what does "low budget" mean in movies?

[Smurfette]

Can someone tell me what the words “low budget” actually mean in the film industry? How cheap does a film have to be to be considered “low budget?” Are there indie films that are “high budget”? What would an example of that be? I can never tell from looking at a movie how much money was spent on it, I can’t even get within the range. I saw a great “low budget” movie called “Outsourced” last weekend – anyone else see it? How much do you think it cost to make?

[darin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-budget_film

[mrg666]

Clerks and Clerks 2 are awesome movies if you havent seen them i think even 2 qualifies as low budget

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109445/

[manu1959]

according to my brother...100k usually less than 50k.....

[dan]

All the above is correct, but it's all relative. There are a lot of factors that go into a movie being labelled "low budget". As mrg said, both Clerks and Clerks 2 are considered low-budget. Clerks was budgeted at around $28,000 whereas Clerks 2 was around $4 million (I believe). However, one has to factor in the fact that Clerks 2 was a union film, contains many roles with "famous" people, required much more set design, camera work, etc. So, for all that went up on the screen, $4 million isn't that much (by Hollywood standards, of course).

If you wanted an exact range, I'd say manu's bro hit it on the head, below $100,000. The vast majority of movies you see, even the "low budget, independent" ones, tend to cost more than they seem like they should. For example, a movie shot on 16mm film or digital video needs to be converted to 35mm film (the standard film stock for most theaters). This process alone usually costs around $30,000.

However, right now, we are at the cusp of a new style of filmmaking. David Lynch (Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive) just put out a movie called INLAND EMPIRE that was shot on video using his friends as actors, and the budget for that was around $4,000. Digital video is almost at the point that it is not only affordable, but comparable quality-wise to film.

[Smurfette]

Clerks and Clerks 2 are awesome movies if you havent seen them i think even 2 qualifies as low budget

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109445/

The original Clerks was what I defined "low budget" by for years, but I somehow figured since now there's a lot more accessible digital film technology that things would have changed. I still wonder how much "Outsourced" cost, I looked online but couldn't find the budget for it. Found a few good reviews: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117931647.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&query=outsourced&display=outsourced