Shooting a low-budget TV Pilot | Pt. 3 | Blowing 1/2 The Budget In One Day.

Preface, my goal with this blog series is to give a realistic view of what it takes to tell a story using modern methods. I have the utmost and respect for the cast and crew of County Line.

County Line is a supernatural thriller about an exorcism gone wrong. When it came time to cast the personification of evil, "the demon", I really wanted to cast an older man. When you are shooting a micro-budget film with your friends, sometimes a little age diversity adds that extra production value that is needed for people to take you seriously.

In my first feature as a director, I cast Rik Billock, an unknown, but seasoned actor from Pittsburgh. He's been on the cusp of his big break his whole life. He looks the part of a gnarly demon and has played horror characters most of his career. Problem is -- He is a SAG actor and has a 200 dollar day rate minimum.

He agreed to shoot a day on County Line. He was the only professional actor. He was the most expensive piece of production by far.

We were shooting Friday evening into early Saturday morning. So Friday morning my co-director Alex and I drove to Pittsburgh (about 4.5 hrs from Wilkes-Barre) to pick him up. 100 dollars gas. I paid him in Pittsburgh, just to get it out of the way 200 smackers.

Grabbing Rik from the Burgh

Part of his character is a reveal where he turns his face and says the word "Rot" and half of his face is rotten. I have a friend who is dipping her toes into makeup design and agreed to do County Line for the experience. She practiced the effect on me the night before the shoot.

Makeup test

Our first shoot at a church was by far the most difficult shoot of the whole pilot, so in a way, I'm glad it is over. It's all down hill from here, right?

After the church scene, we went to a Motel where Rik would spend the night - We also had a quick scene to film there. I always say it's going to be a quick scene. We went until 5:00 Am. Motel Cost 80 buckaroos

Rik lounging while doing some voiceover work

The next day, we fed him and put him on a bus and sent him back to the burgh. 20 Smackers for Breakfast and 120 bucks for the bus ticket

Total cost for the day of shooting? 520 Big Ones. Approximately half of our 1000 dollar budget.