Ingu Studios

Low budget production

Low budget film production

We make contained films: one strong premise, a small cast, few locations. Budgets that do not need a committee to approve them, which is the only reason an unusual script ever gets made.

Why contained

A contained film is not a compromise made after the money fell through. It is a form. One location and four actors forces the pressure into the writing, and the writing is the cheapest thing in a film to get right and the most expensive thing to get wrong.

It also changes who has to say yes. A film that can be made for what a mid-budget feature spends on its second unit does not need a studio to greenlight it, and that is the whole argument.

How we de-risk a film before asking for money

  1. The script is written to a budget bracket, not adapted to one later.
  2. We shoot a proof of concept - real actors, real location, the scene the film lives or dies on - before seeking finance.
  3. Investors see that footage rather than a deck describing it.
  4. Production is scheduled around the containment rather than fighting it: few unit moves, few night exteriors, no crowd days.

What we have on the shelf

Two bound scripts and five stories in development, all written to be made at this scale. One has been shot as a proof of concept. We are happy to walk a serious producer or investor through the material privately.

Co-production and service work

We also come onto other people's low budget features as writers, and occasionally as a production partner where the script is one we would have wanted to write. We are a small company and we say no to most things, which is what makes the yes worth something.

Questions we get

What counts as low budget for a feature in India?

It varies by language and by whether a star is attached. The useful definition is a budget you can raise without a studio, and a script written so that the number is achievable rather than aspirational.

Do you shoot a proof of concept for every project?

For our own films, yes. It is the cheapest way to prove that a premise works on screen rather than on the page, and it changes the conversation with financiers completely.

Will you produce a script we bring you?

Sometimes. We read everything that comes in, but we only produce what we would have wanted to write, and we would rather tell you that quickly than string it out.

Can we see your completed scripts?

Yes, privately. Serious producers and investors can request access and we will share the material directly.

Tell us what you're after

Send the project, the language and roughly what it needs. We read everything and reply ourselves.

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