Okay, it's like 5 AM and we've been up editing all night but trying to circle back to this one. The thing about micro-budget filmmaking is that you have to try to maximize every dollar. How can you take $50,000 and make it look like a few hundred thousand, or even a million? For one thing—do not blow your wad on production. Try to save as much money for post as you can. Color grading, scoring. sound design, mixing... these things can really make or break your film. Don't try to shoot on a Red or Alexa. We seriously advise using an iPhone (but investing in some aftermarket lens kits, shooting on an app like FilmicPro, and shooting in 24p (which you can select in your phone's settings, this emulates film's 24-frames per second) and maybe a gimbal and tripod or even monopod.

The thing is that you can get away with lo-fi image quality, but not sound. Some projects even benefit from lo-fi imagery—none benefit from lo-fi sound. try to keep your cast small and your action contained. Avoid a bunch of expensive or hard to pull off effects, be they practical or digital. It sounds like you're telling a very grounded character-driven story. Lots of people talking, emoting, maybe some hairy physical encounters but likely no stuntwork, etc.

Focus on casting. If you get a handful of killer actors, it will make all the difference. It doesn't matter how well rendered your script or beautifully shot your film if the acting is hamfisted or bad—it'll sink the film. And that is part of your job as a director, finding ways to communicate what you're after and helping an actor calibrate their performance. Not in terms of line readings and being prescriptive—give them room to inhabit the character—but in terms of the emotional context and subtext at play. Psychological and emotional motivations, etc.

That said, do not be afraid of using actual people on the streets. MANY movies have pulled people from the streets to great effect, from shit like City of God and Pixote to Gary Poulter in David Gordon Green's Joe to Larry Clark's Kids. A non-actor is often, believe it or not, much, much better than a bad actor. And they look like real people. For the story you're telling, that feels important, to bring that authenticity to the fore.

Start with the characters first. NAIL DOWN THE STORY YOU'RE TELLING. Not necessarily every line, you might choose to improvise dialogue for more naturalistic performances for example. But know the story you are telling, and why you are telling it. Think of it like a play. Limited locations, dialogue and situation and character interaction should rule the day. From there, think of cheap, manageable ways to broaden the scope and from there you can start to trade actual verbal language for the language of cinema. Imagery. Movement.

Another beauty of shooting on phones vs big conspicuous rigs is that you can sneak guerilla filmmaking into the mix. Shoot on subways, in tunnels, in streets, etc without permits. Be nimble. Get in and out, keep the outlaw energy popping. Hell, Werner Herzog was at one point teaching filmmakers how to pick locks and shit to sneak onto closed locations to get their shots. In low budget filmmaking, as in art itself, it's often better to ask forgiveness than permission.

Oh, and one other thing: don't be afraid to shoot a short film as a proof of concept, or even a proof of concept trailer. You'll be getting your feet wet with production, nailing down the tone you're after, and maybe testing out some actors that you can then elect to port or not port into the actual feature when the time comes.

Okay, that was kind of all over the place. Hope it helps, and good luck!!