The Financial Side of My First Indie Movie Journey in the US

My name is Edward Collins, and a few months ago I visited the United States. I arrived with an idea for shooting a horror movie, a backpack, and a hard drive full of notes. My American friend Daniel Brooks kindly hosted me and agreed to help. I had a script and an obsession, and he knew the area, a car, and the courage to say: “Let’s stop talking and start bringing this to life.”

Arriving in the USA to Shoot the Film

To be honest, my excitement had already disappeared on the first day. Even though the flight had exhausted me, I was happy to be in America with my friend. On the way from the airport, we had already started discussing the script. For a few hours, everything felt almost like a movie, in the best sense of the word. Just last summer, these were simply conversations between two friends from different countries. And now, just imagine… I had already crossed the Atlantic to make a film. And we were actually going to do it.

The next morning, we started discussing expenses. We thought through the most basic things: where I would stay, whether we needed additional transportation, what equipment would cost at local rental companies, and how much food our team would need over several days, even if it were a small amount. And that was the moment when I realized that coming to America to make a film is not only a creative step, but also a serious financial decision.

The expenses started to grow almost immediately. Filming had not even begun yet, but the money was already slowly disappearing in small amounts. Food, transportation, test purchases, printouts, chargers, extension cords, spare cables, and trips to possible locations — each looked like a small thing, but when you add them all up, the picture changes. All these small expenses gradually add up to the overall budget.

Why We Decided to Make a Horror Movie

I didn’t choose the horror genre for no reason. For me, it was the most logical decision, and the idea seemed achievable. I have always loved horror that feels as realistic as possible, without all those special effects. I like films where fear appears gradually, where the viewer lives in tension and doesn’t realize that something is wrong in a place that seems ordinary. Stories like that are easier to write, and it is not difficult to build a budget for them.

If I had worked on a crime thriller, a road movie, or a drama with many locations and actors, my idea would have collapsed before the first day of shooting. Projects like that require a huge budget and very detailed work on the script, every dialogue, every movement of the actors. Horror allows you to avoid focusing too much on such details. You only need a few rooms, a minimum number of actors, simple props that you can often find in a garage, and an atmosphere that does not depend on scale.

There was another reason as well. In horror, you can make some mistakes. And no, I’m not talking about bad work. I mean, if something in the frame looks a bit rough or imperfect, it can even work in your favor in this genre. Since this is my first film and the whole project is amateurish and almost homemade, I needed a genre that could accommodate those imperfections.

We also liked the simplicity of this genre. In horror, the audience usually knows what to expect. They come for tension, danger, unexpected moments, and emotions. For us, this became a guideline. Our task was not to impress with scale. Our task was to make the audience feel the atmosphere.

The 5 Stages of Our Film Production

At first, making the film looked to me like one long continuous process. In reality, the process was divided into five logical stages, each with its own cost, stress, and lesson. 

Development

For the development of the script, all I needed was myself and my ideas. At first, the picture in my head was abstract. I kept adding new locations, complex scenes, and planning special effects. But as soon as I told my friend about it, he explained to me what that would actually mean in practice. That was when I started approaching the writing of the script more realistically.

Instead of asking, “Is this scene good?”, I began asking, “What resources will this scene require from us?” As a result, some scenes stayed, while others I either removed or reworked into a cheaper version. It was at that moment that I felt that producer’s mindset, when you start looking at a script not only as a creative process, but also as a financial commitment.

Pre-Production

At this stage, the real work began: lists, calls, schedules, agreements, and constant revisions. We went through every scene in detail to understand what location, people, props, time of day, and music would be needed for each one.

To be honest, this stage exhausted me a lot, but it was a pleasant kind of fatigue. The idea no longer seemed vague. At the same time, the financial side began to appear, and it was no longer possible to ignore it. At this stage, we told ourselves that we were not a big company, because if our behavior had matched that of a full film crew, our budget would have collapsed at the very beginning.

Production

Every shooting day was full of life. We started filming early in the morning, and that was exactly when our budget began to leak. People were waiting, food was needed, and the equipment had to be working and charged. Someone was constantly coming up with different requests.

At that moment, I understood the meaning of the phrase “time is money.” Any delay created even more pressure. A simple technical problem could affect the entire schedule. But the imperfections and worries did not make the process any less exciting because we could already see our film becoming a reality, step by step. In addition, there were moments when a difficult scene worked perfectly on the first try, and an actor performed much better than we expected. All of this made us forget about the stress.

Post-Production

When the time for post-production came, the hardest part was behind me. I had never been so wrong. Even though it was not as physically demanding or as public, I was faced with the consequences of every earlier decision: poor sound, weak footage, missing inserts, continuity issues, and unclear emotional moments.

The editing process helped me admit my weaknesses. I realized that a film becomes whole thanks to patience, difficult decisions, and the willingness to cut what doesn’t work, even if it took half a day to shoot. The financial expenses also felt calmer to me at this stage: hard drives, backups, software access, sound fixes, additional exports, and formatting. These were recurring expenses that the film’s presentation depended on.

Film Distribution

I was focused on making the film interesting and making the visuals look good. At the same time, I didn’t realize that what comes next is a promotion strategy: posters, different versions of the synopsis, subtitles, and confidence in how you present the film to the public. That was difficult for me. I knew how to explain what this film meant to me, but I didn’t understand how to present it to the audience in a way that would interest them.

It also wasn’t possible to avoid spending money at this stage. These were submission fees, materials, and the costs of making the project look professional enough to stand next to films that may have had much greater support from the very beginning.

Our Budget

I had ambition, while my friend Daniel had the main part of the budget. He believed in the idea so much that during the post-production stage. After brainstorming, he had few options for the budget. Firstly, he went to his parents and asked for $10 000. He promised them to re-pay back in a year’s time but unfortunately they rejected. Then, he asked for advice from his friend who works at a private hedge fund. From his friend, Daniel found out about this website, and how we could speed-up the process due to good support.

This decision made me nervous. On the one hand, I understood it was done to ensure we would not lose quality, but on the other hand, I felt a sense of responsibility because a loan has real consequences. Debt does not disappear simply because the project is good. And from that moment, I realized that we needed discipline. Discipline in our spending, and discipline in paying back the debt. Fortunately, we did not waste the money and have already successfully closed the debt.

During the process, Ashley Bennett, the representative of the lending organization, also provided valuable advice. We heard many recommendations, but her three main points accompanied us throughout the entire process of making the film:

• Rent housing only when needed. Until the schedule was finally confirmed, we did not book locations or hostels.
• Combine shooting days by locations. We planned the shoot so that at each location, we filmed all the scenes at once.
• Create a small reserve fund. We set aside $2,000 and used it only in real problem situations. And this saved us from stress.

The Expenses We Encountered

The budget of our film was $18,500. At first glance, this may seem like a very small amount, but for a debut horror film shot on a tight schedule, with a limited number of locations and a small crew, it turned out to be more than enough. Of course, with such a budget, we could not afford to be wasteful. We divided the expenses into categories and counted every cent.

Equipment Rental

I could not bring everything from the United Kingdom, so we had to spend about $3,200 on rentals. At first, we thought we would only need a video camera, but later it became clear that we also needed lenses, batteries, memory cards, chargers, sound accessories, and additional equipment.

Location Rental

In this category, we tried to stay flexible. Of course, there were locations that perfectly matched our needs, but their prices were extremely high. We found more affordable places. There were some limitations that affected either the shooting schedule or the look of the scene, but we managed to work around them and spent only $2,400.

Film Crew

About $4,300 was spent on this category, but it was worth it. Even for an amateur film, we needed a reliable team to ensure the smooth running of the production process across all shooting days.

Casting

Actors in horror films must convincingly convey emotions. I could not allow careless casting, so $2,200 was spent on paying the actors who carried the film’s emotional weight, on small fees, on rehearsals, and on other expenses related to finding the right people for the shoot.

Props, Costumes, and Special Effects

Fortunately, Daniel was able to borrow many props and pieces of clothing from his acquaintances and friends, so we did not have to spend too much. However, some items needed to be broken or stained during filming, so we still had to buy them. A noticeable part of the budget also went to artificial blood. Even so, this category remained under our control, and we spent only $1,650 because we often borrowed items and improvised whenever possible.

Transportation, Food, and Accommodation

This turned out to be the most deceptively expensive category in the entire production. Separately, each expense looked small, but together they quickly added up to $3,450. We could not cut costs here. We needed fuel, food, water, coffee, and snacks — the whole team had to work in comfortable conditions.

Unexpected Expenses

This money was used only for emergencies: broken props, a lost adapter, an extra trip to the store, a few additional hours of location rental, and similar problems. The $2,000 reserve helped us more than once.

Where We Saved Money

We didn’t think saving money would be possible at all, but we managed to do it. Here is what we did to save money:

• Used fewer locations.
• Grouped scenes by location.
• Daniel borrowed some items and décor from his American friends.
• Reduced the number of actors and avoided unnecessary secondary roles.
• Focused on tension and shot composition, putting scale in the background.
• Reused elements where continuity allowed it.

What Cost More Than Planned

In some places, we managed to save money; in others, expenses exceeded our expectations.

Sound design turned out to be more expensive. But I don’t regret it because the way a film is perceived depends heavily on its sound quality. I would rather spend more money than pretend that it doesn’t matter.

The cost of accommodation also grew faster than I expected. It didn’t happen all at once, but during the process, additional things emerged, changes occurred, and new needs arose. The same thing happened when traveling within the country and when ordering transportation.

I also spent more money and emotions on post-production. But this was more my mistake, because while making my first film, I simply underestimated the expenses that are later needed for adjustments, export, and presentation. This is one of the biggest mistakes beginners make, as it seems that if filming is finished, the film is complete. But that is not true.

3 Mistakes That Are Easy to Make on Your First Feature Film

I made mistakes. Some were financial. Some were creative. Most were both at once. 

Producing a Weak Story

If a film lacks a clear and interesting story, even good acting cannot save it. In amateur films, this is not uncommon. The characters are there, but they simply appear in the frame and do something, while the viewer does not understand why. In such cases, the scenes lose their meaning, there is no tension, and the film becomes boring. And no one wants to watch a boring film. 

Ignoring the Power of Sound

Many people think that the most important thing in a film is beautiful shots, impressive scenes, and visual details. Because of this, sound is often remembered at the very last moment. But try turning on your favorite film and removing the sound. The feeling becomes completely different. I made this mistake myself because I thought the main thing was how the scene looked. But when it came to the final viewing, it became clear: without good sound, everything looks flat.

Going Solo

Sometimes, being the director, cinematographer, editor, and sound person is simple. But making a film alone is very difficult. I realized this when I spent a day shooting without Daniel. After that, I can confidently say that filmmaking is always the work of several people who help each other. That is why my main advice is to build a team. It does not have to be big. Sometimes, a few people who truly care about the project are enough.

What This Experience Taught Me About Filmmaking and Money

This experience made me understand that filmmaking and money cannot be separated. No matter how great the idea is, it is the budget that shapes the script, schedule, pace, crew, locations, editing, and even the emotional state of the people who create it.

I also realized that with a small budget, it is possible to create something worthwhile if you are careful with money and able to make balanced decisions. During the process, it is important to understand what is worth paying for, what can be done without extra spending, and what damage a cheap decision might cause in the future. My friend Daniel helped me a lot with this. He had a very clear and practical view on this matter.

Most importantly, I understood that a debut film does not have to be perfect to be valuable. Mine had rough edges. In some moments, you could see the “amateur hand,” and not every scene was perfectly staged. But it was real. And we finished it.

I came to the United States thinking that I would make a horror film. In the end, I also realized that films are held together by decisions that no one ever sees on the screen. Perhaps this is the most useful lesson I could have received.