For James Fields, microbudget is a way of life. He relishes that the unique challenges that come from making a microbudget film require you to learn every aspect of filmmaking, because with limited budget and crew, you’re going to be doing every job. “On any set I’m on, I’m asking every crew member how I can help move things forward. Having learned every aspect of production over the years has made me a better filmmaker,” he said. Now with Hieronyvision, Fields works as head of production, and helps students from film schools across the country learn about microbudget filmmaking in its Film Incubator.

Next Tuesday, Fields will be moderating a virtual discussion as part of our NanoWave: The Microbudget Film (r)evolution series. The series covers ultra-microbudget filmmaking and the filmmakers who are producing independent films with budgets under $100,000. In this edition we’ll be covering the craft of cinematography and VFX, and how to get the most out of a limited budget with what you see on screen. Fields with speak with cinematographer Juan Camilo Barriga (Ludi), VFX artist Owen Dennis (AJ Goes to the Dog Park), with more to be announced. Click here to register for the event.

In the meantime, we spoke with Fields about his history with microbudget, and what we can expect from the talk.

Tell us a little about yourself and your background with microbudget filmmaking.

I moved to Los Angeles from Park City, Utah in 1996 and got my start on the acting side before quickly realizing my real place was behind the camera. My first real project was a documentary about the demonstrations at the 2000 Democratic National Convention in LA. We just showed up with a Canon XL1, went to pre-rally meetings, and tried to understand why people were out there. After that, my creative partner and I made Pipe Dreams, following two Park City athletes trying to qualify for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. One made the team; one blew out his knee in the qualifying process. Triumph and tragedy built right in. That film got into Sundance, and it set me on a path of learning every aspect of production, from gripping to editing to camera. I didn’t realize microbudget was my thing at the time, but everything I was doing was microbudget. I just never really left.

Tell us what will be covered in the upcoming talk.

This one is a bit different from the usual filmmaker-focused sessions. We’re going behind the lens. We’ll be talking with cinematographer Juan Camilo Barriga from Ludi and VFX artist Owen Dennis from AJ Goes to the Dog Park. The conversation will focus on what it actually looks like to be brought onto a crew in those roles — camera choice, visual framing, special effects — and how those decisions get made and executed at the microbudget level.

Why do those films resonate with you and HieronyVision as examples of microbudget filmmaking?

AJ Goes to the Dog Park was a really passionate piece. It was shot over the course of more than a year, in the director’s hometown, calling in favors and shooting when they could. Having to use special effects to pull it off on that budget, and actually pulling it off, is exactly the kind of creative problem-solving we want to highlight.

One thing all of these films have in common is a skeleton crew where everyone is wearing multiple hats. That’s something I love about independent filmmaking at this level. On any set I’m on, I’m asking every crew member how I can help move things forward. Having learned every aspect of production over the years has made me a better filmmaker, and these films are a direct expression of that ethos.

We work with Film Independent on the Film Incubator with ten students from programs like Yale, Columbia, UCLA, and CalArts. One of last year’s participants recently told me she made her graduate project as a feature film for $3,000. She said we inspired her not to make a short, but to go out and make a feature. That’s exactly what we’re going for. And honestly, she inspired us right back.

Why do you think microbudget and ultra-microbudget filmmaking have become such a hot topic in the independent film world in recent years?

There’s a real and growing divide between the upper echelon of the film industry and the filmmakers trying to break in below it. A lot of people who were working at that upper level, writers on prestige shows, crew members on big productions, are out of work now. Production is leaving Los Angeles. The gap between where new filmmakers start and where the industry operates has never felt wider.

But what’s shifting is the understanding that you don’t need $1 million or even $100,000 to make a film. The technology has genuinely caught up. I shot a film recently on an iPhone. If you know what you’re doing as a cinematographer, your phone is a legitimate tool, and you just saved yourself a significant equipment rental. I walked through the streets of Vienna, Austria with a Blackmagic 6K shooting a documentary and nobody said a word. I’ve never pulled a permit for anything I’ve filmed in LA. If you want to get it done, you can get it done.

The other thing is that waiting around for permission has a real cost. I spent years doing that myself. My creative partner on Pipe Dreams spent years writing every day, working a waiter job, before he got there. That path still exists, but it’s harder than ever to get through the door. Ultra-microbudget gives you a way to not wait, to go out and make the thing, build the experience, and have something to show when you do eventually get in the room. Give me a strong script with two characters and a good sound person, and I can make a film anywhere. That’s not a fantasy. That’s just where the technology and the craft are right now.

Click here to register for the online discussion happening next Tuesday at 5:30pm PT.