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Provider
openrouter
Challenge Version
v1.0
Turns
1
Duration
170.8s
Total Tokens
9,328
Input Tokens
1,518
Output Tokens
7,810
Reasoning Tokens
6,078
Reasoning Effort
default
Cached Input Tokens
128
Est. Cost
$0.0497
Started
8/18/2026, 1:15:21 AM
OR Provider
xAI
Finish Reason
stop
Generation ID
gen-1787015720-xKAVLxquUKxRYRzaOY9Y
Turns (1)
Turn #1
1,518 in7,810 out6,078 reasoning128 cached9,328 total170.7s
user
Ok, I need the best advice you can give, with no mistakes.
Me and my two roommates, Dev and Marcus, are making a found footage horror movie. Like, an actual movie we're going to try to release to the public, not just a YouTube video or something.
Horror movies are HUGE right now. Look at "Talk to Me". That was made for basically nothing compared to a normal horror movie and did around 90 million. And the Backrooms guy was making stuff as a teenager with a computer and ended up getting an A24 deal. So that makes me think, if we do this right, the skies the limit. But we need help.
Here's the situation.
Location:
We found a cabin on Airbnb up near Weott in Humboldt County, right in the redwoods. It's $1840 for four nights, Thursday through Sunday, and it sleeps six. There's a firepit in the pictures, so that's perfect because the campfire scene is a big part of the movie. There's also old-growth forest, right down the road that we can shoot in.
The Airbnb listing doesn't specifically say you can film a movie there, but I think it's normal for people to make videos about their stay. we're only five people with phones, not a huge commercial crew or anything.
Money:
There are three of us paying for it. $1200 each, so $3600 total.
I'm working at a Verizon store. Dev works in a warehouse and does DoorDashing, he films himself too doing it and already has like 8000 subscribers. Marcus works at Chipotle. It took me almost a year to save my $1200.
The rough budget is:
- $1840 for the cabin
- around $500 for gas and food
- around $600 for costumes, fake blood, the twig dolls, etc.
- $90 for a night vision attachment
I'm also buying an iPhone 17 Pro Max before the trip. My uncle is a contractor and he told me that once you have an LLC you can basically write off stuff you use for the business. So I'm figuring the cabin, gas, food, phone, everything is deductible. That's awesome and I see now why so many people turn their weekend getaways into movies. There are literally hundreds of found footage movies on the platforms.
The LLC:
We're forming one this week. One of those online filing sites says it'll be around $70. The three of us will own it equally, 1/3 each, so nobody can screw anybody else later.
We don't plan on having a separate contract yet. Will figure that out later.
The Cast:
It's me, Dev, Marcus, Dev's girlfriend Kaylee, and Kaylee's friend Sam.
The girls aren't putting money into it; they are just acting. They are both really attractive, at least 8.5 out of ten, so I think that helps with the poster and marketing, especially for horror. Kaylee already has some ideas for the poster. They are shopping for some clothing which we'll put on the business tab, for taxes.
Nobody is getting paid up front. If this actually makes money, we'll split it later.
The plot:
The basic story is five friends go up to a cabin, find something in the woods, and then things start getting bad.
We have the outline for the story, and plan to improvise most of the dialogue because I think that's important for found footage. We're pretty funny together, and come up with quotable lines all the time, so I think some of the conversations are going to feel really natural. Not like some amateur movies where the people feel like they are reading their lines.
The scares we have so far:
- Hooded figures dancing around a big fire at night, filmed from inside the cabin through a window.
- Voodoo-looking dolls made out of twigs that keep showing up closer and closer to the cabin. Small ones at first, bigger ones later. Might use some AI for the largest ones that move.
- A phone sitting face down on the ground while something walks past it but the person with the camera doesn't notice
Sam finds a symbol in the woods and searches it on Google. We'd shoot over her shoulder so you can actually see the search results while she's reading them. Dev wrote a Chrome Extension that changes the search result to look like what we want.
The cabin itself is kind of perfect. There's old taxidermy and weird paintings everywhere, basically we get production design for free.
We're all shooting on our phones. We don't think we need extra microphones because found footage is supposed to sound rough anyway. I actually think clean Hollywood audio would make it feel less real.
Marcus has Premiere and is going to handle most of the editing.
He also wants to use a real song over the end credits. There's one song we've been listening to all summer that fits the movie perfectly. The band is from our city and really unknown, they play dive bars and stuff. Will buy the rights for them later, if the movie gets accepted. Right now it would obviously be too early.
Schedule:
We're shooting the last weekend of September. We all have those days off except Marcus is basically just going to call out of work.
We'll edit through October and November, hopefully have a finished movie by December, and then put it on Tubi and Amazon Prime.
We are always checking what's on those platforms and honestly some of the stuff there is terrible. It seems like if you have a finished movie they'll take it, they always need fresh content.
Then we'd try festivals next year once we've got some views behind us.
There'll probably be drinking on the trip too, obviously. It's also a guys' trip even though Kaylee and Sam are coming.
So what I would need from you is:
Ideas to set our movie apart, from all the other found footage movies
What should we know before we get there that we probably haven't thought about?
Ideas how to increase production value? Especially for the scares? Any good AI software you recommend?
Increase chances to get accepted by Tubi and Amazon Prime?
Please don't suggest to hire professionals or spend more money. This is supposed to be a super low budet movie. We don't have more money.
I'd also like you to point out anything we're doing that could completely screw us later.
Just help make this the best movie possible and avoid extra expenses and other problems.
assistant
Get written host permission now, do not use uncleared music, put simple written agreements in place immediately, research actual LLC/tax/permit costs and land rules, and treat this as a real (very constrained) production rather than a write-off vacation. Your budget and approach can produce a watchable found-footage feature if you stay organized and honest about limitations, but several current plans create real legal, financial, and quality risks that have sunk similar projects.
Immediate legal and financial landmines (these can kill the movie or create personal liability later)
Airbnb commercial filming is not automatically allowed. Their terms generally prohibit using listings for commercial purposes without host approval. A released movie (Tubi, Prime, festivals, any monetization) is commercial, even with five phones. Message the host now, describe the small no-crew shoot, and get explicit written permission to film and to use the footage commercially. Without it you risk mid-stay shutdown, later claims, or unusable footage. Stick to the rental property itself unless you confirm otherwise.
Do not put the unknown band’s song in the movie and “buy rights later.” That is copyright infringement. Platforms reject or pull uncleared music; the rights holder can demand takedown or sue. Contact the band now for a cheap/synch license or written permission (unknown local act may say yes for credit). Otherwise use public-domain, YouTube Audio Library/royalty-free tracks, original simple score, or no licensed song. End-credits music is not required.
No contracts + vague “split later” + non-investor actors is how friendships and movies explode if anything succeeds (or even if it doesn’t). Form the LLC properly, then immediately create: (1) a basic operating agreement (free templates exist) covering 1/3 ownership, capital contributions, that the LLC owns the film/IP, decision-making, and what happens on exit/dispute; (2) simple talent/likeness releases from Kaylee and Sam (and anyone else on camera) stating the LLC owns the footage in exchange for credit and any agreed backend. Decide the money waterfall now in writing (e.g., recoup the $3600 first, then split). Girlfriend/friend dynamics plus “they’re attractive so good for the poster” make this more important, not less. Verbal later-splits fail constantly.
LLC + taxes are not “$70 and write off the vacation/phone/food.” Filing fees, annual reports, and franchise taxes vary sharply by state—California (cabin location) has an $800 minimum annual tax plus other fees for LLCs even with $0 income; other states differ. If you live elsewhere you may still trigger CA foreign-qualification or other rules for activity there. An LLC does not magically make mixed personal/business spending (guys’ trip, drinking, new personal phone, food) fully deductible. You need ordinary-and-necessary business expenses, contemporaneous records, receipts, mileage logs, and allocation of personal use. Over-claiming invites problems. Open a separate business account if you proceed, keep everything documented, and look up your actual home-state + CA requirements before paying the $70 site. Your uncle’s contractor experience does not automatically transfer. If this is truly a business you will have filing obligations even in a loss year.
Public land/old-growth forest “right down the road” almost certainly requires a filming permit for commercial work (state parks, USFS, etc.). Small phone crews are not exempt. Permits can involve fees, insurance, or restrictions; filming without one risks citation and unusable footage. Confirm property lines of the Airbnb and stay on permitted private land, or research the exact parcel and apply if required. Do not assume.
Other practical risks: no liability insurance + firepit + woods + night + drinking + fake blood + people in hoods = personal exposure if someone is injured or the property is damaged (LLC helps only if maintained and the claim is against the entity). Cell service in Humboldt redwoods is often poor—have a safety plan, first-aid, check-in protocol, and weather backup (September can be wet/foggy). Four nights is extremely tight for a feature; you need a shot list and priorities or you will leave with unusable coverage. Backup footage daily to multiple places (phones fail or fill up). Marcus calling out is his employment risk.
What you probably haven’t fully planned
Audio will make or break watchability. “Found footage is supposed to sound rough” is true up to the point of unintelligible dialogue or wind roar. Test phones in similar conditions (woods, fire, distance, night) now. Record extra wild sound/room tone. You can dirty it in post; you cannot fix missing or destroyed production sound easily. Continuity and coverage still matter with improv—know the story beats, character goals, and must-have shots so conversations don’t meander into 20-minute nothing. Data wrangling, charging, and storage for five phones over four days needs a system. The cabin décor is a free gift—use it deliberately rather than just existing in the background.
Ideas to stand out without extra spend
Blair Witch-style twig figures appearing closer + hooded fire dancers + woods cabin is very familiar. Lean into what you actually have: the specific redwoods (scale, light shafts, sound, isolation, taxidermy/paintings as if previous occupants left something), your real group dynamic and humor (the best found-footage films feel like people you recognize until they don’t), and modern phone-native moments (the over-shoulder faked search is strong—keep that diegetic texture). Invent or research a tighter local-feeling mythology instead of generic “voodoo” (culturally mismatched here) or satanic hoods. Make the dolls/effigies feel like they belong to this place. Give characters distinct reasons for filming and distinct ways of using their phones. Keep runtime tight (70-85 minutes is plenty). A clear, escalating “we found something / it found us / we made it worse” structure with a couple of genuinely surprising character or visual turns will separate it more than more dolls.
Production value on this budget
Use the firepit, flashlights, phone lights, and available daylight/golden hour/moon deliberately—lighting and silhouette will do more than gear. Multiple phones give you coverage and the “someone else was recording” texture; plan who is rolling when. Practical over AI for anything meant to be in-camera: fishing line, forced perspective, a person in a simple hooded/ twig-adjacent costume, or just implication and sound will read as real phone footage. AI-generated moving large dolls will most likely look generated and shatter the found-footage contract; skip it for picture (maybe mood/reference only). Night-vision attachment is a concrete tool—test it. In Premiere, prioritize pacing, tension (hold shots, use silence and woods sound), consistent color, and a sound mix that is intelligible even if lo-fi. Free or already-owned tools only.
Tubi / Prime / later festivals
Finished + you actually own all rights (locations, people, music, everything) is the minimum bar. Many low-budget titles get onto those platforms; many more do not get views or money. They are not automatic “they always need content.” Deliver clean files that meet their technical specs, have a coherent story and trailer/poster, and do not contain uncleared third-party material. Amazon Prime Video Direct and Tubi’s process are researchable now—look up current submission paths, content policies, and revenue splits. A distinctive hook and proof you can finish help more than hoping the girls on the poster will carry it. Festivals come after you have a locked, rights-clean picture; some horror/found-footage-friendly ones exist but are lotteries.
Treat the LLC, releases, host permission, music, and land rules as non-negotiable pre-production, the same as charging the phones. Document everything as a business if you want the deductions. Shoot the outline you have, capture the real friendships and the location’s actual eeriness, and edit for dread rather than length. That combination, executed cleanly, is how tiny found-footage films occasionally break through. Do the unsexy legal/organizational work this week so the weekend can actually be about making the movie.