How to make a short film on a low budget
Where the money goes on a short film, what you can do without and how to make a first short look and sound good for very little.
A short film with no money can still get into festivals. What decides it is the writing, the performances and the sound. The camera matters much less. Many of the shorts in our festival archive were student or first films made with very little. They worked because they had a clear idea and the discipline to execute it.
Write for the resources you have
The cheapest decisions are made at the script stage. Before you write, list what you can get for free: places, people, props and favours. Then write a story that uses them.
- Few locations. Every company move costs time and money. One or two locations is ideal.
- Few characters. Each actor needs to be cast, fed, scheduled and possibly paid.
- Short running time. Under 10 minutes is cheaper to make and easier to programme. See how long a short film should be.
- Daylight and interiors you control. Night exteriors, crowds, cars, weather and period settings are expensive.
Our guide to writing a short film script covers this in more detail.
Where the money really goes
On most micro-budget shorts, the budget goes on:
- Food. Feed your cast and crew properly. It is the cheapest way to look after people who are working for little or nothing.
- Travel and expenses. Pay them for everyone, even if you can’t pay fees.
- Locations. Ask about favours from friends, family, businesses and local councils. For public spaces, check whether you need permission.
- Sound. Hire or borrow a decent microphone and a recordist who knows what they are doing.
- Post-production. The sound mix, the colour grade and music rights.
- Festival fees. Budget for these from the start (see submitting to festivals).
Sound is the priority
Audiences will forgive soft focus but not bad sound. On a low budget:
- Use a directional microphone on a boom close to the actors, or lavalier microphones. Don’t rely on the camera’s built-in microphone.
- Record room tone, 30 seconds of silence in each location, for the edit.
- Turn off fridges, air conditioning and anything else that hums.
- Spend some of the budget on a proper sound mix. It is the single biggest upgrade you can buy.
The camera you have is fine
Phones, older mirrorless cameras and borrowed kit can all produce festival-quality images. More important than the camera are:
- light: shoot near windows, use practical lamps and control the light with cheap diffusion and reflectors;
- stability: a tripod or a simple gimbal;
- framing and composition, decided in advance with a shot list;
- consistency: lock exposure, white balance and frame rate.
Pay attention to people
- Get written release forms from everyone who appears on screen, and agreements with key crew about credits and ownership.
- Keep shoot days to a reasonable length. Tired people make mistakes, and some get hurt.
- Thank people properly, credit them accurately and send them the finished film.
Music and rights
Commercial music is almost always out of reach. Work with a composer (music students are often keen), or use properly licensed library music with terms that cover festivals and online release. Never use music you have no right to use: it can stop a festival from screening your film.
Finishing
Leave as much time for post-production as for the shoot. A tight edit, a clean mix, a simple grade and readable subtitles turn a decent shoot into a film people take seriously.
Questions people ask
How much does a short film cost to make?
Anything from almost nothing to tens of thousands of pounds. Many first shorts are made for a few hundred to a few thousand pounds, with most of the money going on food, locations, transport, sound and post-production.
Can I shoot a short film on a phone?
Yes. Modern phones produce images good enough for festivals. Good sound, careful lighting and a stable camera matter far more than the camera itself.