FILMING ON A MICROBUDGET

[review for the first edition]: This latest in the Pocket Essentials film series is a handy little volume chock-full of advice and informtation for would-be Spielbergs. Award-winning short filmmaker Paul Hardy takes you through the minefield of no-budget movie-making with a comprehensive overview of the process of putting together a short film on video. It covers everything from scriptwriting and production to shooting and editing, and ends with a useful glossary and contacts list. At less than £4.00 you get a hell of a lot of information for your money, and this is well worth a place in any virgin director's back pocket.

Do you want to be the next George Lucas? Quentin Tarantino? Or, Ang Lee? It's not impossible, you know, not with Paul Hardy's new, revised and updated book, Filming on A Microbudget. As a compact but eminently readable, practical and inspiring guide, this book tells you all that there is to know about making a movie even if you don't' have the money.

If you want to make a film, you have to start somewhere – most likely, somewhere small. It's the only way to get into the film industry. Unless you are the son or the daughter of those who pull the purse strings, no one's going to let you play with the kind of money it takes to make a feature film until you've already proven yourself by making a great short film. You can do that at film school – if you can afford to go to film school. If you can't, then you're going to have to make your films without money. You're going to have to make a film on a microbudget.

With the technology available today, it's easier than ever to make a short film without the benefits of funding, but digital cameras and editing systems are only part of the story. The most important thing is you, the filmmaker. This pocket essential gives you all the information you need to put together a short film production – from scripting, planning, and casting through location-scouting, shooting and editing, to distribution.

If you think this is impossible, and you are looking for example and inspiration, you need not look far – the book's author, Paul Hardy, has made eighteen short films with not nearly enough money. Despite this, he's had work screened on FilmFour and at international festivals, and was chosen to make a short film during the Brief Encounters short film festival. He recently co-wrote and co-produced his first independent feature film, and currently runs courses on how to make short films, based largely on everything he learned along the way.

Oh, by the way, if you're curious as to how much exactly is a microbudget, the answer is this: $1000 or less. Preferably less. Much less.