Low-budget filmmaking tip #200
Keep an eye out for “shooting gifts.” Yes, you’ve got to shoot what you plan, but you might see a perfect “spooky” tree, or a row of birds on a rooftop, or one of the extras doing a really great bit practicing in the corner. It’s okay to grab a camera and nail those little things, as long as you keep flowing in the right general direction. Some of this stuff can be gold in editing.
Low-budget filmmaking tip #191
Don’t get mad on set. Seriously, there is nothing getting mad on set will solve, except how to free up more time for hobbies after this production when people stop working for you. If a problem comes up, solve it. If you can’t solve it, ask for help. If no one can solve it, find a way to work around it.
Low-budget filmmaking tip #181
Quick way to build a sword: If it doesn’t have to be a hero prop, just make it out of thin plywood wood and paint it. With a jigsaw and a file and a sander, you can have a smooth and ready-to-paint sword in less than an hour. With five buddies all working together from the same paper pattern, you can probably make half a dozen or so in the same amount of time.
You can also ask around for any friends in the SCA.
My friend Geahk Burchill adds “Specifically, use MDF plywood, NOT, Particle board, CDX or OSB. The type of plywood will make a world of difference to your props. MDF will sand very smooth and will look more believable once you paint it. I recommend you prime it first with matte black spray primer and then hit it with your choice of metallic spray paint.”
Low-budget filmmaking tip #180
It’s not rocket science to produce a 3D movie — all you need is the same technology behind Viewmaster sets, and for your audience to be able to cross their eyes or look wall-eyed at something. It’s no big trick — I’ve done it myself. To produce a 3D movie showing on one screen is trickier, and you’ll need glasses.
Assuming you want to make a 3D movie.
I can’t imagine why.
It still pretty much seems a trick. But (shrug) if I could get people to pay ten bucks for it, I would. 
Low-budget filmmaking tip #177
Watch DVD commentaries. Some of those contain incredibly valuable filmmaking tips. Some are complete self-indulgent horseshit. You’re going to have to decide for yourself which is which, though. Even the self-indulgent bullshit commentaries are a lesson in how self-indulgent bullshittery sounds.
Low-budget filmmaking tip #176
There will always be someone better than you. There will always be someone worse than you. Comparing is a losing game. Make your own movie — be your own voice.
It’s one of those oddly useful things even off set.
Low-budget filmmaking tip #174
Sometimes, motion tracking doesn’t work. Unless you or someone you know is a total whiz at it, don’t count on motion tracking to make up for what you can fix on set. Look at all signs, glass, mirrored surfaces, visible roads, etc.
A lot of people forget to check glass doors and windows to see what’s showing in the reflections.
Even cars that are clean can reflect unwanted things.
I was on one shoot where reflective cars kept showing traffic going by. Moved a couple of cars in the way and shazam!
Was in another shoot where the whole crew was visible in a mirror in the background dressing of a set. Once we saw that, we moved everything a little bit and voila (or maybe we simply covered the mirror).
In both cases, correcting that in post would have been a real headache.
Low-budget filmmaking tip #171
Here’s a nifty “Emergence” kind of sound: Reverse the first five seconds or so of your sound effect or music, add a little echo to it, then reverse it back. Mix that into the original beginning bit and voila! Now you know how to do that tricky sound thing they do a million times in “Torchwood.”
Low-budget filmmaking tip #164
Try to avoid making a movie that takes place in a cramped location, such as a bathroom stall. If you must, then build a bathroom stall in your garage, with removable walls. You’ll be a lot happier if you do it this way, as will be your crew and your cast. Don’t be seduced by the idea that it’s easy to write.
(thank you Ryan K. Johnson for this tip!)
One of the shorts we’re planning to do for our upcoming web series all takes place in a tiny little coffin-like box. We definitely plan to build removable walls. Trying to shoot inside such a tiny thing would be stupid!
(not that we don’t do stupid stuff on occasion…)
Low-budget filmmaking tip #161
If you think an invisible monster is dumb, or not scary at all, watch “The Fiend Without a Face” or “Forbidden Planet.” You can chuckle at the reveals, but never underestimate the power of imagination, when spiced with good sound, good music, good acting, and maybe a little on-set trick or two.
Fact is, “Forbidden Planet” gave me nightmares for a few days after watching it. Admittedly, I was a kid, but still…
It could be argued that holding off on showing a monster is a way of building tension.
However…
I might be off-base here, but I think trying to fabricate “suspense” by not showing the monster is a cheap-ass trick.
One can hold off showing a monster until the end and yet have no suspense at all, or, show the monster right away and still manage to tell a fine suspenseful tale.
This is not to say that “holding out on the monster” can’t be suspenseful, but I’ve run across more than a few people out there who just automatically think that one should not show the monster until the end simply to produce suspense.
This, I think, is simply stabbing the horse in both eyes with wooden shards from the cart’s wheels.
A lot of people mention “Jaws,” and I think that’s a great example. The suspense in that movie had nothing whatsoever to do with what the shark looked like. We knew from the very beginning that it was a shark. We even saw it kill that chick. Right away. The movie was suspenseful (and I’d say masterful), but the suspense had nothing to do with what the shark looked like, how big it was, etc.
On the other hand, “The Blair Witch Project” never ever showed the “monster.” Was that a suspenseful movie? Was it riveting? Would it have been better if the “monster” had been revealed at the end?
A couple years ago, I saw a Korean monster movie called “The Host.” While it has a lot of flaws, I’ll give it kudos for bringing the monster out right near the beginning. I found it very weirdly structured, but also very suspenseful (I expect I’m a bit of a mutant, here).
One also ought to have a solid respect for the material, if not the entire enclosing genre, lest one end up with sparkling vampires…
…an experiment, however, that could just as easily resulted in “a groundbreaking ass-kick to a stale genre trope,” I might add.