We absolutely understand that choosing to work with micro-budgets you have to be mad on some level - hence we named our educational YouTube channel Micro-Budget Madness! Don't get us wrong, being a micro-budget filmmaker is not a bad thing, it just means that you have to approach filmmaking with a DIY mentality.
Though this channel we break down how to produce, shoot and distribute micro-budget films with examples from our own micro-budget films, as well as mainstream films with a micro-budget element. We share all our experiences, from festival tips, career advice, distribution, smart business practices and everything else in between!
Want to know how we shoot our improvised micro budget feature and short films with limited crew, budget and resources?
Then you must check out the channel, subscribe and don’t forget to hit the notification bell to get a heads up when we post a new video.
In November we will be filming our ninth Life Improvised micro-short and our first in Croatia. This one is called Goose & Gander and is about a young couple dealing with the fallout from infidelity.
We have cast talented actors Harun Ćehović and Barbara Horvat in the lead roles and very much look forward to filming.
Stay tuned for more updates.
We found ourselves stuck in Portugal during the first half of 2021 as our flights home to Malta kept being cancelled during the pandemic. Naturally, we needed to film something. So we came up with the concept for Encontro (meaning meeting in Portuguese), put out a call for actors, and quickly cast two talented Lisbon locals in Rachel-Hannah Strong and Denise Santos. Just over a week later we were on set using the new Ronin RS2 gimbal we had purchased, and with only a two-person crew we walked through Lisbon capturing various stunning sites on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
“With the lockdown lifted, life goes somewhat back to normal. Inés seizes the chance and invites her friend Joanna to catch up, but as they walk through Lisbon, there’s something troubling Inés.”
Enjoy Life Improvised: Encontro below.
Last month we finished Life Improvised: Hiding, a bleak look at the fear and anxiety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, filmed during lockdown. But now we are proud to share a more optimistic reflection on the pandemic in Life Improvised: Hoping. Again, it stars Sarah Jayne with Ivan Malekin the only crew, but this time though we tackle fear and uncertainty we also want to present a message of hope and resilience. Life goes on and we can make the best of a bad situation if we embrace the lessons that can be learnt.
We filmed a couple of micro-shorts as part of our Life Improvised series while in lockdown. This is the first, Hiding, about a woman in isolation struggling to cope with her mounting fear.
Regular Nexus director Sarah Jayne takes on the starring role in this film inspired by a feature we are developing called Machination about a woman slowly breaking down during the pandemic. One actor, Ivan on camera and directing, our smallest micro-short yet, but one we enjoyed making and which allowed us to exercise our creativity despite restrictions. Watch below.
It’s a crazy time, I don’t have to tell you that, we are all living through this COVID-19 pandemic hell and some of us are having a hard time more than others due to factors in our lives which existed before this hit. Some of us now are feeling the hardship suddenly wash over us as we loose our jobs, our income, our physical connection to others and our sanity.
To keep us going in lockdown and self quarantine we have been writing screenplays, developing ideas and shooting films. These films are short films which fit under our Life Improvised micro film banner and shot mostly in one location, with Sarah Jayne as the lead and Ivan Malekin as DOP.
The first one is called Hiding and is about a woman becoming more and more paranoid about the rise of COVID-19. She puts herself in self-quarantine as she battles her fear.
The second micro-short is called Hoping, and is a reflective look at our ‘new normal’ with hope for the days ahead.
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Some good news this month. Our first micro-short in the Life Improvised series has been selected into the MoziMotion Film Festival in the Netherlands, which runs from October 5th-13th. The improvised micro short stars local actor Marysia S. Peres as a woman waiting for her date at a Maltese festa, and was shot in Naxxar, right in the middle of the celebrations, marching bands, fireworks, spectacle. A lot of fun!
While in Berlin during the most of the month of May we shot our fourth micro short under the Life Improvised banner, called Cry Me a River .
The story centres around one character who has just received some bad news and her the world goes on as she tries to process the news, shedding tears publicly, only to be ignored by strangers who she encounters.
Together with our small team made up of our friends in Berlin, we had a tight knit crew - Laura on sound, Robbert as DP, Kelsey as the main character, and Ivan and Sarah Jayne co-directing, plus two extras and a couple of on-the-spot participants we recruited on the day. Together we managed to shoot this micro short in just 3 hours at the gorgeous Treptower Park in Berlin on a perfect day.
We are very happy with the footage but It may be a while until we post it on our YouTube and Vimeo Channels as we have a backlog of projects, including the previous Life Improvised film shot in Melbourne called XChange to edit and share.
More news to follow shortly on this film and the progress.
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One last shoot before we left Australia was a given!
We booked a night at one of Melbourne’s premiere five star hotels just for the Melbourne skyline views and got some of our favorite crew members together to shoot improvised micro-short XChange, as part of our Life Improvised series.
The third in this ongoing series of YouTube exclusive shoots stars resident sex-columnist at Maxim Magazine and award winning actor Vanessa de Largie as Yvette, an over worked marketing manager in need of a release, who orders a male escort, played by up and coming TV actor Frank Fazio.
Everything on the night ran smoothly and we have the latest micro-short in the can. Stay tuned for it on our YouTube Channel and also on our Vimeo on Demand platform.
Late October saw NPG dive into a second Life Improvised shoot, this one titled First Impressions. The story for this improvised micro short shows an out of touch man who is doing through a divorce attend a first date with a younger arts student. Both he and his date make a lasting first impression on each-other, but not in a positive way.
Like all of NPG’s micro shorts under the Life Improvised banner, the film explores relationships, everyday interactions between humans, awkward moments and times of disappointment.
Just like it’s predecessor Our Lady, First Impressions was set in Malta. The Lower Barrakka Gardens (Il-Barrakka t'Isfel) in Valletta, with its eye catching views of the Grand Harbour sets the backdrop for this story and stars local talent.
Expect to see this film up on NPG’s YouTube Channel in January.