Robert Rodriguez's tips for filmmaking on a low-budget

Robert Rodriguez shot to Hollywood fame soon after making El Mariachi in Mexico for $7,000 with some friends.  His DVD commentary for El Mariachi provides some great tips on how to film a low-budget or no-budget movie.

1. Think of creative ways around spending money.  Refuse to spend money.  Once you start spending money, it's a hose that hard to shut off.  If your friends know that you don't have any money, they won't ask to be paid.
2. Take stock in what you have.  Your father owns a liquor store, make a movie about a liquor store.  Your mom works at a nursing home, make a movie about a nursing home.
3. Use good pieces of a take for action sequences.  Rodriguez filmed on 16mm and didn't have enough money to re-shoot mistakes.  When an actor tossed a guitar onto a balcony and missed, he used the first half of the take when cutting the scene and then showed other angles of the action happening.
4. Use your actors.  Instead of using a film crew, use your actors.  Chances are they are standing around waiting for you to film something.
5. Keep the lighing simple.  Use one or two light setups.  Rodriguez used two 250 watt clamp lights bought cheaply from a hardware store for indoor lighting setups.
6. Get 5 shots in one take.  Use a zoom lens on your camera.  During dialog scenes, zoom in closer for the second line of dialog, then zoom in for an even tighter shot.
7. Borrow equipment, don't buy and don't rent.  Borrow a camera from a friend. Buying and renting are too expensive and will take away money from other small things that can help improve the quality of your movie.
8. Get sound effects after the video takes.  While filming, Rodriguez did other takes without rolling the camera to get natural sound effects for each scene.  Usually on a low-budget movie it's easy to notice bad sound.
9. Film actors with tight schedules separately.  If your friends are acting in your movie and have regular jobs, chances are they don't have time to spend filming for an entire day. When shooting dialog scenes, film each actor separately if time is an issue.
10. Know what you want before you shoot.  When you don't have money, you have to know your movie before you shoot.  Anticipate the scene well enough that you can make editing decisions while shooting to minimize time and money spent.

Want to learn more?

The Robert Rodriguez: 10 Minute Film School (The 1st & Original) - YouTube
"Don't dream about being a filmmaker, you are a filmmaker."
* Creative and technical, you're unstoppable.
* Make a screenplay that you can actually make without having to make your parents poor.
* Watch your movie on a blank screen....Imagine your movie, shot for shot, cut for cut. Write down the shots that you see.
* Stop aspiring.  Start doing.


The Art of making the Movie - YouTube
Behind the scenes of From Dusk Til Dawn.

Robert Rodriguez - Ten Minute Film School - YouTube
Special effects used to save money when making Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.

Trivia time

El Mariachi was filmed in three weeks in August 1991 and had a limited opening (film festivals) in July 1992.

Desperado was released in 1995 on a $7 million budget and grossed $25 million in the U.S.  It was also filmed in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuíla, Mexico, the same small town that Rodriguez picked to film El Mariachi.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico, released in 2001 was filmed for $29 million, it grossed $56 million in the U.S. and $41 million in other countries. [BoxOfficeMojo]

20 Cinematography Tips by Roger Deakins

One of the modern masters of cinematography, Roger Deakins, shares his tips on cinematography.

Deakins is best known for The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, The Assassination of Jesse James, and Skyfall.  Sadly, he has been nominated for 10 Cinematography Oscars and not won a single Oscar award yet.

He has worked on 11 movies with Joel and Ethan Cohen and five of his Oscar nominations were for Cohen brothers' films.

Below are my favorite tips from him, and you can find the full list at the link below:
20 Tips by Roger Deakins - Burak Oguz Saguner - Blog

You Must Discover Your Own Style

Work Inside Your Practical Limits

I think the most important aspect of shooting documentary is to make use of what light is available simply through your positioning of the camera - and the subject if you are controlling what you are shooting. For me, using extra equipment, whether it was a tripod or a reflector, was usually a distraction and counterproductive.”

"Cinematography is More Than a Camera"

There is No "Right Way" or Expected Career Path

“If you work your way up you might find it easier financially. Also, you will have time to learn your craft and become confident in what you do. On the other hand you may well find youself stuck for some time at one level and find it hard to make the jump from an assistant to an operator for instance. If you try to start shooting right away you may find yourself waiting a long time between pay days. Have you a showreel? Friends that might give you a break? A family that you need to support?

I never assisted. I went to film school and started shooting right away after that. Well, to be honest I couldn’t get work as an assistant so I called myself a cameraman. I found it no easier to get work as a cameraman but at least I felt better about myself. It was probably 6 months before I got my first paying work but it built quickly after that.”

Internships Are Scarce, Learn By Discovery

Know What You’re Talking About

“I think you need to be very familiar with grip equipment just as you need to be familiar with the range of lighting units available; otherwise you might ask for something that is really impractical or might not produce the right result. It is a Key Grip’s job to come up with a technical solution to a task and also the most efficient way of achieving it but it is the cinematographer’s responsibility to know if the concept will work in the first place. I think this requires a general understanding of the equipment to hand and it’s various usage.”

Plan Ahead with Your Crew

It’s Your Job to Find a Way to Work with Others

Digital SLRs vs. Professional Camcorders for Wedding Videography

The two big choices when deciding what video cameras to buy boil down to Digital SLRs and Professional Camcorders.

Since it's release in 2008, the Canon 5D Mark II quickly became a familiar camera on indie film sets and has even been used for small segments of feature films (Limitless (2011), 127 Hours (2010), End of Watch (2012), Black Swan (2010) and more.

Canon 6D with 24-105mm lens

Why buy a Digital SLR for commercial video:
* Low-light capabilities
* Shallower depth of field (from larger sensor)
* Great for photographers moving to the video world
* Usually less weight
* Time lapses (not all Camcorders can do time lapses)

Canon XA20 Professional Camcorder

Why buy a Professional Camcorder:
* Longer continuous record times (most DSLR's max out at 20-30 minutes when recording in 1080p.)
* Shoot in 60 fps at 1080p  (only a few DSLR's can shoot at 60 fps and true 1080p.)
* CCD based camcorders do not have the rolling shutter effect.  However, CMOS cameras, which are very common now, can still have this problem.
* Larger LCD
* Autofocus (some DSLRs now have autofocus during video)
* Zoom in/out with ease
* Lens is already built into the camcorder.



DSLR Maximum continuous recording time:
Canon 5D Mark III - 30 min.
Nikon D600 - 20 min.

Camcorder Maximum continuous record time:
Canon XA20 - 35 min. (8GB) or 10 hours 10 min (128GB).

More articles about Digital SLR's vs. Camcorders for commercial video and filmmaking:

 Video DSLRs vs Camcorders
* What We Do and Don't Currently Get with DSLR Video Cameras

Canon 6D and lenses for shooting video

The Canon 6D is the closest replacement in price and features to the hall-of-fame 5D Mark II. The 5D Mark II quickly became the camera of choice for many indie and low-budget filmmakers.  It was used to film episodes of the TV show House, as well as

Ken Rockwell, a professional photographer, says the Canon 6D is the second best DSLR available on the market as of 2013.

Ken goes on to say:
If you're considering the Nikon D600, don't bother. The 6D is superior for its far better ergonomics. I own both of these, and the 6D is much more fun, smooth and easy to shoot, while the D600 is a pain, and the D600's colors often have a green/magenta shift problem. The D600 is the best camera made by Nikon, but nowhere near as good in actual shooting as the 6D.

As of August 2013, the camera is $2,000.

Prime lenses for commercial video and film making:

Canon 50mm f/1.4
$399

This is considered the "human vision" prime lens because it is the closest view to what the human eye sees.  Many of my favorite images have been photographed with a 50mm f/1.4 lens.  At only $400, it's one of the smartest lens investments you can make.

Canon 28mm f/1.8
$449

Every professional photographer and filmmaker will have some kind of wide angle lens in their bag, and if you're shooting with prime lenses for an indie film project or commercial video, this lens can't be beat for the price.

Canon 24mm f/2.8 IS
$699

The image stabilization may not be worth the extra cost, depending on how you're shooting.  But if you want to be slightly wider than the 28mm lens above, this could be a good buy.

Zoom lenses for wedding video and event coverage:

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L
$2,299

Most professionals shooting Canon or Nikon will have the 24-70mm lens.  It's a high-quality lens that includes a wide angle through a small telephoto.  It's perfect for weddings, documentary, and other situations where keeping the same lens on the camera body means getting the shot.

Canon 24-105 f/4L
$1,149

For a little extra focal range on the telephoto end, and a savings of $1,150, this lens may be a better buy instead of the 24-70mm.  For low-budget documentary work, this lens is very versatile and is the least expensive L series lens available.


Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L
$1,699

This ultra-wide zoom is loved my many professionals around the world.


If money is no object:

Canon 85mm f/1.2L
$1,999
Professional portrait and wedding photographers who have this lens in their bag say that it's the sharpest portrait lens available today.

Canon 50mm f/1.2L
$1,439
A higher-end version of the standard 50mm lens.

Canon 100mm f/2.8L Macro
$1,049
Need to get close shots and want excellent optics?


Links:

All of the Canon L series lenses available from B&H Photo



Although the Nikon D600 ranks #3 on the DxOMark sensor rankings and the Canon 6D is much lower at #19, I would rather trust photographers actually using these cameras for their everyday work, rather than a table of data.



Weight: 26.8 oz with battery and memory card.

Cut When You Blink

Hollywood film editor Walter Murch teaches that the best way to create a good cut is by your blink.  Murch edited Apocalypse Now, Ghost, The English Patient, Cold Mountain, and many others.  Although he may be a little better known as a sound editor, he certainly has editing credentials.

Cut when you want to blink.

So far I've found this technique for film editing to be very helpful and insightful.  While some scenes and projects may require much more time than one blink, it can still be helpful to produce a naturally flowing scene.

Eduardo Garcia's journey - a lesson in professional storytelling

Active Ingredient from Citizen Pictures on Vimeo.

Why it works:

• personal voice over
• beautiful, captivating visuals
• cuts are 1-2 seconds in length (keeps the viewer engaged)
• background music track
• cuts are very precise and intentional (no fluff)
• background music does not detract from the subject's voice over

The viewer experiences his story as if listening to him speak in person.  We are his hunting companion, adventure partner, co-pilot, and friend.

"Time is precious and valuable and you should be doing something productive with it."
- Eduardo Garcia

Other notes:
- background music changes several times
- a few slow-motion shots
- dolly shots
- helicopter shot(s)
- tracking shots

Overall a very engaging 7 minutes and 45 seconds of video. Top notch film production quality, editing, and scripting.