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August 1, 2005Small budget, big resultsDirectors create moving films on a shoestringBY LINDSAY VANHULLERecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - They might not have much in the way of a budget or a crew, but independent filmmakers say those restrictions can make for a better film. "With only a cameraman and a sound man, you find life," said Andrew Wagner, director of "The Talent Given Us," during the final Traverse City Film Festival panel discussion Sunday. "Story isn't about money. Story is about what's inside you." The panel, "How to Make a Great Movie for $30,000," was held at the City Opera House and featured directors Wagner and Jonathan Caouette, who won the Traverse City Film Festival's Stanley Kubrick Prize for being willing to take risks with his documentary, "Tarnation." Wagner won the festival's "Best First Film" award. During the discussion, the directors talked about how to find a story for a film, how they made their films and how they got them noticed. "The Talent Given Us" was made for $30,000 with a two-person crew. Wagner used his family as his cast and filmed only with available lighting. "We could really go on the road and we weren't bound by the same financial restrictions (as Hollywood)," he said. "It helps when your cast is your mother, father and two sisters." Wagner - whose film was rejected by the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 before being accepted in 2005 - said aspiring filmmakers need to be "rigorous" in all aspects of production and marketing. "You have to believe in things that nobody else sees but you," he said. "That's what it means to be an independent filmmaker." Caouette's documentary was originally made for $217.32 on his home Apple iMac computer. It's composed of home video he began filming at about age 11, along with photographs and audio from answering machine tapes. The film has been in both the Sundance and Cannes film festivals, Caouette said. "I've been inadvertently making this film for 20 years," he said. "It's all true. There was just this keen sense of urgency to get the word out." To add music to his film, Caouette said he first imported songs into his computer and then found video and images that matched the music. "I would go through my CD collection," he said. Both directors said smaller budgets allowed them to go deeper with their films than Hollywood often can. Cadillac resident Katie Schoenherr said she is intrigued by the inside stories of how artists - including filmmakers and musicians - create their products. She enjoyed hearing what Wagner and Caouette had to say. "I'm just fascinated by that," Schoenherr said. "They were very interesting."
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