TRYST OF BLUE

AFFORDABLE CINEMA

“A translation is no translation, he said, unless it will give you the music of a poem along with the words of it.” – J.M. Synge

There is no rule in filmmaking that states millions upon millions of dollars are necessary to create quality. Just because this film has multiple locations, it will not escalate the costs. When dealing in low-budget territory, it is of the highest priority to make sure the funding isn’t wasted on ‘non-cinematic’ activities. As the budget of this film is $2 million, creative management of money is paramount. The ultimate goal is to get the best possible interpretation of the script to the screen.  

Shooting in different countries, this film will be not be subject to union rules. The total amount of money spent within the U.S. does not warrant the use of union workers. On some low-budget shoots, union organized transportation alone is 15-20% of the whole budget. By hiring locally, we can effectively eliminate these costs. However, in each of the aforementioned countries there are highly skilled technicians available who will insure a high production value. 

Travel expenses will also be kept to a minimum. Being that the director and the lead actor are the same person, he and the producer will be the only ‘crew or cast’ that travels to each of the locations. Each member of the cast and crew will be hired at their particular location. This will eliminate costly travel and lodging expenses of a set crew roaming to five ends of the globe. In each country, a production team will be set up and they in turn will hire the local creative and reliable technicians. Not only does this save money, but also validates the ‘look’ and ‘feel’ of each unique location and makes it more authentic. 

The choice of the locations is also taken into account as a cost measure. The dollar is very strong in most international markets and shooting in these countries will be much more inexpensive than shooting in the States. In Ireland, India, Japan and of course North Carolina, equipment resources are plentiful. (The Dominican Republic may require additional equipment from the U.S.) In these locations the cost of living is considerably less than in the U.S. This will help in non-equipment/crew wage costs. Transportation, food and other general production oriented needs such as office rental will also be found cheaply. Shooting in five different countries can actually be less expensive than shooting a low-budget feature in America.

If we were to transport each head of a department and one of their assistants each from the U.S., paying the minimum union scale plus food, lodging and per diem expenses, the total for labor alone during the pre-production and principal photography would come to approximately $1,384,000. This translates to around $11,533 dollars a day before we purchase the film stock, rent the equipment or secure the locations. This figure does not include the lead actors salaries, which can also reach to 20% of the total budget. Shooting on location with local talent will come to $876,000 or about $7300 a day. The total savings using this method comes to $508,000. That is over a quarter of the budget.