Something from Nothing

1.1 Reflections on writing, directing, and producing a micro-budget feature film.

In March of 2024, I started production on my first feature film, Rhapsody.

Rhapsody follows Devon, a composer, as she struggles to balance relationships with her family, her girlfriend, her career, her art, and herself while living in the Inland Empire of California.

In the words of a close friend and early reader, it’s an “unabashed arthouse character study.” You can read more about my motivations behind the story in this article published by Canvas Rebel.

The budget level for this film fluctuated throughout development and pre-production. At different points, I thought I would make the film at a quarter million, then sixty thousand, and then basically whatever I could personally afford to pitch in, which was ten thousand dollars. I should say that I also received a small grant to go toward a creative project, which I decided to use for the film.

Originally, I scheduled to shoot the film from March through May 2024, which was also the final quarter of my MFA program. There’s this quote from independent producer Christine Vachon that says, “Basically, a low-budget movie is a crisis waiting to happen.” Turns out, this is mostly true. But, a crisis isn’t always a bad thing. I love that Japanese proverb, “Chaos is opportunity.”

At the time of writing this, we are achingly close to wrapping principal photography. It is mid-August. The year is still 2024, though, so that’s good.

When I was getting started with filmmaking (I didn’t go to film school and had very little prior experience apart from loving movies), I dove into learning as much as I could from every source you could think of: behind-the-scenes documentaries, podcasts, filmmaker interviews, syllabi I found online from film programs, etc., all while also making my own films.

I learned so much from filmmakers who were open about their process, which is the main reason I have decided to write about the making of this film. Additionally, it feels like a necessary part of the journey for me in that as I write, I’m sure I will develop an even clearer and deeper understanding of my own creative process.

In that vein, these articles will be personal, subjective reflections on the logistical and creative processes that went into making my micro-budget feature.

I’m beginning to write as we are earnestly gearing up for post-production. I plan to start writing about the process from the conception of the film and eventually, the writing will catch up with where the film is, perhaps when we are ready to ship to festivals.

I hope this component of the work can encourage others in their own creative endeavors and perhaps provide a framework in which grassroots filmmaking can evolve and flourish, ultimately helping to shape cinema into a less homogenous art form.