This is the jump.
You've made your $0 "hustle" film. You've made your $500 "fix-your-shit" film. You've proven you can finish.
And now... you've got $10,000.
This is the single most dangerous budget in all of filmmaking.
It's not "no money." It's "scared money." It's just enough to make you feel like a big shot. It's just enough to tempt you into making catastrophic, ego-driven mistakes. It's the budget where 99% of indie filmmakers completely self-destruct.
Why? Because they think $10,000 is for renting a RED camera.
Let me be clear. If you spend $5,000 of this budget on a camera rental, you are a fool. You are lighting your career on fire for a "pretty picture" that has no soul, shit sound, and will look like every other amateur-hour "spec" reel on Vimeo.
Your $10k is not for a camera. Your phone is still a 6K beast. Your $75 gimbal is still your best friend.
This $10,000 is for one thing: PEOPLE.
This is the "No More Favors" budget. This is the "Pay Your Crew" budget. This is the "Don't Get Sued" budget. This is where you stop being a one-person-band and start being a producer.
Welcome to the big leagues, kid. Having $10k means you've convinced someone (or yourself) that you're worth a real shot. Now you have to prove it.
Your AI partner is no longer just your script supervisor. It's your full-on Line Producer and Accountant. Its job is to keep you from being stupid.
Before you spend a dime, you plan.
Prompt: "Act as my professional Line Producer. I have a $10,000 USD budget for a 10-page script shooting over a 3-day weekend. Create a professional top-sheet budget. Allocate this $10k across standard categories: Above the Line (Talent), and Below the Line (Crew, Gear, Locations, Art Dept., Post, Insurance, Catering). Prioritize paying a professional crew and post-production. I will not be renting a camera."
The AI will spit out a plan. A map. This is your bible. This is what keeps you from blowing it all on a drone shot.
This is the most boring, unsexy, and most important $1,000 you will ever spend.
On your $500 film, you were a ghost. You used Peerspace and prayed. With $10k, you are a target. You are a professional production. You will get Production Insurance.
Short-Term General Liability: This is what protects you when your actor (who you are now paying) trips over a light stand and breaks their arm.
Inland Marine (Gear Coverage): This is what protects you when the $5,000 light kit you rented falls in a lake.
This isn't optional. This is the first check you write. No insurance, no movie. It's the key that unlocks everything else. It's what lets you legally rent gear, secure real locations, and pull permits.
This is where your money goes. This is the "No More Favors" rule. You are hiring professionals.
"But Kavan, $10k isn't enough to hire a full crew!" You're right. So you're not hiring a "full crew." You're hiring the Holy Trinity of Production Value:
A Real Director of Photography (DP): ($1,500 - $2,500 for a 3-day shoot). This is the GFS hustle. You are not renting a camera. You are hiring a professional DP who owns their own camera package (a Sony FX3, a Blackmagic, a C70—who cares, it's their gear). You're not paying for a box; you're paying for an artist who knows how to use it. This is the single best investment you can make.
A Real Sound Mixer: ($1,000 - $1,800 for 3 days). Non-negotiable. This is a pro. With their own multi-thousand-dollar sound kit. You're not "helping" them. You are paying them for their craft. They will deliver you perfect audio, and you will weep with joy in the edit.
A Real Gaffer (Lighting Director): ($1,000 - $1,500 for 3 days). Your new pro DP will probably demand this. A Gaffer is the person who actually makes the images look "cinematic." They bring the lights, they shape the shadows, and they turn your boring apartment into a set.
That's it. That's your core crew. You just spent ~$5,000. You've just bought yourself a film that looks and sounds like it cost $100,000. You can still be the director. You can get your friends to PA for free (but you're feeding them, see Step 4).
This is what really separates a $1k film from a $10k film.
On a $1k budget, you use the location you find.
On a $10k budget, you transform the location.
You are hiring a Production Designer / Art Director ($500 - $1,000) and giving them a $1,000 Art Budget.
Their job is to build the world. They will paint that ugly beige wall a "depressed blue." They will find the perfect weird vintage prop. They will buy the right curtains. They will make the world feel real and intentional.
Stop! Read This! Production Value is NOT a camera. It is NOT a drone. Production Value is what is in front of the camera. It is ART, it is LIGHT, and it is SOUND.
On your last films, you did everything. You're not doing that anymore. Your $10k budget proves you know your limits.
You can still edit the picture yourself. But you are hiring two people:
A Professional Sound Mixer/Designer: ($1,000 - $2,000). They will take your pro sound mixer's audio, clean it, add foley, add atmosphere, and make it feel like a god-damn movie.
A Professional Colorist: ($500 - $1,000). They will take your DP's footage and make it sing. They will unify the look. They will fix your mistakes. This is the final polish that screams "professional."
Look at this. Look where the money really goes.
Crew (DP, Sound, Gaffer): $4,500
Post (Sound Mix & Color): $2,500
Art Dept (Designer + Props): $1,500
Insurance & Permits: $1,000
Locations (Real, legal ones): $0 (You wrote for your free "sandbox" locations, but now you can legally be there with insurance).
Catering (Real food for 10 people): $500
Contingency (The "Oh Shit" Fund): $0
Wait. We're over budget. See? It's a trap.
This is the job, Producer. Now you have to make the hard calls.
Cut: Can you find a cheaper Gaffer? ($1,000)
Cut: Can you negotiate a 2-day shoot instead of 3? (Saves $1,500 on crew)
Cut: Can you find a Post-Production student (a talented one) to do Color for $300?
Your AI partner is your new accountant.
Prompt: "My budget is over by $500. Analyze my spending. My priorities are Crew and Post-Sound. Find $500 in cuts from the Art Dept, Catering, and Post-Color budgets without crippling the production."
A $10,000 budget is a test of your discipline. It's not "10x the money"; it's 10x the responsibility.
You didn't waste it on a shiny camera. You didn't waste it on an epic drone shot.
You spent it on People. You spent it on Sound. You spent it on Safety (Insurance). And you spent it on Art.
You just managed a team. You just handled real money. You didn't just make a film; you produced one.
You're ready for the feature.
Kavan Out.
(Next up: Article 4 - The Micro-Budget Monster: How to Produce Your First Feature for Under $50k.)