier New, 12 pt fonts equates to roughly a 90 minute film. This is the minimum length for a feature film. If you write a longer script then it will obviously be more expensive because you will need to shoot more days. Assuming you can shoot 6 pages per day, and then you can shoot this script in 15 days.

What You Have Access to: Make a list of locations and any unique assets you have access to for free or for a low price. So if you know a friend that owns a restaurant and he might let you shoot for free there overnight when he is closed then write in scenes that involve a restaurant. If your buddy works in a Mall, hospital or airport and can connect you; write scenes with such locations in mind. You should sure have access to apartments or discuss with a neighbour or church member to give you access to homes. All these locations and assets will reduce your cost for locations, props, etc so write you script incorporating what free or low cost assets you have.

Minimal Cast: limit your main cast to a handful of people. For the most part, most films really only have a handful of key characters. If you must feature an A-list actor, you could choose to write a Sub-lead role or a lead with minimal scenes but strong role in the story. For a low budget film, you have to factor in the cost to feed people, the cost to transport, accommodate and also costumes if needed. So the smaller the cast, the better. Lodge only your key cast with your DOP, Production manager. The rest can come from home but you must provide a means of transportation for them so they could be on location early.

No Explosions, Car Chases, etc: All these types of scenes are expensive given props and also the kind of crew that you would need to pull it off. The reality is that most ultra low budget films are going to deal with relationships and human stories for the most part.

Write more of Day scenes: There are many reasons why shooting in the day is best. One is that you have the most daylight so you can shoot your six pages a day and not run out of daylight if you are outdoors. Night scenes require more complicated technicalities, risk and cost.

Above all, if you can't write a script incorporating the above points, pay to use a more capable talent. There are many undiscovered talents out there that can surpass the known screenwriters.

The above is just my opinion acquired through research and observation, if you agree, disagree or have more points to be factored in, please drop it in the comment box so that others can read and learn.