Things Every Filmmaker Should Own, Regardless of budget:
-A multitool (15-20 bucks minimum will get you a tool that lasts for a year or two. If you drop the 80 bucks on a Leatherman, it’ll last longer, and it comes with an amazing warranty. In fact, if you go to a pawn shop and find a Leatherman multitool that’s a bit damaged, It’ll cost like, 20 bucks and you can send it in to them, and they’ll either repair it or send you a new one for free.)
-A dedicated pocketknife (10 bucks for a pretty good one at your average hardware store. Just don’t walk around with it unless you’re on-set. If you’re wondering why I’m saying this in addition to the knife on your multitool, it’s because multi-tool knives have a terrible tendency to be kinda shitty, and a good pocketknife, well-maintained, can pretty much last your entire life.)
-At least two can lights from a hardware store w/ LED Lightbulbs.(LED bulbs seem expensive, but keep in mind that they last for a really long fucking time.One bulb is worth many, many packs of cheap incandescent ones.)
-A Heavy-duty halogen worklight (Go to pawn shops if you can’t find a cheap one in a hardware store.)
-At least three 20-50′ extension cables (Learn to coil them correctly, and they’ll be with you for a long damn time.)
-Cable ties. (To keep your properly coiled cables from tangling up in transit.) You can find these in office supply stores, hardware stores, and dollar stores.)
-A tripod (I have a very expensive one now, but my most popular thing to date was shot with a crappy 30 dollar one. Once again, if you know what to look for, there are some pretty amazing old tripods in pawn shops that you can get for the same price as the shitty ones in big-box stores.)
-As many pocket-sized notebooks as you can get your hands on (go to a dollar-store)
-A clipboard ($10-20 at an office-supply store. They make you look like you know what you’re doing and are also excellent organizational tools. Alternatively, you could use something like an iPad, but a clipboard never runs out of battery power.)
-Script-formatting software (you can get this for free online)