Skills: How to Make a Microbudget Film for $50,000 or Less

In this class, you will learn proven, cost-effective filmmaking and business techniques for producing a $50,000 (or less!) film project. We’ll go step-by-step through the filmmaking process to discover tips and tricks for developing, planning, and producing a microbudget film.

During this day-long workshop, filmmaker Paul Harrill will teach you:

• How to develop a script or story treatment that can be filmed on a microbudget
• How to raise money from investors, fans, friends, and family (and the legal issues involved)
• Pre-production tips for an efficient and well-scheduled shoot with special attention given to locations, permits, and insurance
• On-set tips and answers to other mysterious, on-the-fly production questions (We’ll also discuss catering a microbudget shoot!)
• A brief overview of the film festival and digital distribution landscape, and how to build these strategies into your microbudget

About Paul Harrill

Paul Harrill is a filmmaker from Knoxville, Tennessee. His film Something, Anything was named one of the “top 25 best first features” in IndieWire’s 2015 Year-End Critics Poll. His short films include Quick Feet, Soft Hands and Gina, An Actress, Age 29, which earned him a spot on Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 new faces of independent film” in 2001. In addition to teaching at the University of Tennessee, he also produces microbudget films through his company Self-Reliant Film. His most recent feature as a director, Light From Light, premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.