Film-making for today's industry

We specialize in high-quality films on realistic budgets

SAG-AFTRA's "Ultra-low budget" agreement is for films with a budget of LESS than $300,000. Do you have an extra $300k lying around? I know I don't. Sure, for some people raising that kind of money is possible, but for most of us that isn't our reality... yet. The question we always ask is "how do we make films for realistic budgets and still produce something of quality that will get noticed?"

Francis Ford Coppola once spoke of a time where cameras would be available to everyone and that gatekeepers would be less and less relevant. I first heard about him saying that when I took a Master Class with Baz Luhrmann where he asked what was holding us back from making a film. Before we could answer he told us that we should start making films now and that there was no excuse not to. His example is one I have always embraced. He said, James Cameron made "Titanic" for $200 million, but there's also a $1 million version, and a $100 version, and a $10 version." He insisted that all of theses situations can produce quality films as long as the focus was on the story. Story is the center of every film and if you have a good story, you'll have a good film. We agree that a story can be told for very little money, but we also believe in professionalism and making sure people are treated with respect.

The films we make at Straphanger Productions are not the $1 million budget and not the $10 budget. Our most recent film, RECOIL, was shot over the course of three days in two locations for a budget of about $7000. Every person on our set was paid and the two largest roles were filled with SAG-AFTRA actors who were paid in accordance with SAG's Ultra-Low budget agreement. We had a great mix of seasoned professionals and early career professionals. We provided meals for everyone every day of shooting. If you ask anyone involved they would say they were treated with respect. The key is to learn the craft, be prepared, and treat everyone with the utmost respect.

Coppola was right and that time is now.