How embracing the micro-budget feature film can open new opportunities for the emerging screenwriter
Micro-budget films offer screenwriters an opportunity to find filmmakers to collaborate with or try their hand at directing an original screen idea outside the traditional confines of the industry. No longer a niche form, the micro-budget feature film is an increasingly popular mode of filmmaking that makes a virtue out of its financial constraints and limitations. It has enabled filmmakers to explore screen ideas with greater creative freedom and make films that often go against the grain of mainstream cinema.
This essay explores how the micro budget feature film can be used as a way of developing skills and experimenting within the production environment of a feature length project. Using existing interviews with writers and directors, this essay will look at the Duplass Brothers’ micro-budget feature The Puffy Chair, as an example of using this method of filmmaking. The work of other writers and filmmakers will also be considered in order to highlight the benefits of this potential pathway towards making a career as a screenwriter within the film industry.
Mark and Jay Duplass’s film about two brothers who embark on a road trip with an old recliner from Brooklyn to Atlanta with their girlfriends, The Puffy Chair (2005), is an example of how the micro-budget feature film can be used as a successful pathway into the film industry. The film helped launch not only Netflix’s original content programming, but also established the Duplass Brothers as successful indie filmmakers (Zakarin, 2015). Made with a budget of $15,000, using then emerging digital production equipment, and with friends and girlfriends recruited as cast, The Puffy Chair is about as micro-budget an ‘indie’ as you can get. For the Duplass Brothers, adopting a straightforward filmmaking process was a creative decision, because as Mark Duplass says, “we knew we could make it for cheap. So we never once considered going the financing route or trying to cast big names or make it that way” (Kuhn, 2006). Doing this allowed them to circumvent the lengthy development process associated with producing studio feature films, make the film over a shorter period of time, and go on to forge their own system of low budget independent film production (Zakarin, 2015). A Sundance Official Selection, The Puffy Chair went on to screen at South by Southwest, where it won the Audience Award. The film demonstrates a quality highlighted by Dave Itzkoff in his review of the Duplass Brothers’ memoir Like Brothers. Itzkoff says: “they represent a style of storytelling that’s naturalistic and unapologetically earnest, along with a supportive, if-we-can-do-it-you-can-too spirit of creativity’ (Itzkoff, 2018). The inherent DIY creativity within the micro-budget model is taken further by Mike S. Ryan in Filmaker Magazine, in which he states: “let’s view microbudget not as a curse or a steppingstone but as a portal toward personal cinematic freedom” (Ryan, 2020), demonstrating that the micro-budget filmmaking pathway is not just a calling-card into the industry, it is also a viable creative alternative to mainstream film production for the screenwriter.
The term ‘micro-budget’ suggests a particular type of production model defined by creative and financial constraints and limitations. As a process, it embraces a grassroots ‘indie’ approach favoured by writers and directors seeking to develop their filmmaking skills. The Duplass Brothers knew that in The Puffy Chair they wanted to tell a story about twenty-something relationships and wrote the script specifically for their actors. As Mark explains, “it’s always tough to match someone to your imagination, so why not just write for someone ahead of time? You know what you’re going to get and you can play to their strengths and weaknesses” (Kuhn, 2006). Realising that they needed to strategically design a film that would be affordable to produce, they took the relationship drama and wrote the story based on the locations, people and props they had access to (Wagner, 2021). With no financial backing, they used their ‘available materials’, and limited themselves to a set number of characters, scenes, locations, and other elements that would impact upon the budget, with the bulk of the $15,000 going towards the cost of materials, transportation and the cast and crew fees (Otto, 2009). “Our goal coming into this was less about how we make the most original feature film and more about how we make a feature film that works”, Mark says in an interview with the Austin Chronicle. Adding that everything was used “to our advantage to make something that works” (Badgley, 2005). It could be argued that the reason The Puffy Chair did so well as a film in its own right, and as a pathway into the film industry for the Duplass brothers, is because they embraced the micro-budget ‘indie’ process and made it work as a production model.
One of the key benefits of the micro-budget model is its ability to empower filmmakers with greater creative freedom. Hannah Wagner writes that it was through the success of The Puffy Chair that the Duplass Brothers discovered a way of making films “that both secured the integrity of their work and their creative freedom [and] allowed them to actually make movies instead of waiting around for someone else to give them permission” (Wagner, 2021). Filmmaker Talia Lugacy highlights the financial benefit of the micro-budget model, saying that “when it comes to smaller, more personal projects, more money can mean less creative freedom” (Lugacy, 2021). Noam Kroll, another advocate of the micro-budget method of making feature films, argues that creative freedom is a unique strength which gives the micro-budget feature film its competitive edge over mainstream studio films, adding that the micro-budget model is about “taking creative risks and crafting stories that aren’t derivative, but rather are wholly unique and break new ground in some way, shape or form” (Kroll, 2020), clearly suggesting that the micro-budget film can leave a mark on both its audience and the industry.
The critical success of two recent films, Lady Macbeth (2016) and The Levelling (2016), each made for under £500,000 through Creative England’s iFeatures micro-budget filmmaking scheme, suggests that the stigma associated with micro-budget filmmaking may be disappearing (Macnab, 2016). Although schemes such as iFeatures place heavy demands on filmmakers to shoot their features within three to four weeks, they do allow for greater creative freedom, as the writer-director of The Levelling, Hope Dickson Leach, says: “it meant you didn’t have the commercial constraints and expectations on the project. It could be more personal” (Macnab, 2016). For William Oldroyd, the challenges of making Lady Macbeth within the constraints of a micro-budget provided unexpected creative opportunities: “So many of the things you might say were compromises in terms of limitations became advantages to us because it played into our ambition, an aesthetic that we had, for the period drama we wanted to make” (Wise, 2018). Both films demonstrate the growing value that is now being placed on micro-budget feature films, the BAFTA success of Lady Macbeth in particular, suggesting that the micro-budget film can compete on a level playing field with mainstream studio films.
One of the challenges facing filmmakers when adopting the micro-budget model is distribution. In a report on low and micro-budget filmmaking in the UK, the UK Film Council suggests that somewhere in the region of 15% of low and micro-budget films fail to achieve their full potential in distribution or exhibition. Reasons for this include a lack of awareness of film sales, distribution, and marketing; difficulties in getting attention for micro-budget films in film festivals; and the particular circumstances of the UK exhibition marketplace (UK Film Council, 2008a). Though, interestingly, the report also states, “from the distributor’s point of view, budget is not the most important issue” (BFI, 2008) in selecting films, adding that distributors find it difficult to find space for smaller titles without the pull of star names or higher advertising budgets. A point echoed by Mark Duplass, whose experience of distributing The Puffy Chair “was a long road, it took a year to sell the film. Everyone loved it, but apparently it’s a little difficult to market an indie film with no recognisable ‘stars’” (Hernandez, 2006). The pathway to distribution was slow, taking over a year on the festival circuit before the Duplass Brothers eventually struck a deal with Netflix, enabling The Puffy Chair to get a short theatrical run and go on DVD sale (Zakarin, 2015), grossing $195,254 in box office sales (The Numbers). In many ways, The Puffy Chair predated and predicted the indie-film distribution ecosystem we are familiar with today (Zakarin, 2015).
The Dupless Brothers’ case demonstrates that the micro-budget approach to making a feature film is not just a steppingstone into the film industry but that it is also a viable financial and creative alternative to mainstream film production. The micro-budget feature film enables filmmakers to circumvent the lengthy development process associated with big-budget studio films and explore screen ideas with greater creative freedom. Embracing the constraints and limitations of the micro-budget film not only expands the screenwriter’s knowledge of the filmmaking process, but it also enables them to hone their skills and experiment within a production environment based on creative freedom, allowing them to develop their own unique vision as cinematic storytellers.
References
BADGLEY, Shawn. 2005. ‘Uneasy Lovin: The Puffy Chair’. Austin Chronicle, 11 March [online]. Available at: https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2005-03-11/262232/ [accessed on 7 November 2021].
COUVERING, Alicia Van. 2007. ‘What I Meant to Say’. Filmmaker Magazine [online]. Available at: https://filmmakermagazine.com/archives/issues/spring2007/features/mumblecore.php [accessed on November].
DICKSON LEACH, Hope. 2016. The Levelling [Film].
DUPLASS, Jay and Mark DUPLASS. 2005. The Puffy Chair [Film].
DUPLASS, Jay and Mark DUPLASS. 2018. Like Brothers. New York: Random House.
FILIPPO, Maria San. 2011. ‘A Cinema of Recession: Micro-Budgeting, Micro-Drama, and the “Mumblecore” Movement’. Cineaction, 85, 2-8. Available at: http://www.cineaction.ca/order/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/issue85sample1.pdf [accessed on 7 November 2021].
HERNANDEZ, Eugene. 2006. ‘IndieWire Interview: Jay Dupless and Mark Dupless, Creators of The Puffy Chair’. IndieWire, 17 July [online]. Available at: https://www.indiewire.com/2006/07/indiewire-interview-jay-duplass-and-mark-duplass-creators-of-the-puffy-chair-76432/ [accessed on 7 November 2021).
HOPE, Ted. 2008. ‘A Thousand Phoenix Rising’. Filmmaker Magazine, 28 September [online]. Available at: https://filmmakermagazine.com/4803-a-thousand-phoenix-rising-by-ted-hope/#.YZI5DS-l3OQ [accessed on 6 November 2021].
ITZKOFF, Dave. 2018. ‘Two Dudes with a Camera’. The New York Times, 18 May 2018 [online]. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/books/review/mark-jay-duplass-like-brothers.html [accessed on 10 November 2021].
KROLL, Noam. 2020. ‘Missing the Mark with Micro-Budget Feature Films’. Noamkroll [online]. Available at: https://noamkroll.com/missing-the-mark-with-micro-budget-feature-films/ [accessed on 3 November 2021].
KUHN, Sarah. 2006. ‘Sibling Revelry’. Back Stage West, 13 (25), 8-14.
LUGACY, Talia. 2021. ‘How to Rethink the Budget Needs and Hierarchies of Traditional Film Production to Enable Creative Freedom: On the Making of This Is Not a War Story’. Filmmaker Magazine, 3 November [online]. Available at: https://filmmakermagazine.com/112519-how-to-make-something-out-of-nothing-on-the-creative-benefits-of-diy-independent-film/#.YZIvlS-l3OQ [accessed on 3 November 2021].
MACNAB, Geoffrey. 2016. ‘The Growing Value of Micro-Budget Films’. Screen Daily, 6 December [online]. Available at: https://www.screendaily.com/features/the-growing-value-of-micro-budget-films/5111838.article [accessed on 4 November 2021].
OLDROYD, William. 2016. Lady Macbeth [Film].
OTTO, M. Rebekah. 2009. ‘Creative Accounting: The Puffy Chair’. Believer Magazine, 1 May [online]. Available at: https://believermag.com/creative-accounting-the-puffy-chair/ [accessed on 9 November 2021.
RYAN, Mike S. 2020. ‘The Low Down: Is Microbudget Production the Response to the Industry’s Devaluation of the Dramatic Feature Film?’. Filmmaker Magazine, 17 March [online]. Available at: https://filmmakermagazine.com/109348-the-low-down-2/#.YZIr8S-l3OQ [accessed on 3 November 2021].
UK FILM COUNCIL. 2008a. Low and Micro Budget Film Production in the UK. Available at: https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/uk-film-council-low-and-micro-budget-film-production-in-the-uk.pdf [accessed on 12 November 2021].
UK FILM COUNCIL. 2008b. Low and Micro Budget Film in the UK: Cultural Value and Potential Strategic Interventions. Available at: https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/uk-film-council-low-and-micro-budget-film-production-in-the-uk-cultural-value-and-potential-strategic-interventions.pdf [accessed on 12 November 2021].
WAGNER, Hannah. 2021. ‘The Available Materials School of Filmmaking with The Duplass Brothers’. Screenwritinginla [online]. Available at: https://screenwritinginla.com/blogs/the-swila-blog/the-available-materials-school-of-filmmaking-with-the-duplass-brothers [accessed on 9 November 2021).
WISE, Damon. 2018. ‘Lady Macbeth Director William Oldroyd Talks Challenges of Helming BAFTA-Nominated Debut Feature’. Deadline, 13 February [online]. Available at: https://deadline.com/2018/02/lady-macbeth-william-oldroyd-baftas-interview-news-1202287410/ [accessed on 3 November].
ZAKARIN, Jordan. 2015. ‘The Puffy Chair, 10 Years Later: How a Little Indie Flick Predicted the Future of Film’. Yahoo, 4 August [online]. Available at: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/the-puffy-chair-duplass-brothers-125509170977.html [accessed on 7 November 2021].
This work is derived from an assignment written as part of the MA in Writing for Script and Screen, Falmouth University.
'Wildflower': Script reading by Ruth Hayes
"Faidh studies the neatly folded clothes in her suitcase for a moment or two. Then closes it, abandoning the thought of unpacking. She takes the teddy bear off the pillow and throws it to the floor."
Following the death of her mother, 11-year-old Fiadh moves from Dublin to the Connemara countryside to live with her aunt and uncle. Struggling with life in her new family, she is convinced that running away would be the best solution to her problems. Until she realises she is there to stay and must cope with her emotions.
Ruth Hayes reads my short screenplay Wildflower.
Wildflower is a personal drama about family love and the way in which families can reshape and grow. It's a story about the resilience of the human spirit in the face of loss and grief.
The story follows Fiadh, who has been sent to live with her uncle’s family after her mother’s death. Starting with her arrival and following her over the course of her first weekend, we are brought into the family’s domestic world with its daily chores and routines. While the family welcome her into their home with open arms, Fiadh is withdrawn and finds it difficult to cope with her emotions and adapt to her new environment.
Although Wildflower touches on childhood tragedy, it is not simply about a girl who loses her mother and goes to live with relatives. It is not about death. It is about the opposite, life. The story is infused with quiet moments of observation, gentle tensions within family life, and simple acts of kindness. It contrasts the darker side of childhood innocence with the simple joys of being a child.
The Importance of the Midpoint in Screenwriting
Earlier this month, I produced a video essay for The Script Department, in which I discuss the importance of the midpoint in screenwriting, using Alfonso Cuaron’s space thriller Gravity (2013), a beautifully structured film with a clearly defined emotional arc, to examine how the midpoint affects the protagonist’s emotional journey.
One of the most fundamental elements within the structure of a screenplay, the midpoint is a moment halfway through the film, that moves the protagonist closer to or further away from their goal. It's the point in the screenplay when the plot shifts, raising the stakes and sending the story’s action off in a new direction.
You can check out the full story in the video essay below.
https://youtu.be/cah-WOKwa_M?si=5KQVckzHF-jwKNVR
Dialogue as action, whatever the language: 'CODA'
Much of the dialogue within CODA is spoken through sign language and not verbally. Sign language is based on feeling and physical movement. The most poignant moment comes when Ruby and her father are sitting on the tailgate of the family truck after the school concert. Frank asks Ruby to sing. Frank’s ‘dialogue’ is sign language and his ‘listening’ to Ruby sing is feeling, also with his hands touching her neck to feel her voice. The spoken dialogue in the scene are the song lyrics which carry the emotional subtext about Ruby’s love for her family. The blend of verbal and signed dialogue is unique to the story. It comes directly from the scenes and the characters.
References
Heder, Sian. 2021. CODA [Film]
Dialogue as Action: Portraying dementia in 'The Father'
Anthony: “I feel as if I’m losing all my leaves, one after another.” (The Father 2020)
Dialogue within The Father performs a unique function. It is through the film's dialogue, that we assume everyday pieces of life are happening in reality, only to be shown that they are not. We are put within Anthony’s mind, experience his confusion, and Anthony’s final speech twists the emotional knife within a film that has been constructed to confuse. Anthony remembers his mother and suddenly wants to go home, as tears overwhelm him, and he says “I feel as if I am losing all my leaves, one after another.” This is a great example of how a single poetic line of dialogue placed at the end of a film can bring the narrative to a powerful and emotional climax.
References
Zeller, Florian. 2020. The Father [Film]
Implied Readership: Memory and Time in ‘Arrival’
As Louise stands outside a secluded lake house remembering her daughter’s short life, we witness the birth, life, and death of a young girl. Villeneuvre knows we will deconstruct this sequence and assume it is a flashback. The scene is immediately followed by Louise at work, seemingly mourning the death of her daughter, and the meaning we attach to her is derived from the opening sequence. The entire film hinges on the juxtaposition of these two scenes and the way in which we read them. In considering the implied reader, Villeneuvre misdirects the audience and sets up the narrative for the final twist, in which the flashbacks are in fact premonitions.
References
Villeneuve, Denis. 2016. Arrival [Film]
Deep structure: Structuring the Tone in 'Arracht'
Arracht is an Irish language drama about a fisherman whose life is plunged into darkness following the arrival of the potato blight and a violent stranger. Each act serves a particular function. Through its tragic tone, act one sets up Colmán as a person who loses everything. The narrative jumps forward two years to the peak of the famine’s devastation as, in act two, Colmán finds the strength to keep going in taking care of Kitty, a vulnerable orphan. Although not quite a revenge tragedy, the story ends with vengeance, as act three brings the story to its bloody denouement, and we are left asking ‘Will Colmán and Kitty survive the famine?’
References
Ó Súilleabháin, Tomás. 2021. Arracht [Film]
Active Questions: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier…Who is Spy?
The main question driving Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is “Who is the spy at the top of the Circus?” and we watch knowing the puzzle will be solved and traitor revealed. Driven by the active question “Who is the mole?”, Act one sets out the pieces of the puzzle and introduces George Smiley. Driven by the active question “Will Smiley uncover the mole?” act two is woven round a series of flashbacks and shady manoeuvres within the Circus. Smiley roots out the mole, and, driven by the act three active question “Will Smiley catch the mole?”, he sets a trap, confronts Hayden and is reinstated in the Circus as Control.
References
Alfredson, Tomas. 2011. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy [Film]
Audience identification with character: Empathising with the ‘Other’ in ‘The Shape of Water’
Del Toro’s Amphibian Man is the emotional centre of the story. Initially presented as the archetypal B-movie monster, lashing out at its captors, he is shaped into the romantic lead alongside Elisa, the first who recognises his humanity and refers to him as ‘him’. While a reptilian creature is not something an audience can relate to, the outsider who finds love and takes action is clearly identifiable. His natural curiosity, underdog vulnerability and love for Elisa endear us to him, until we see the soul beneath the scales of this strangely human character and empathise with the loneliness of those born different.
References
Del Toro, Guillermo. 2017. The Shape of Water [Film]
Character Analysis: Lee Chandler’s tragic burden in 'Manchester by the Sea'
As soon as Lee Chandler sets foot in Manchester it becomes clear he has a past that made him notorious. Seething with rage at himself and the world, Lee performs his role as guardian for his dead brother’s son in spite of the unbearable burden of inner coldness and emptiness. Lee’s conflict is internal. The flashbacks slowly reveal the devasting backstory surrounding the deaths of his children. The tragic character’s action are consistent with the irreparable personal loss he is suffering. In the end, Lee leaves his nephew with his brother’s friend. The burden of guilt leaving him unable to move on.
References
Lonergan, Kenneth. 2016. Manchester by the Sea [Film]