AboutMichael Belanger Expertise Screenwriters in Boston, AM?
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I can answer questions about film scoring for indie film, home recording, music production and related equiptment including computers and software. I enjoy the creative and business sides of independant film making and music production.
Experience I have scored several independant films. I am part of an active film making team that creates one or two films a year. I have been actively involved with many aspects of music creation for 15 years.
Organizations I am a member of The Society of Composers and Lyricists and a partner of Mindbeside Studios (www.Mindbeside.com).
Publications Examples of my music can be streamed or downloaded from www.michaelbelanger.com and http://www.thekillinghand.com.
Expert: Michael Belanger Date: 10/22/2006 Subject: 25000$ movie!!!!is it really possible
Question hi michael,
my name is paul.i am intrested in film making.i am from india.i have stories which can be madeinto good films.i heard that films have been made for 25000$ in america.is it possible.if so i am intrested in making one.i have a very good
story for that,which is a very low budjet but really very beautiful.so i want to know how can i make it.is it possible for a foreigner to come to usa and make a film.if i do it also what all things should i do to get my money back.is it possible to release my movie in regular movie halls.are these movies really making money(my intention is not just money....but...)
i hope you will help me out to do that and guide me.thanking you
Answer Hi Paul,
First, good luck with your project and feel free to ask me questions and keep me informed as your project comes together.
it is my opinion that you are asking "how can I be a one in a million success on my first time out with the lowest budget possible?" This is certainly a great goal BUT you may want to consider having smaller successes first that make the bigger one more likely in the long run. My advice is to scale your goals and budget to 10% and have at it. There are tons of new distribution options out there for short films that you can make a little cash and make a name for yourself. This would be a great springboard for achieving your greater goal. There are lots of people you need to get plugged into, lessons to learn good and bad. Why not spend less money going through that? Then you'll be more ready for the big project.
In the meantime you should study how others have made it big on small budgets. The easiest way to do this is to go to IMDB.com and sign up for the pro account. There is a 30 day free trial membership. Do an advanced search limiting the budget of the film to 25K. Then sort by gross budget. At the top of the list will be 5 films that made money enough to report gross earnings with a budget of under 25K. Study these film makers, the distributors that invested in them etc. etc. BUT there's a lot more info her then just the info on the 5 films that made it. Look at the 64 pages of search results of films that report their budget of 25k and under BUT have no earnings enough to report. This is sobering right? Now consider that there are 10 times (or more) as many films that do not even make it onto IMDB at all. It's estimated that each big film festival get's 3000 feature length submissions per year but only accept less than 50. Now consider that there are dozens of large festivals and the number of films NOT making it is huge.
So, start small, make contacts, put a good team together, learn how to make headway at the festivals (shorts are better for you here), learn about alternate distribution (Youtube, cell phone networks etc.) and make a name for yourself. THEN spend the 25k on that big project. Hard work, determination and persistence will pay off. Don't aim too high with your first time out and you make your chances for small successes to add up to a big one.
