How I Made a Microbudget Feature Film, Part 3: Pre-Production

The purpose of this series is to share my experience of making my microbudget feature film, Wait, while being as transparent as possible. This series is specific to my experience only. Please do not take these posts as universal How-Tos. Also know, this series is intended to shed light on the process of making a film, not on the quality of the film itself. 

In Part 2, we followed the money. And while that entire post was dedicated to the patience-testing, somewhat soul-crushing, curiously enlightening process of how you can acquire money for a microbudget feature film, the money talk is far from over. Though, from here on, I’ll discuss how I used the money I had, as opposed to how I got the money in the first place.

How I Made a Microbudget Feature Film, Part 2: The Money

The purpose of this series is to share my experience of making my microbudget feature film, Wait, while being as transparent as possible. This series is specific to my experience only. Please do not take these posts as universal How-Tos. Also know, this series is intended to shed light on the process of making a film, not on the quality of the film itself. 

In Part 1 of this series, I detailed how I narrowed in on the idea to form Wait, and the years-long process it took me to finally sit down and write the damn thing. Part 2 of this series was intended to focus on the overall pre-production of Wait. The first chapter of that post was going to detail how I gathered the money to make my film. But as I started writing, I realized the post needed to stand on its own. So, while I do touch on pre-production below, my full pre-production post will come in a few days. This post is dedicated to following the money. 

How I Made a Microbudget Feature Film, Part 1: Writing

The purpose of this series is to share my experience of making my microbudget feature film, Wait, while being as transparent as possible. This series is specific to my experience only. Please do not take these posts as universal How-Tos. Also know, this series is intended to shed light on the process of making a film, not on the quality of the film itself. 

I have received a lot of questions about my film Wait since releasing it online in August. Two of the most common questions are: How did you make it?, and What took you so long to release it?

How I Made a Microbudget Feature Film

In January 2013, I wrote a feature length script called Wait. Upon completing the script, I set out to make the movie, which would be my first feature film. Four and half years later, I released Wait to the public via iTunes, Amazon and Vimeo OnDemand.

This 9-part series is an exhaustive chronicle of how I made Wait. From writing to location scouting, directing to editing, film festivals to distribution, “How I Made a Microbudget Feature Film” is a deep dive into the heartaches and joys of making a microbudget feature film.