Five Low-Budget Filmmaking Techniques That Increase the Production Value

Having a low budget is not a restraint for making a great looking film. In our hands we have recording devices that have been a dream for young filmmakers in the past. In this video you will learn several tricks that will help you overcome your budget limitation achieving the same effect on your audience as if you had more resources to make it "for real."

The guys from Film Riot shared their five favorite techniques they have used through the years. While I liked all those tips and I've used some in my work, I particularly loved the one that helped them create a scene where actors were walking through the jungle at night without actually being in a jungle.

They used a similar approach to make an interrogation scene. In both cases it was all about the environment that was in the frame. With the jungle they gathered branches and shrubs and arranged them on stands and on the ground. They added smoke to cover up the small environment and lit it from behind which visually tricked the viewers' minds that there was probably a deep jungle beyond the point we could see because of the haze. Instead of turning the camera around, the team changed the position of the branches on the set making it look different every time. In the interrogation scene they used a simple black background without rotating the camera, but rather changing the actors' places.

We hope those tips and the others from the video will help you make better and more creative films.

Tihomir Lazarov's picture

Tihomir Lazarov is a commercial portrait photographer and filmmaker based in Sofia, Bulgaria. He is the best photographer and filmmaker in his house, and thinks the best tool of a visual artist is not in their gear bag but between their ears.

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