I made three documentaries at three budgets: $5,000, $25,000, and over $150,000. Same camera on all three. So where did the money actually go?
In this video I break down the real numbers behind each film: how many people, how many shoot days, how long the edit took, and what gear I used (Sony Fx6). Then I share something I’ve never said publicly: the biggest one, my feature Bike Vessel, which premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival, played Slamdance and aired on PBS Independent Lens, didn’t have its money until the film was almost done.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Three budgets, one camera
0:32 $5K Micro Budget
4:49 Getting one man to trust me
7:29 $25K Small Budget
10:50 The jump buys less than you think
12:17 $150K Indie Budget
14:02 The costs that don’t make the film look better
18:11 What $150K doesn’t buy: I didn’t have the money
22:21 Never assume your dream is their dream
23:13 All three side by side
#documentary #filmmaking #documentaryfilmmaking
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This is the best overview of the realities of small, independent production I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been a documentary producer for 40 years. With specificity and economy you explain so much about the time and sweat that goes into a project, no matter how seemingly small it is. A sidenote: when I have the budget to jump to that second ($25K) scenario, I put the money in a second cameraman who can also do sound and, if necessary, a hair/makeup person.
Thanks for holding space for this conversation.
I agree with the 5K – 15 K range as a micro budget. I found 10K as the threshold for solo filmmaking while making a tiny bit of profit, not just time. I had a corporate docu-style project for $12,500 where I did the Producing, Directing, Editing, Camera work, and hired an extra hand for 2 production days.
Despite the differences in micro-doc budgets, I found a 5x5x5 budget a good starting point. 5k for pre-production, production, and editing.
Eric, why do you think people didn’t “get “Bike Vessel” on paper?
Thank you, bro.
Eric, this is great. Exactly the same truth and facts I have experienced on every aspect you mentioned. I approve this message! 😊
Thanks to YouTube you can produce videos on your smartphone or GoPro and 10m people can see it a week later.
Good breakdown.
Eric this is very educational, you broke it down with your time and equipment on the first micro doc. It’s hard to get money for a film project up front, and saving over time is that, time consuming. Chasing funding for a project takes a lot out of you and find yourself putting it off or never return to it. I had project I thought about putting on credit card, but the numbers didn’t add up. Thanks for the outline
I’m (just) a photographer. But this was superb, and I am glad I have found this channel.
Great breakthrough ! Thx for this 🙂 Docs is the cool filming genre to find your own style.