These days, Hollywood budgets for movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer can climb into the hundreds of millions and take months to shoot. So, what can be achieved by filmmakers on a shoestring budget and schedule in 2023, with inflation kicking in?
Famous directors like Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese all made names for themselves with original stories done on a small budget and a Flinders University filmmaker is setting out to prove movies can still be made using a similar approach today.
Senior lecturer (screen) Tom Young has set himself the challenge of making a feature film within 100 days. From 15 August – 23 November 2023, Dr Young will seek to pull off a worldwide premiere on YouTube for free, and on the big screen for a South Australian audience.
Dr. Young’s project, Lucid Dreaming, is a feature film in the mystery genre and asks the question, “What if dreams could change reality?” The film is in a non-linear narrative and delves into the subconscious and surreal in the late 1980s as the audience joins the lead character, Macy, in coming to terms with her trauma through self-reflection and dream journaling, only to discover the ability to lucid dream.
By providing a unique insight into the creative process, Dr. Young will trace his journey from development to working with actors, planning the film shoot, production design, cinematography, sound and editing. All production visuals will be available at www.100dayfilm.com, including the pitch deck, plot points, script, schedule, call sheets, and more.
This project enables Dr. Young to bring to life his vision and also acts as inspiration for Flinders University students dreaming of making their own feature film one day.
“I am giving this project away for free because I love filmmaking, but I also love teaching people how to make films. I want to breakdown my process, and hopefully demystify it and share some helpful content and hopefully doing so will inspire the next generation of filmmakers and Flinders University students to chase their dreams in the same way.”
“My hope is that emerging filmmakers who dream of making their own feature film might find this useful. I am also giving away the film itself on day 100, it will be available on YouTube. The only ask is that you subscribe to my channel, which is totally free.”
“I invite you to join me on this journey, check out the website, watch the videos and subscribe on the YouTube channel for regular updates.
