No-budget film projects: lots of creativity, little money
“Sommerfrei” (director: Maximilian Rabe) is a no-budget production that was made by people without money and without much experience in the film business. Karoline Menge, screenwriter and production assistant, explains how, with a lot of creativity and social networks, a film can be made even without start-up capital.
21 days of shooting, 19 hours of film material, 28 different locations, seven actors, 20 extras, 15 team members, over three years of production time - sounds like a pretty big project? That was what the filming of our first film “Summer Free” was like, but it was also turbulent, unpredictable and sometimes quite frustrating. Without the great fun, the great people, crazy minds and a lot of passion, we would have quickly reached our limits. Ultimately, it became a film that we were able to premiere at the Aktuell Berlin Festival. Some people might think that a project like this must cost a lot of money. How much did it cost to produce “sommerfrei”? Well, almost nothing.
Where do people get it from?
“I know someone who’s an actor,” is a good start. If you don't have much experience or contacts in the film business, you should first start in your familiar surroundings. Looking back, the casting for “sommerfrei” was a huge stroke of luck. A long-time friend introduced us to some of the main and supporting characters that he knew from his time at a casting agency. Many of the extras and supporting roles were taken on by friends and acquaintances who had the time and interest in the project. We also chose the team largely from our family and friends. In addition to face-to-face social networking, the digital networks of the Internet also helped us to find one or two actors for small scenes. On the portal www.crew-united.com, filmmakers come together, actors look for roles and directors find their cast. Such communities are a great help, especially for no-budget projects, because most members do the jobs for free and just for the joy of the work or to gain experience.
friends of freinds
We also didn't skimp on creativity when it came to our ideas for locations and props. A roof with a view of the Berlin skyline, a disused train station, an old stretch of highway, wide fields under wind turbines and an ice cream truck - we wanted all of that. And we got it. Through who-knows-who inquiries and hours-long car rides in and around Berlin looking for the right pieces of jewelry, we soon filled our venue catalog.
Through various internet forums we finally found our one and only main role: the orange ice cream truck. A suitable VW bus was offered for sale in Dresden and its owner was willing to let us use it for filming after we sent him a few short excerpts from the material that had already been filmed. We learned once again what a great help the Internet is - where else can you find complete strangers who offer you their VW bus without anything in return and just out of enthusiasm for the project?
Advertising easier than ever
Anyone who wants to make a film these days is living in exactly the right time. The digital world has found its way almost everywhere and with good tactics, a project like this quickly gets attention and, with even more luck, financial support. Our first address to advertise “summer free” was of course Facebook. By putting a kind of shooting diary online with photos from the set, short trailers and excerpts from the film, the project quickly gained popularity among our Facebook friends. And as is the case in social networks, friends of friends and their friends also get wind of it. We now have around 240 fans who like “summer free” and the site is constantly growing. In addition to the Facebook page, we also launched www.sommerfrei.de . Here you can find further background information, photos and videos about the project.
New possibilities with crowdfunding
When we finished filming “sommerfrei” at the beginning of 2012, we looked for a way to finance the promotion of the film. Flyers, posters and DVDs should be produced. Crowdfunding was still relatively unknown in Germany at that time, but we still tried our luck and put our project online on Startnext with an exposé, background information, trailer and photos. Our goal was 1,500 euros. We were able to collect 340 euros. The concept behind crowdfunding is to reach your desired amount within a certain period of time. However, if you miss your goal, the money collected must be returned. So our first attempt at crowdfunding failed miserably. This type of financing help is still a great option, because you not only get the chance to realize your project, but also useful advice from the crowdfunding creators on how to sell your idea in the most clever way. The success rate of crowdfunding projects in Germany was 58 percent in the first quarter of 2013 alone. Word has now spread about this financing option and the chances of winning are continually increasing.
Finally premiere
After three long years of work, the first success for “sommerfrei”: an invitation to the Statt Berlin Film Festival, the third largest of its kind in Berlin. The fact that we didn't make it into the big competition and were shown alongside films like Woyzeck, starring Tom Schilling, was irrelevant. The selection of our film for the “Berlin Highlights” section, in which Berlin films by young talents are shown out of competition, was honor enough for us. And we were finally able to answer all the “When can you see the film?” questions. We celebrated our premiere on April 22, 2013 in the historic Babylon cinema. Showing your own first film project on a big screen in front of an audience - that makes all the turbulence and difficulties that come with such a no-budget project worth it.
Crowdfunding box
More and more often, films are making it to the cinema that have neither large sums of funding from the state nor sufficient start-up capital. The secret of no-budget filmmakers is called crowdfunding. If you have a project for which you need capital, you can publish and advertise it on the crowdfunding platforms. Anyone who would like to support the project can donate to it. In return, donors receive very special thank you gifts, such as DVDs, posters or even a role in the film.
Crowdfunding or “swarm financing”, as the principle is also called in Germany, is a business idea that has already generated several million euros in film financing in the USA. In this country, platforms such as Startnext, Inkubato and Mysherpas are growing noticeably. While almost two million euros were raised through crowdfunding in Germany for creative projects in 2012, over one million euros were raised in the first quarter of 2013 alone. According to studies, the success rate of projects in 2013 was 58 percent; since the end of 2010, 848 projects have been successfully financed and a total of 3.4 million euros have been raised. (Source: www.für-Grüner.de ) The better known this possibility of financial aid becomes in Germany, the better the chance that a project will be successful. Related articles:
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No-budget film projects: A lot of creativity, little money “Sommerfrei” (director: Maximilian Rabe) is a no-budget production that was realized by people with no money and without much experience in the film business. Karoline Menge, screenwriter and production assistant, explains how, with a lot of creativity and social networks, a film can be made even without start-up capital. 21 days of filming, 19 hours of film material, 28 different locations, seven
