For our first homework task in Production on a Shoestring we all got into groups and investigated a short film, guessing at how much money it would have cost, what cost money, and whether or not the film was a microbudget. My group consisted of Cas, Tianjin, Yuetong and I, and we looked at Polished by Collen Dodge. You can find it here – https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2022/01/05/polished/
It’s hard to estimate what a short film costs, because so many things can be variable. For example, we don’t know if they already had camera and kit, or this had to be rented, or if actors were paid or unpaid. However, we split potential costs between four categories – free, cheap, moderate, and expensive. Some could have fallen into multiple categories.
There were some noticeable costs that the production made to make it cheaper, which included;
| Free | Cheap | Moderate | Expensive |
| iPhone used in the sequence – probably owned by the actress or crew. | Food if filming went for 2-3 days. | Nail techs – depending on how long they were needed. Background props may have come for free with the nail techs. | Possible filming permit – USD$300³ |
| Costuming if cast wore their own clothes. | Nail products – only nail polish was used. Clear and conscious effort to cut down costs.
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Other props – hospital bed, pulse oximeter. | Child on set! Associated costs with having a child on a set.⁴ |
| Exterior of Patty’s Nail Saloon¹
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Transport of equipment | Equipment rental – might also go over into the ‘expensive’ category. (includes sound, lighting, camera). | Liability insurance⁵
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| Some interiors²
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Some props – COVID thermometer, printed sheets, clipboard and pen | Paid cast, crew. | |
| Some exteriors³
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| Unpaid cast, crew, extras. |
¹ We decided that given Patty’s Nail Saloon was thanked in the credits, that it was used for free or as promotion for the small business. It’s also possible that they had to pay fee, which could have been up to a few hundred dollars.
² As many interiors were set up with close ups, it is possible that they filmed many interior shots in one location – which did not necessarily need to be a location they paid for. For example the procedure room and the nail saloon could have been filmed in the same location, with different angles. This could have saved money on location costs.
³ NYC allows free filming as long as equipotent doesn’t get in the way (camera must be handheld or a single tripod), so some NYC locations were free. They may also have needed to pay for a filming permit at USD$300.
⁴ Children cost money for a range of different reasons – people on set would have needed a Working with Children’s Check. They may have already had them, but potentially the production may have reimbursed people, or not been able to use the crew they wanted (more expensive crew). Children need certain conditions on a set, so filming has to be made around them. The mother cast was also not the mother of the child, so it is likely that the child’s parents, or a legal guardian had to be on set.
⁵ Production may or may not have paid for this. If they needed the permit, it is likely they had too.
Though these are just estimates and make assumptions (as well as can be listed in multiple categories) they may be a guide on how much this production cost. Overall, it was likely a microbudget film.
