Micro Budget Filmmaking and Digital Revolution

There are conflicting opinions regarding the budget cutoff for the category commonly referred to as micro-budget filmmaking. It is sometimes also called no-budget,nano-budget, or ultra-low-budget films. All these terms refer to an increasingly popular range of films made with small budgets. The origin of micro-budget films dates back to the 1980s in the American independent film industry, when filmmakers were forced to work with minuscule budgets due to a lack of funding.

Many of the most talented and independent filmmakers began by making low-budget feature films. During the 1970s and 1980s, some of the most popular filmmakers, including John Sayles, David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch, Gus Van Sant, Charles Burnett, Wayne Wang, and Spike Lee, gained worldwide recognition while working with minuscule budgets due to a lack of funding. Because their films were made on such a tiny budget, they were regarded as exceptions that other filmmakers might find difficult to follow.

In 1992, the ultra-low budget movement started with the tiring efforts of three filmmakers. This included Nick Gomez’s Law of Gravitywith a total budget of $38,000, Gregg Araki’s The Living Endwith a total budget of $22,769, and Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachiwith a total budget of $7,225. All three movies did well at film festivals and with critics and were acquired for theatrical distribution. After this movement, thousands of independent feature films were made in the U.S. With no companies to finance these movies, the filmmakers started supporting their work on their own, with a little help from their friends and family.

Micro-budget films take a lot of patience and effort, and not everyone possesses the stamina to excel in the field. This specific filmmaking technique demands complete attention, continuous efforts, and great dedication.

Don Tjernagel, born on July 5, 1975, in Oelwein, Iowa, entered the fold of micro-budget filmmaking with similar ambitions. He is an American producer, comedian, author, and director. He went to the University of Northern Iowa on a football scholarship but soon had to drop out because of his injury. Later, he decided to complete a bachelor’s degree in film studies from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. At that time, he was unaware that things would soon turn out in his favor.

With ever-increasing technological advancement, the popularity of digital mediaand micro-budget movies has also increased. Today, the frequency of micro-budget films has increased not just in Hollywood but also across the world.

Tjernagel, who is known as Donzilla in the entertainment world,has a passion and love for making small-budgeted movies that’s enabled him to release several successful feature films, including, Flirts, Tom, Red, and Singles. The morals of his films are strictly based on reallife and human issues. In one of his recent movies, Flirt, he incorporated the strong message that no matter what people do to make their living, their profession does not deserve judgment.

Tjernagel took only four months to complete the movie, and he stuck to a budget of just $8,000 for the entire film. As a professional in micro-budget films, he diversified his style of directing and producing movies. He now talks about the world’s most overlooked issues through his films.

Undoubtedly, a micro-budget feature film can polisha director’s capabilities in unimaginable ways. All it takes is hard work and dedication. Any filmmaker who wants to take on an ambitious project with a limited timeframe and budget can learn a lot from Tjernagel’swork and his insights.