Making Films That Money Can't Buy: Jake Mahaffy's Micro-Budget Methods

With a new book about the craft of independent filmmaking on the way, Mahaffy spoke with us about how crucial it is for filmmakers to find opportunities in constraints

Jake Mahaffy has been making films that challenge the perceived limitations of a lack of financial backing since 1996. In the early years of his career, Mahaffy worked with untrained actors and secluded sets to create atmospheric worlds on a microscopic budget. He shot his first film, a short entitled Egypt Hollow (1996), when he was 20 years old on an abandoned Connecticut farm. Mahaffy did not have a crew, so the ropes and pulleys in the barn acted as his camera operators. He continued down this DIY path with his first feature, War (2004), and spent five years shooting this film by himself using a hand-wound 16mm camera and sheer willpower. War was shot as a silent film before a moody soundscape, foley, and voiceover were added in post — a great way to lean into your practical limitations. Each of Mahaffy’s subsequent films continued to employ the no-budget fundamentals that elevated the earliest works in his career. Wellness (2008) was shot in 10 days for $2,000 using handheld digital photography and situational improvisation. Free In Deed (2015) was shot on location in Memphis, Tennessee, utilizing local extras and lived-in locations. His most recent film, Reunion (2021), is his only project to date to have exceeded a budget of $250,000. Even with the newfound monetary support, Mahaffy used the expertise gained from his previous productions to create a captivating single-location character study reminiscent of his earlier work. His films have been lauded by numerous critics and have played at film festivals around the world, taking home top prizes at Venice and SXSW. One would be hard-pressed to find a filmmaker who recognizes the value of independence more than Jake Mahaffy.

There are also few artists more readily willing to articulate the challenges and potential workarounds that come with the territory of the medium in which they operate. Mahaffy’s inclination to elucidate the micro-budget filmmaking process for those around him has permeated his career since the early aughts. He has taught at numerous universities and colleges, most recently working as an Associate Professor at Belmont University. He also founded the filmmaking programs at two of the universities at which he taught. He has led countless workshops and classes around the world with the implicit goal of helping less-experienced filmmakers make their films cheaply and efficiently. And now, in addition to all of his other accomplishments, he has literally written the book on micro-budget filmmaking. Micro-Budget Methods of Cinematic Storytelling: A Practical Guide to Making Narrative Media with Minimal Means, Mahaffy’s newest attempt at demystifying the filmmaking process, releases this month via Routledge. Simply put, it is one of the most essential instruments a budding filmmaker — or an already experienced one — can have in their toolbox.

When I spoke to Mahaffy about the book’s release, he seemed excited at the prospect that it could inspire young filmmakers. “I want the book to be useful and practical,” he said. “It’s a lot of stuff I wish I had read or known early on.” We didn’t get far into our conversation before it started to feel like Mahaffy was interviewing me, asking me about my own budding film career and my tactics in the classroom as a high school film teacher. He took a particular interest in whether movies were still relevant to the demographic I teach or if they had become archaic in the wake of social media. (I am still in search of the answer to this question.) Mahaffy’s altruistic demeanor reflects through his writing. He hasn’t written a book about revealing trade secrets or knowing all the answers — he’s not trying to save the cat. Rather, Micro-Budget Methods of Cinematic Storytelling aims to use one seasoned filmmaker’s real life experiences to contextualize problems that all independent filmmakers are bound to face so that anyone can go into the development and eventual production of a film feeling as though they are equipped with the right skill set.

“The fear of not doing it is stronger than the fear of doing it,” Mahaffy responded when I asked him about having the ability to push forward and make that next project. “That’s all it is. The terror of not actually getting something done is stronger than the terror of doing it wrong. And then at some point you start to enjoy it and then you do it for the joy instead of the fear.”

Mahaffy’s new book is all about finding the joy and eliminating the fear. Part of the reason why he felt drawn to write Micro-Budget Methods of Cinematic Storytelling is because he knows how monotonous the filmmaking process can become if you don’t find the joy in it. “I’ve got different projects in the works. There’s constant delay. Developing Free In Deed, I went through two different producers that came on and never got [the project] anywhere. In that time, I [thought], ‘Well, maybe I should shoot something else.’ But then they’re like, ‘Oh, we’re going to shoot Free In Deed next month.’ You’re always juggling and pitching multiple projects at the same time. Which is fine, but you want something to land.”

Mahaffy’s writing comes from a place of knowing how discouraging it can be trying to get a project over the finish line. “After decades of teaching and trying to explain dramatic structure, I came up with some simplified ideas of minor narrative modules.” Having seen and heard the struggles of thousands of emerging filmmakers through his years as a professor, Mahaffy aimed to distill the lessons he had learned as a director into one easily absorbable text. “A lot of it was taken from lectures and talks, so it was just about revising it and putting it into book format. My hope is that it is accessible and applicable and useful in a lot of different ways.”

In the early pages of the book, Mahaffy makes clear to the reader that they should not mistake his writing for a “how-to” book. The book is all about applying creative workarounds and using readily available resources to make great art. It expects the reader to meet it with a knowledgeable film background and perhaps even an idea already bouncing around in their head. This allows for the reader to not get distracted by a plethora of new vocabulary and for Mahaffy as an author to focus on the information he thinks will truly be helpful rather than getting caught up in the weeds of explaining common film lingo. The book forgoes typical filmmaking mainstays (“Write what you know,” “Show, don’t tell”) in favor of some new mantras that really resonate: “Make work that money can’t buy.” “The (mis)take might be the best take.” “The obstacle holds the solution.” By encouraging creators to go into the book and their future projects with an open mind and a curious spirit, Mahaffy opens a world of filmmaking opportunities. Only then will Micro-Budget Methods fully function as intended.

The personalized nature of the book’s anecdotes allow the reader to feel less like they are being siphoned information and more like they are having a conversation with someone who has a lot of the same interests and a few extra years of industry experience. While it would be easy to view a book that references one’s own work as an act of condescension, Mahaffy speaks of his past projects with such an uncommon candor that there is no mistaking his desire to be helpful. The closing case study in the book, Free In Deed, gives us an annotated look inside the mind of a director as he attempts to keep his creative vision intact in the midst of a chaotic production. The reader is provided with pages from a spec script, shooting schedules, call sheets, look-books, screengrabs of the editing timeline; it is a more unvarnished look at the artistic process than I’ve seen any filmmaker publicize before.

Read about Free in Deed in our Best of the 2010s in Film series

(Gravitas Ventures/Courtesy of Jake Mahaffy)

Mahaffy also addresses many of the supposed trappings of the low-budget filmmaking mentality. He is unafraid to confront controversial topics head-on, such as the use of AI as a means for quicker product or the minimal payment for actors and crew members. The book makes an explicit point that budgetary constraints are no excuse for a lack of professionalism. This is a refreshing and much needed reminder for all artists.

And Mahaffy’s new book really is for all artists. Although it is catered towards filmmakers, it is by no means limited to them. I would not be surprised to hear that a casual moviegoer enjoyed learning some of the “inside baseball” strategies implemented during the making of their favorite low-budget films. A writer or photographer could learn plenty from Mahaffy’s cut-to-the-chase approach to explaining the artistic process. Filmmaking is a universal language and Mahaffy has found a way to make his writing about filmmaking just as expansive and relatable as the medium itself.

Micro-Budget Methods of Cinematic Storytelling is an invaluable tool for anyone who ever aspires to make a low-, micro- or no-budget film in an efficient and professional manner. It will especially come in handy for those aiming to rewire the way they think about telling stories and making art. The highest compliment I can pay to the book — and to Mahaffy’s filmography in its entirety — is that it makes me want to go out and make something tomorrow.