5 Ways to Get Paid on A "Zero Budget" Film
- Luke Riether
- Nov 17, 2022
- 5 min read
"I Can't Afford You"
The one phrase so many within this industry hears a lot; how do you respond?

VALUE, VALUE, VALUE........
Let me say this as clear as I can get; You Don't Have To Say; YES. This is one area that for so long I failed at; I was a yes man. I thought I needed as much as I can to build my portfolio.
I WAS WRONG. Everyone in this industry gets instructed to take on everything and by everything, I mean FREE or EXPOSURE type work.

I'm not saying this is a bad thing and I'm not saying don't do this, but the problem lies within value. How does the client see you? How much have you invested in your craft? Time, and education to understanding the fundementals.
Some people would tell you to Charge what you're worth but I say don't charge what you're worth, charge what people would pay for what you offer.
Why You Shouldn't Charge What You're Worth
You are priceless, but your price should only be based on what the client is willing to pay. Convincing them of value of hiring someone like you and educating them is really your main job. Through your conversation, they should get value from what you say.

This is a strategy called Value Based Pricing. It is a method of setting prices based on a consumer percieved value. Even if a production has a zero dollar budget, you can still get paid. This all comes down to having the right mindset and the proper education.
Every gurus biggest mistake is not listening to what a Client really wants and comparing that to what they have to offer.
When to Say Yes to A Film Set Job
There is always a balance Young Padawan.

Here is the way to determine if you should say yes.....
You can have two of these things:
MONEY RELATIONSHIP
PORTFOLIO
If you dont get two of those things it's a no. If you get all three, woot woot!
Got it? Good.
How can I get paid off a ZERO DOLLAR budget?
Most indie-films are low budget or no pay and I do not agree with this mindset at all. One being that even a ZERO dollar budget has money involved and SECOND it is a respect thing.
Listen, if they tell you that they have a zero dollar budget and they can't pay you...
LISTEN, EDUCATE and GIVE a means of VALUE to them for FREE.
Help them shift thier mindset on why a zero dollar budget isn't really a zero dollar production.
The ACTUAL Cost of a Zero Dollar Budget
Lets break down the cost of a Zero dollar budget Film, YES...there is expenses. Nothing in this world is completely free. Let's say that this is a one full 12 hour day film set and we only have one actor and three crew members.
Food for Cast and Crew: Average cost per plate is around $15 dollars per plate. This would average to about $60 not including feeding the main person hiring you.
Locations: Yes, sometimes you can get lucky without having to pay for a location and sometimes people cut corners and don't aquire the proper permits but lets say you rent an airbnb. This is the most common route. In 2022 the most average cost for this is $167 per night within the state of Florida. Not to mention, getting permission from the Owner can be taxing, and sometimes impossible. Ethically, we never suggest doing a filmset without their permission.
Office Supplies: This is one thing people rarely think about but it takes Ink and paper to print the scripts, A/V scripts and schedules etc... On Average it will cost about $0.10 cents per page. Lets say the script is 5 pages Times by 4, the schedule is about 2 pages, A/V script is anouther 2 pages, Call Sheets another 4 pages. Then we need pens, notepads and filing folders for contracts. So we will put in about $50 for office supplies
Props: This varies widely upon what is written in the script but lets keep this down to the minimal for this blog. An average low cost production would spend about $100-200 on props and wardrobe.
Distribution: For this lets just say we want to distribute to film festivals. An average costs of good named film festivals will cost between $30 and $100. For this we will put $200 into film festivals.
So is a ZERO Dollar budget really free? No. When someone says they have a zero dollar budget, they most likely don't have the right mindset in place for thier production. They are actually devaluing their product by having this mindset. This is where you sweep in to give them value by educating them.
The above exampled zero dollar production is really costing them $577.00. No production is free, if they can afford this, they can afford to have a production done right.

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