It has been a full 11 months since I chose to start my ultimate feature film experiment.
At the time, another piece I was developing fell through and I was at a crossroads.
I wanted to direct a new film, but didn’t want to wait a year or two to raise money in a more traditional way.
In the meantime, I’ve completed two micro-budget features and wanted to challenge myself to do something new.
So I asked myself – what type of project could I start? today Will this be different from anything I’ve done before?
Before long, the answer became clear—
This is not about scaling. Or repeat anything I’ve done in previous works. I was going in the opposite direction…
I try to make the smallest movie possible.
Not “small” in terms of creativity, production value, or potential impact. But in terms of production scope.
I’ve always prided myself on being a multi-talented person, so I asked myself how I could double down on my minimalist approach:
What happens if I write/direct/photograph/record sound for a feature film without additional crew?
How would this affect the story? What about production schedules? Working with actors?
Every aspect of the process, from writing to scheduling, will be a new experiment. And these unknown variables are what attracts me.
My last feature film was shot in 2 locations over 9 days.
The new film was shot (including footage and behind-the-scenes footage) in dozens of locations over approximately 15 days.
And the production cost was less than a quarter of the budget.
We started shooting in January and only had one day of shooting to capture the opening scene. About a month later we shot for two more days and then spent more time editing and writing the next scene.
We shot another three days at the end of May and then shot the remaining scenes throughout September in a larger neighborhood after the summer break.
Just last week we shot our last shot (I think), which means we’re officially done filming.
Watching the video, it’s hard to believe I haven’t done this before.
Despite filming in countless different locations and having the company move almost daily, the production was simple.
This collaboration was great because I was able to work extensively with the actors and craft the scenes in a way that I wouldn’t be able to do when juggling a larger crew.
The shots look great thanks to being shot with a small mirrorless camera (my Fuji X-T4), which allowed us to work quickly and get more coverage.
Best of all, the process is actually fun and largely stress-free.
I have plenty of time between shooting dates to make adjustments if necessary. And if one thing goes wrong, everything doesn’t fall apart – which is often the case in independent productions.
It’s the cheapest feature I’ve ever made, but it probably has greater production value and story potential than other projects with more resources.
As I look at my next feature (a larger genre film that I plan to fund in the new year), I can’t help but wonder when I’ll be able to do something so small again.
Hope soon…
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