How to Make a Low Budget Independent Film: Essential Tips

Making a low-budget independent feature film is no easy feat. Today, I’ll share my journey of bringing Ordhek Swapna (Half a Dream) to life, a Bengali feature film that I co-wrote with director Ravikant Jaiswal. We didn’t follow the traditional filmmaking route, and that’s exactly what I’ll walk you through—how to make an indie film on a small budget.

Ordhek Swapna was released in 2022, starring Riya Panja, Mamoni Panja, and Arindam Banerjee. It tells the story of Gouri, a 16-year-old girl raised by a single mother, who plans to escape her life with a 20-year-old loafer. Now, let’s dive into how we made this film with almost no resources and a lot of determination.

Low Budget Independent Filmmaking Tips

When you’re working on a low-budget independent film, creativity and resourcefulness are your best friends. From writing the script to handling the technical aspects, you have to be willing to think outside the box. Here are some practical tips I learned along the way:

1. Start with a simple, relatable story. For Ordhek Swapna, the idea came from a real-life conversation I had with a friend. It doesn’t need to be a massive, high-concept idea. Focus on something you can execute with the resources at hand.
2. Guerrilla filmmaking is your go-to. We shot the film in real locations, sometimes without permits, which saved a ton of money. This approach may come with risks, but if you’re careful and respectful, it can work wonders for a low-budget film.

Essential Crew Roles for Low Budget Films

In low-budget filmmaking, your crew is your lifeline. Since you won’t have the luxury of hiring a large team, it’s crucial to understand the essential crew roles for low budget films. We kept our crew small but highly effective:

• Director/Producer: Ravikant handled both roles. He wasn’t just the creative brain behind the film but also managed everything from logistics to budget.
• Writer/Assistant Director: That’s me! My job was to co-write the script and help manage the daily shoots.
• Sound Technician: With minimal equipment, sound becomes even more critical. We used a high-quality microphone to ensure our audio stood out.

Keeping your crew small but skilled will help save costs while still ensuring high-quality production.

The Technical Side of Making an Indie Film on a Small Budget

Making a film isn’t just about a good story. You need to understand the technical aspects too. Ravikant guided me through turning our ideas into a filmable script. We didn’t have expensive software—just a free trial of Final Draft on a clunky laptop! But we made it work.

We also filmed using what we had—a Sony a6400 camera, a few lenses, and basic lighting equipment. We even crafted a DIY clapperboard and made a rolling camera rig using scrap materials. This is where you need to get creative, and low budget independent filmmaking tips come in handy.

Independent Film Pre-Production Checklist

Pre-production is a crucial phase that requires thorough planning, even for a low-budget film. Here’s a quick checklist we followed to get Ordhek Swapna off the ground:

1. Script development: We started shooting even before the script was fully written, which I don’t recommend. Ensure your story is at least 80% there.
2. Casting: Most of our actors were non-professionals or acquaintances. We even cast Riya Panja’s real mother to play her on-screen mother!
3. Location scouting: Use free or affordable locations. We shot in a friend’s abandoned home and local community spaces to avoid set-building costs.
4. Gear check: Use the best camera you can afford, and don’t forget quality sound equipment. Bad sound is more noticeable than bad visuals.
5. Rehearsals: With minimal shooting time, rehearsals are crucial. We held ours in the banquet hall where we practiced our scenes.

Distribution Options for Indie Filmmakers

Once your film is ready, what’s next? Distribution is often the trickiest part for independent filmmakers. Here are a few distribution options for indie filmmakers that worked for us:

1. Film Festivals: Ordhek Swapna was submitted to multiple film festivals, which helped us gain recognition. FilmFreeway is a great platform for discovering festivals that are indie-friendly.
2. Online Platforms: We’re working on getting our film on platforms like Mubi and other indie streaming services. Even YouTube can be a great place to start if you’re looking to build an audience.
3. Local Screenings: We held screenings at schools and local venues, which helped build grassroots support.

The Filming

What Were We Equipped With To Shoot A Feature Film?

Well, ‘I had a camera, Pravin had a bike!’ was what Ravi would say. Which was true, but we had:

1. A Sony a6400 Camera with Prime Lenses
2. A Goddox Light
3. A Reflector
4. ND filters
5. Tripod
6. A Ronin SC Gimbal
7. An External Display

Ravikant knew that if we had to shoot something great, we had to pay the price. He used up his savings and bought a Sennheiser Microphone for superior audio quality and a few other items. He asked Garima Agarwal, one of his colleagues, to shoot the film using her full frame camera and thus she became the First Assistant Camera and helped us in shooting some scenes for our feature like Yuvraj Singh Chauhan, Ravikant’ s batchmate.

The ways we adopted to shoot the film were risky for us, for our equipment, for our outputs, but the best choice available for the budget we had. In short we used the technique of Guerrilla Filming to make the script of Ordhek Swapna visible on the screen.

I remember a time when Ravikant was trying to make a clapper board with some wooden pieces. This is enough to give a rough idea about how the film was made. We even spent some of our time creating a rolling panel for smooth camera movements using the slider window bars and wheels. We had a lot of fun in the process of creating the film.

This was not my first time working in a low budget. I have had worked with Unheard Songs as a lyricist and video editor. It was also a great experience that I have covered in one of my blogs on how a low-budget song is made.

Trivia

Ordhek Swapna was originally titled ‘Gouri’ based on the name of the protagonist. Below are 2 of the concept posters created. We eventually changed the name to ‘Ordhek Swapna’ or ‘Half a Dream’ to match the theme.

Casting

Saksham Gang, a close friend of ours, helped us get the cast we needed. Ujan Ghosh, the guy who played Gouri’s Boyfriend was one of Saksham’s batchmate. We casted Riya Panja for the role of Gouri, and trust me we would never have found a better alternative at that moment. Riya added life to the character of Gouri and was pretty much what we imagined Gouri to be like.

The most difficult role to find a cast for was that of Gouri’s mother. We took numerous auditions in Jasodha Bhawan, Ravikant’ s Banquet but could not cast her mother. Some bore no resemblance, some’s accent did not fit, some where too rigid, some too dramatic. We had almost lost all hopes for finding someone to play her mother. Riya used to practice her set of shots and dialogues with her mother, who always accompanied her.

One fine day, Mamoni Panja, Riya’s mother approached us and asked us if she can play her mother in the film as well. Ravikant looked at me, I looked at him, we smiled and Gouri’s mother was casted. Most of the casting was done using our references and acquaintances, except the one for the role of the dance teacher. Sankha’s role was played by Mr. Arindam Banerjee, an experienced veteran. His spontaneity was of a great help to us.

Each person contributed towards the casting in some manner or the other. We were constantly dialing up our contacts and asking them if they would be interested in working for a feature film for free.

Some Fond & Funny Memories

I recall this picture quite vividly and would hardly ever forget it. We required a female to fill in the space in a restaurant, but had none. After a lot of thoughts and convincing, I dressed up as a Muslim woman in a burkha and sat behind Gouri on a table, throughout the shot.

Somewhere I played the role of a father dropping his kid to school, somewhere, my hands played the role of a receptionist’s hand.

It was a fun task keeping everyone engaged and happy throughout the film. Look at Mr. Director all stressed up with the project, and me doing funny assessments of the setting.

Some old friends reunited in the course of the filming of Ordhek Swapna, and some new friendships were born. In all the project would not have been possible without the efforts of every soul involved. Everyone played some part or the other behind the scenes.

This was the first scene we shot of the film. I remember we were through with just a few pages of writing the film and we suddenly remembered that the film contains elements of Durga Puja (a very famous festival in Kolkata). We had to take some B-Roll shots as the preparations had already begun. So me, Ravikant, his camera and my bike, the four of us set off for the first shot of the film.

The amount of retakes taken to bring the apt amount of seriousness on their faces was immense. Anika and Riya were shown to be great friends in the film, but in reality they had just become familiar on the sets of the film. During this particular scene, where the sunlight was our only source of light, we had to get the shots done in a limited time period. This was captured probably after the 23th take (look at their tired faces).

You know what hurts more than a breakup?

This! We were done with 90% of our shooting and were taking a shot outside a boutique shop when Ravikant’s Camera fell off his tripod and the the lens broke. I remember his face, Oh! I so remember that face. We were constantly shooting since the morning without rest. This was the last shot for the day.

The shot was done and while wrapping up, the camera fell from his hand. He picked it up smiling. That smile one gives when he’s crying from within; yup, it was that smile.

From the Director and the Producer

The idea of making an independent film is as impulsive as grabbing a chocolate ice cream even though you have diabetes or negative digits in your credit. To make a zero-budget film, your love for the work must compensate for those digits, and it did for one long year of our filming duration.

It was a learning process for me, and I was blessed to have many friends, cousins, teachers, neighbors, and their cousins who acted, performed, and played various roles in the film.

With a very small crew, the writer and I would stay up late and start early each day to bring clarity to what we were doing. We would talk for hours, which really helped us pitch to the actors and technicians—who are, in a way, stakeholders in the film and producers.

The film features mostly non-actors (including the lead, Riya Panja), and the crew learned how to use equipment on set most of the time, but it was a one-of-a-kind experience. It’s the kind of experience I sometimes miss on larger sets.

With such limited resources, you need to innovate, such as bringing home-cooked meals for the crew, traveling by public transport, borrowing items from friends to use as props, and occasionally asking your crew to make small cameos in the crowd, which no-one know how, but will add depth to the frame.

In an interview, film director Anurag Kashyap mentioned how he shot his earlier films during festivals like Diwali to take advantage of the ample outdoor lighting at night. In Kolkata, this time is Durga Puja, when the streets are full of lights, colors, and beautiful decorations, which we made full use of, and also which could have costed us lakhs in art & design.

Not having the budget for a bigger camera like the ARRI, in a way also kept us from drawing too much attention on the streets and needing location permits. The guerrilla shooting method wasn’t something we chose, but it was what we could afford.

During one amusing incident while shooting inside trains, one of our actors, dressed as a Railway Official, was mistaken by passengers for a real official, and no questions were asked. We avoided using badges or emblems, but, as silly as it may sound, people ended up saluting him now and then.

In a very brief passage, the process of producing the film while also directing, teaches you how to solve tiny problems by your own instead of going to the producer, and this skill has been invaluable in everything I have done since, even on bigger budgets and larger sets.

Screening

In Kolkata, West Bengal, the movie, Ordhek Swapna was screened 7 times, including a premiere in the Ratnakar North Point School in front of the students of Secondary and Higher Secondary. Below are some stills from the screening of Ordhek Swapna:

Awards And Recognition

While in the process of writing my first feature film as a writer and an Assistant Director, I was not sure that it would get such an incredible response both locally and globally. The film got great reviews by film critics and bagged a number of awards at International Film Festivals.

Here’s a list of Recognition and Awards bagged by Ordhek Swapna (2022):

Official Selections

1. Paradise Film Festival – 2022 – Official Selection
2. New York Istanbul Short Film Festival – 2022 – Official Selection
3. Anatolia International Film Festival – 2022 – Official Selection
4. Black Cat Award International Film Festival – 2022 – Official Selection
5. Iconic Images Film Festival – 2022 – Official Selection
6. New Creators Film Awards – 2022 – Nominee

Awards Won By Ordhek Swapna

1. Reels International Film Festival – 2022 – Special Jury Award
2. 4th Dimension Independent International Film Festival – 2022 – Best First Time Filmmaker
3. Open Window International Film Challenge – 2022 – Best Drama Feature
4. Bettiah International Film Festival – 2022 – Best Independent Film
5. Sri Ganganagar International Film Festival – 2022 – Best Actor [Female]

Ordhek Swapna on IMDb

According to IMDb, “Ordhek Swapna,” directed by Ravikant Jaiswal and co-written by Pravin Kumar Pathak, is a Bengali film released in 2022. The plot centers around Gouri, a 16-year-old girl raised by her single mother, who plans to escape her harsh life with a 20-year-old loafer.

The cast includes Riya Panja as Gouri, Mamoni Panja as Moumita, and Arindam Banerjee as Sankha. The film features music by Olive Ghosh and cinematography by Garima Agarwal and Ravikant Jaiswal.

This poignant story of youth and struggle is brought to life by a dedicated team, including editor Rishav Acharya and sound recordists Swaraj Gupta and Jasmit Kaur. The collaboration of the cast and crew makes “Ordhek Swapna” a noteworthy addition to Bengali cinema. For more details, visit the film’s IMDb page​.

Wrapping Up: How to Make a Low Budget Independent Film

Making a low-budget independent film is a rollercoaster of emotions—excitement, frustration, creativity, and exhaustion. But if you stick to your passion and make the most of the resources you have, the results can be incredibly rewarding.

So, if you’re looking for tips on how to make an indie film on a small budget, my biggest advice is: don’t let a lack of money stop you. Innovation and passion are your greatest assets.

The movie has bagged a number of awards in International Film Festivals for its impeccable visuals and rawness. It was also screened in the Paradiso Film Festival, Bali, Indonesia. It even bagged an award in the Bettiah International Film Festival. The shooting of Ordhek Swapna was a long roller-coaster ride that began where my comfort zone ended and eventually fueled my creative journey as a writer and an artist.

I hope my article was able to give you an insight upon how an Independent Feature-Film is made. This sums up my experience as a rookie Assistant Director and Writer of a Feature Film.

Watch Ordhek Swapna on Mubi.