The Diary of a Micro budget Filmmaker - Part 1 - Living The Dream or The Nightmare?

The view from the tribune of a small amphitheatre (used for Canarian wrestling) on a cloudy afternoon in El Hierro.

Living The Dream or the Nightmare

Being a director on a micro budget movie feels like a dream on some days and a nightmare on others. I'm not out to complain though. It was my own decision to quit my (government) job, a year ago, in order to focus full time on film making.

By then, I had put enough thought into it and had spent enough time as a filmmaker to know that it wasn't going to be a smooth ride.

My intention is to share my story and outlook on the process of micro budget filmmaking. For now, I will be using my experiences of going through the production of my first feature length movie. You can find some more info on this Spanish thriller - including a teaser - as well as some info on a dozen of short films I made at the start of this decade in my earlier post:

There's No (Micro budget) Filmmaking Guidebook

One thing I discover again and again, is that a guidebook for ( micro budget ) filmmakers is non-existent. Every movie has its own, unique road map. Sure, you can read as much as you want about filmmaking and believe me I did. I am not the kind of person who dives into the deep before at least trying to prepare for the swim. Even today, one of the books that I'm reading is about filmmaking. It's called "Making Movies" and written by legendary filmmaker Sidney Lumet (director of 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico and several other great films)

This photo shows you a small selection of my books on films and filmmaking.

What I'm trying to say though, is that there is no 10 steps - not even a 500 steps - plan that you can follow to successfully go through the process of making a movie. The steps might be written down somewhere, attempts are definitely made, but every movie has its own ingredients, its own route, its own order, et cetera.

Besides, there's way less written down on micro budget films than there is on low and big budget movies. Furthermore, most filmmakers start sharing their story as soon as or after they already are successful, without disclosing their earlier struggles.

The above, plus the reason that I'm still struggling on a daily basis as a filmmaker - even after having read tens of books on filmmaking - made me decide to share my story with the world. After all, the more people share their stories on filmmaking, the bigger the chance that you find some truths in it. The more likely that you might feel that you can do this too. And yes, I will definitely share my struggles with you. I'm far from an expert on filmmaking yet. And I believe it is especially the struggles, challenges and the mistakes (for lack of a better word) that we go through, that teach us the most. So be prepared!

TO BE CONTINUED...