Funding for the Film

          Since my partner and I do not have millions and millions to spend, we will be doing a low-budget film. A low-budget film is exactly what it sounds like, it is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. 

          For this project my partner and I would love to work with Blumhouse Productions. Blumhouse Productions is responsible for creating the model and trend of "micro-budget" horror films such as "Split" (2017) and "Get Out" (2017). According to Jason Blum, owner of Blumhouse Productions, his company has been able to put out a variety of low-budget horror films by keeping production cost low and casting "up and coming" actors. My partner Josie and I will be using similar tactics inspired by the Blumhouse model, this will be demonstrated through our casting of unknown actors and keeping the budget for this film under $4 million USD.

          After reading multiple articles on how Blumhouse Productions, I began to figure out how they maintain a low budget while killing in box office. I learned that the story is a key part to a film's success, and because Blumhouse has a history of giving directors creative freedom, my group would benefit from this greatly as first time filmmakers. For this project, my group is going to be using handheld devices to shoot this film. The use of handheld cameras was actually done for the film "Paranormal Activity" (2007), which ended up bringing in $193 million USD world wide. By not having to purchase camera equipment, this cuts out a huge portion of what our production spending would be. As far as location, the plan is for the film to take place at a local school campus and a wooded area on a friend’s property. While subject to change, these settings are free to use and again help keep our film’s production cost low.

Sources:
Bernhardsson, N. E. O. “Five Easy Pieces - Blumhouse Productions' Paranormal Returns from Minimal Budgets.” Medium, Five Easy Pieces, 17 Sept. 2018, medium.com/five-easy-pieces/five-easy-pieces-blumhouse-productions-paranormal-returns-from-minimal-budgets-ce029ed5dd49.

Guerrasio, Jason. “How the Company behind 2 of the Year's Biggest Movies Is Blowing up the Hollywood Playbook.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 1 Mar. 2017, www.businessinsider.com/blumhouse-productions-get-out-split-2017-2.