5 Steps To Make A Hollywood-Quality Trailer Made For 0$!

See the secrets behind a no-budget video that will blow people's minds.

The Cyrus Project, a promotional video for God's Machine, was made on no budget, with only creative commons and public domain footage. Look at something like this as an example.

1. Use Free Programs Wisely

Audacity, Paint.NET, Gimp, VSCD and Windows Movie Maker are all either free, or often pre-installed on the computer you have from the factory. Use them to put together images and sounds that other people haven't thought of. Originality is free.

2. Use Stock Footage

Stock footage is vague, nondescript, and intended to be used in many productions. This means you can cobble together stock footage, and with good audio or storytelling, make a compelling story easily. Stock footage from Shutterstock, Beachfront B-roll, and the Internet Archive are great, and often can be found in HD. And Speaking of Internet Archive...

3. OLD is GOLD

The Internet Archive has tons of old, classic video for free to download. The thing about old footage is that it is artistic, yet no one expects extremely high quality. You can put old footage next to HD images, and the viewer will just think you're making a statement! In reality, you could be saving yourself tons of money and still produce a great video.

4. Know your Licenses

The Creative Common License is a godsend for indie productions. Often, the only requirement is to give your resulting work a creative commons license itself, but know the differences between cc-by, cc-by-sa, and cc-by-nc. If you aren't sure, stick to the public domain. Websites that include a creative commons license are Vimeo, the Free Music Archive and even Youtube.com!

5. BE CREATIVE!

No one will care how much money your video cost, or how fancy it is, if you're presenting a really unique and creative idea, or a simple idea in a very creative way. Stick by Occam's Razor and keep things simple, artistic, and interesting, and you'll make a better video than a bland $1,000,000 Hollywood productions in no time.

This post was written by the author of God's Machine God's Machine a new epic novel project. Use their experiences to improve your own grassroots publishing or production!