1) Raise Money Any Way you Can
Obviously friends and family will be the first ones you ask. But instead of trying to get one lump sum of money, $5 from all your facebook friends would go a long way.
Kickstarter.com is a nice fundraising website where you can broadcast your vision, your script, your goal.
You can offer rewards for investing. And rewards for certain amounts. $5 gets a Special Thanks credit, $10 gets and Executive Producer Credt, etc.
3) Plan for delays
Nothing is going to go as planned when you are shooting your film. If you know that going in, then you'll be able to keep some of your sanity.
Planning for reshoots, scenes taking longer to shoot then you thought, weather never cooperating with you means putting at least two extra days into your schedule. But we would recommend four.
5) Helpful Websites
Filmtools is a great website that you can buy cheap, but effective tools for shooting. Little things like Gaff tape or bigger things like a car mount.
If you're using a DSLR to shoot on then you might want to check out Phillip Bloom. He is sort of a underground cult legend.
4) Target Small Local Shops
When choosing your locations, even if you know the manager at the Cheesecake Factory, since it is a corporation they most likely have to get corporate permision.
Hit up local shops that might not be the most ideal shooting location. Or have the exact look you want, but that will be more willing to work with you.
They'll be excited to have their business featured in a film. Tell them it will premiere at Sundance. You're not really lying as you have to believe that your film will play at Sundance. Even though you won't actually know at that time if it is or not.
2) Plan for efficiency/ cut costs
You'll be having long hours on set and if you have multiple locations you have to be smart on how you organize your schedule.
If you are paying your actors, or one particular actor becuase they are SAG, then plan the scenes for those actors to hopefully be shot in one day.
Even if it would be more convenient to shoot all of the Office scenes in one day instead of going to the Office and then the apartment to just get that one actors scenes done.
On the flip side, if you're paying for the location then obviously you'd want to get all the scenes done at that location first and foremost.
