Veli Rajassar abstract

Abstract

This technical report focuses on the production of two graduation short films produced within the framework of the international film master course Kino Eyes – The European Movie Masters.

Both of the discussed films share a set of critical traits – they are high concept, low budget and produced by mostly the same core crew. In this technical report, I will describe the projects, the concepts and the approaches used to make a high concept possible within the margins of an extremely low budget.

I will only focus on the processes of pre-production and production, detailing the key decisions taken within these phases to keep the expenses at bay. We agreed to develop the projects without the constraints of the budget in mind and then find budget-friendly alternatives during pre-production and production to convey the story. Post-production will not be covered due to not being finished at the time this report was written.

My position as the only producer on the course to produce two graduation films grants me and my report an unique opportunity – to establish a set of methodologies based on the first film, “Spin-Off”, and then use the second film, “O Canto de Fisherman” as a proof of concept.

With this report, I wish to prove that a high concept film is viable even with a low budget, as long as you possess the right knowledge of cutting corners and know how to utilise the concept to hook professionals to work for you.

The report does detail the support given by the school, mainly in equipment and partnerships. Other than those, all principles used for saving money also apply to non-film school productions.

The usefulness of this report is mainly subjective, serving as a reference point for further high concept, low-budget productions. However, my approaches are based on common sense and can be utilised by anyone and extended to other areas of expertise.