I was once shooting a scene for a very low-budget video project with a friend of mine as the director. We were shooting in our apartment, and the cameraman was her ex-boyfriend. We had been shooting for over eight hours, and it was about two in the morning when they suddenly had a very bad disagreement about whether or not they needed more shots from a different angle. She wanted it, he thought it was unnecessary, and nobody was asking me my opinion, which was great, because I didn’t have one. I was sitting in my position, in full costume and makeup, under the lights, while these two argued. Finally, I realized this was gonna take a while, and I got up to smoke a cigarette in the other room and get away from the heat of the lights. I fell asleep on some camera cases, woke up two hours later, and they were still arguing. Suddenly, they burst into the room and wanted to just pick up from where we left off, what was now two-and-a-half hours ago, without giving me anytime to get ready for the camera again. I had to shake myself from my stupor, fix my hair, makeup, and costume, and somehow focus my numbed brain on what we had been doing. I could have chosen to start arguing with them, but that would have gotten us all nowhere. An actor cannot be simply turned on and off like a light switch. Unfortunately, many inexperienced directors seem to forget that. THE INVENTIVENESS OF GUERRILLA FILMMAKING
The absence of a big budget for a film should not represent a lack of creativity. In fact, some of the most exciting films have been shot for very little money. The restrictions caused by a low budget can inspire tremendous inventiveness in filmmakers, and the actor is very often part of that process. Because you are working with a small crew, you discuss things with one another and work things out together. Improvisations often arise as the solution to a scene that is not working. A suggestion from an actor about how
Big-Budget versus Low-Budget Films
about your personal safety, it’s hard to concentrate fully on acting. When you act, you are vulnerable in a very special way; your defenses are down in a way that you don’t normally allow when you go about your daily life. If you feel that this aspect of your job reality is not taken seriously or acknowledged, then you have to bring it up to either a production assistant or to the director. Usually, it’s just on oversight. They figure you’re a grown up, you can take care of yourself, and lack of experience makes them think that they have more important things to worry about.
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