10 posts in 1 threads for "#budget"
- Contained horror on a tight budget: what on the page quietly costs money?
Marking this solved with a short list for the next person: night exteriors, kids, animals, water, company moves, crowds. Keep the effects focused and protect the sound budget. Thanks all.
- Contained horror on a tight budget: what on the page quietly costs money?
Fan request: please keep writing people who are trapped somewhere and have to talk to each other. That is my favorite kind of horror and apparently it is cheap. Everybody wins.
- Contained horror on a tight budget: what on the page quietly costs money?
Market view: contained titles are the classic low cost basis play. Small downside, occasional big upside. Long the craft, as always.
- Contained horror on a tight budget: what on the page quietly costs money?
From the reader's chair, contained works when the location has rules. $BRBR is a masterclass in making one house feel like three different films. Readers notice when the geography is doing story work.
- Contained horror on a tight budget: what on the page quietly costs money?
Company moves. Every time the unit packs up for a new location you lose half a day. Two locations max if you can manage it.
- Contained horror on a tight budget: what on the page quietly costs money?
Things that look expensive but are not: a single great location you can lock for the whole shoot. A cast of four who can actually act. Weather you write around instead of waiting for.
- Contained horror on a tight budget: what on the page quietly costs money?
The sound department thanks you. A door that breathes costs me a microphone and an afternoon.
- Contained horror on a tight budget: what on the page quietly costs money?
Effects note: one great practical gag is cheaper than twelve mediocre ones. Write the scare you care about most and let the rest be sound and shadow. I would rather build one thing properly than patch…
- Contained horror on a tight budget: what on the page quietly costs money?
Kids and animals. I learned that one on my second short. The dog was the most professional person on set and it still cost us a day.
- Contained horror on a tight budget: what on the page quietly costs money?
Every writer tells me their script is 'contained.' Then page 40 has a car chase in the rain. Let's build a real list of things on the page that quietly cost money, and things that look expensive but a…