It’s a familiar story: you have the ingredients, a completed screenplay, comparable films, a target audience, a finance plan, a marketing strategy, a ‘wish list’ of talent, location ideas, bundles of enthusiasm...

But there’s one vital missing component: funding. As a ‘balanced producer,’ you try to be patient. You wait for emails and calls, make pitches, submit to competitions, consider mentoring schemes and courses, and throw everything at it. But the months and years roll on, and still nothing. No calls, no emails, no interest in your film.

As a producer and screenwriter (over twenty screenplays written, five features made so far), I’ve been in this situation many times. So then, of course, you bring your expectations down, and the pitches become increasingly modest. You’re no longer pitching for that $1 million indie, you’re looking for micro-budget money in the region of $100K and below. And when that doesn't materialize, what’s next?

I take a step back. If I’m happy with the material and have a solid belief in the project, I will adopt the philosophy that we’ll make the film within a certain time frame whether finance is forthcoming or not. Some would consider this madness, misguided, or possibly unprofessional. When you dig beneath the surface, however, many of the greatest producers and directors have taken risks with zero-budget projects or guerrilla filmmaking. Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, and Robert Rodriguez have all undertaken small projects with limited backing to kickstart their careers.

As well as the aforementioned filmmakers and others, I started following Sean Baker’s work, specifically when he undertook his Tangerine feature film project, which was shot on an Apple iPhone 5S. The film has a dynamic and pacey style, which I really like, and the camerawork adds extra energy. This approach, along with a great story and semi-improvised acting out in the street, propelled the film into the spotlight. I mentioned phone cameras and the guerrilla style to my director (James Smith) as an option to release some of our films from the shelf and into the marketplace. Initially, he was reticent about the idea of using smartphones, perhaps since he came from a still photography background where the use of interchangeable lenses provides well-established techniques for storytelling in film.

It was not until our DP walked off one of our shoots in a huff (we were glad to see him go actually, but that’s another story!) that I broached the idea of picking up the pieces and shooting the film with a smartphone. This time, James agreed to go for it, and we went on to successfully shoot many features in the format over the next few years.

Before this technology came to our attention, we were familiar with guerrilla filmmaking techniques, so I guess we had a head start with phone shooting.

One such shoot that seriously tested this run-and-gun philosophy took us to Spain where James made up the entire crew, acting as cameraman/sound recordist/director, and I served as actor and producer. It was very much a ‘guerrilla film’ shoot reminiscent of EL MARIACHI... shooting on location in sophisticated cities, a gritty town on the edge of a desert, and a mosquito-infested nature reserve.

This run-and-gun method of filmmaking is not for the fainthearted. The people in the aforementioned gritty town were pleasantly curious about our activities. However, some dubious characters were hanging around the backstreets, and the occasional feral dog all motivated us to shoot quickly and move on.

Although this kind of filmmaking can be liberating and inspiring, be warned that you need a certain level of preparation. All of our gear was handheld. There were no tripods or fixtures set up in the street. We could have easily been mistaken for tourists taking some footage or making a YouTube video. We knew the shots we needed to get, we were aware of the legalities in the locality, and we were fully insured. For James, operating a camera kit (a Canon DSLR) with interchangeable lenses plus the audio gear while directing was physically and mentally demanding, especially during the action scenes.

Shooting in this way requires a lot of thinking on your feet in terms of dealing with changing circumstances, especially if you are shooting in public places. You need to adapt and deal with changing weather conditions and noise and traffic and building works, all the while looking to acquire good footage and sound before you generate too much interest from onlookers or troublemakers.

Although it may seem like attempting the impossible, it is a dynamic and gratifying process and can give a project a distinct style and vibrancy. You do, however, need to work with people who are enthusiastic and dedicated to the project and understand the pressure that you are under. Although you can throw caution to the wind to some extent, you must have safety in mind at all times and be respectful of people and their property. Tread lightly with a small team and be as invisible as possible. Play by the rules and take out insurance to cover your activities in public places.

If you’re ready for a challenge and do your homework, you could end up making a credible feature film on very little cash or none at all!

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