B is for BUDGET

 

 

So, Rite of Rosemary. We have a script that everyone loves and has the passion to tell. We have a great cast. We have an amazing crew. We have a budget of £1500. Now, it may seem a lot to some people, but it's an absolute micro budget to tell a story of this genre.  Just think of every single expense involved in life and creative projects. Now picture an entire crew and cast that have to live and breathe in a humane environment during that time. Money provides food. Shelter. And with every extra person we got onto the film, that's an extra expense. That could be a prop that we're no longer able to use. A camera that isn't as high as the one that we initially wanted.

 

Every decision regarding budget on this short has had a ripple effect to the whole production. As a director, I've had to make sacrifices but out of those sacrifices, something else great can emerge instead.

 

 

Don't let all this make you think though that this will look cheap. Quite the opposite in fact. The creative team are put to fantastic use when presented with a challenge. Such as to Carmen, our art director, who has put together an incredible production design with the budget designated to her. Or Sallyann, our costume designer, who is able to think outside the box and give all of the characters amazing choices that each tell a story about their character.

 

It links with ambition. With the ambition, the budget is always holding you back. But push through it, and some amazing things can happen out of the process.