Lights… Camera… One-Man Film Crew Action

Going All In as a Cinematic Force of One

Jon Jost is an obscure yet prolific filmmaker. Directing over forty films in the past half century. I’ve known of his existence for the past quarter century when I read Feature Filmmaking at Used Car Prices by Rick Schmidt. The book that every aspiring filmmaker reads at some point thanks to a title that sells itself. It also contains oodles of useful information about producing films on the cheap with real-world examples courtesy of the author and other rogue filmmakers. One of whom is Jost and featured in my addition of the book as such…

This photo and caption piqued my curiosity immediately. A man producing feature-length films by himself? I was sold. But it wasn’t until last night that I finally watched one of his films. The 1977 drama Last Chants for a Slow Dance. An extremely minimalist road movie comprised of long static shots and lots of dialogue. Despite this, it’s a solid film that held my interest throughout. A sum greater than its parts. It’s on YouTube (where I watched it) as of writing this if you want to check it out.

Jost shot this film with the aid of one lead actor, five supporting actors appearing in one to two scenes each, and three production assistants in five days for a measly $2000. Thanks to advancements in technology, this film could probably still be made for that amount in 2024 despite inflation. Jost could save a huge chunk of money just by shooting on his phone and not having to purchase film stock. Shooting a feature film on a phone with a few production assistants is how I will produce King Magnum. I’d decided this last week and my strategy was reinforced after viewing Jost’s acclaimed work.

Although I was an instant success directing my first short film with a crew of twenty…

...the (mostly) one-man film crew approach will benefit me artistically and financially.