--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you're working with a smaller budget…" description: "\"When you're working with a smaller budget I suppose one of the things that has to be in your mind when you are writing is that you have to keep the cha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/atom-egoyan-13048_character_when-you-re-working-with-a-smaller-budge_1330603.png" --- # When you're working with a smaller budget I suppose one of… ![“When you're working with a smaller budget I suppose one of the things that has to be in your mind when you are writing is that you have to keep the characters down to a minimum.” quote by Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/atom-egoyan-13048_character_when-you-re-working-with-a-smaller-budge_1330603.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/atom-egoyan-13048_character_when-you-re-working-with-a-smaller-budge_1330603.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/atom-egoyan-13048_character_when-you-re-working-with-a-smaller-budge_1330603.png) > “When you're working with a smaller budget I suppose one of the things that has to be in your mind when you are writing is that you have to keep the characters down to a minimum.” [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Budget constraints force writers to limit the number of characters to keep costs low. **In simple terms:** Keep characters few when money is limited. Key Takeaway Simplify cast to stay within budget. Themes budgeting writing production Mood practical realistic Type advice instructional When to use this quote - indie filmmaking - low‑budget TV series - stage productions - advertising campaigns Key Concepts economics resource management Questions to Reflect On - How can you convey story with fewer characters? - What creative techniques replace large casts? A Different Perspective Limiting characters may reduce narrative depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Listen and learn: you need fourteen characters, minimum. Use random letters, not words. 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Everyone is there because they love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-ferrell/on-the-set-of-an-independent-film-you-can-tell-that-nobody-is-doing/) [Will Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-ferrell/) > [The work I prefer to do are the smaller budget pictures, television can be great but it ties you up for quite a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-irons/the-work-i-prefer-to-do-are-the-smaller-budget-pictures-television/) [Jeremy Irons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-irons/) > [I've had some of the best craft services on independent movies, actually, because they get more creative, generally, with a smaller budget. The work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-beals/i-ve-had-some-of-the-best-craft-services-on-independent-movies/) [Jennifer Beals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-beals/) > [I prefer the smaller budget versus the bigger budget because the mentality that goes along with big budget filmmaking doesn't really suit me; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keenen-ivory-wayans/i-prefer-the-smaller-budget-versus-the-bigger-budget-because-the/) [Keenen Ivory Wayans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keenen-ivory-wayans/) > [Sometimes I feel like doing smaller budget stuff. When I did 'Young Adam', for instance, I'd come out of 'Black Hawk Down' and 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/sometimes-i-feel-like-doing-smaller-budget-stuff-when-i-did-young/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [The bigger the budget, the more you can afford to compromise with Mother Nature. The smaller the budget, the more you're like, "Okay, well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ian-nicholas/the-bigger-the-budget-the-more-you-can-afford-to-compromise-with/) [Thomas Ian Nicholas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ian-nicholas/) > [In an era when the nation's collective imagination is no longer captured by space, real science sometimes has a smaller budget than science fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kendall/in-an-era-when-the-nation-s-collective-imagination-is-no-longer/) Peter Kendall > [Most of the time, you find that the smaller the budget, the more the project is about something substantive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-carlyle/most-of-the-time-you-find-that-the-smaller-the-budget-the-more-the/) [Robert Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-carlyle/) > [I think, with 'St. Nick,' when you're working with a smaller budget, you have fewer risks involved. You're able to take chances with style…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lowery/i-think-with-st-nick-when-you-re-working-with-a-smaller-budget-you/) [David Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lowery/) > [If you have a lot of money, you know that you can make almost anything happen, but with a smaller budget you don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-zombie/if-you-have-a-lot-of-money-you-know-that-you-can-make-almost-anything/) [Rob Zombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-zombie/) > [“There's a certain magic about writing even when the characters refuse to act the way I want them to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-bevan/there-s-a-certain-magic-about-writing-even-when-the-characters-refuse/) Gloria Bevan > [I used to say I wasn't interested in writing about characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-healey/i-used-to-say-i-wasn-t-interested-in-writing-about-characters/) [Emma Healey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-healey/) > [“If your characters write your story, rather than you writing your characters, it's like your dog taking YOU for a walk. Don't let them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-bell/if-your-characters-write-your-story-rather-than-you-writing-your/) [Jessica Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-bell/) ## More by Atom Egoyan > [I think the situation in Toronto is such that there are funding organizations which make it easy for a film to raise more money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/i-think-the-situation-in-toronto-is-such-that-there-are-funding/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [The fathers greatest folly is that he believes he can be a much more simple person than he is; he is not really able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/the-fathers-greatest-folly-is-that-he-believes-he-can-be-a-much-more/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [The programme has ended, something has finished, and he has a sense of something having finished its course, and then all of a sudden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/the-programme-has-ended-something-has-finished-and-he-has-a-sense-of/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [It was very important that it be done in such a way that it be executed with complete conviction. If I had done it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/it-was-very-important-that-it-be-done-in-such-a-way-that-it-be/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [The film camera's ability to physically move through space, not zoom through space - every time we have a video camera the movement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/the-film-camera-s-ability-to-physically-move-through-space-not-zoom/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [I have always felt that this story is universal. When I began to understand the details of the history, I felt that the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/i-have-always-felt-that-this-story-is-universal-when-i-began-to/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [I've just been very, very lucky with the film having been introduced in the right way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/i-ve-just-been-very-very-lucky-with-the-film-having-been-introduced/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [Every actor has a different temperament. Part of my job is to know what those boundaries are. The actor has to know you'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/every-actor-has-a-different-temperament-part-of-my-job-is-to-know/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [People make decisions that may have one intent and yet are somehow perverted into something else. And sometimes it's because of design. Sometimes it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/people-make-decisions-that-may-have-one-intent-and-yet-are-somehow/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [These sorts of things can happen, identities can be switched, the emotional implications are something that he has not been trained to feel. His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/these-sorts-of-things-can-happen-identities-can-be-switched-the/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [Working on the themes I was interested in, through the context of a particular family, was a very economical way of dealing with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/working-on-the-themes-i-was-interested-in-through-the-context-of-a/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [I just think I love the process of making films. It's not tortuous for me at all. I love being with my crew. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/i-just-think-i-love-the-process-of-making-films-it-s-not-tortuous-for/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [The whole film is about people being convinced that they can reduce themselves to their archetypes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/the-whole-film-is-about-people-being-convinced-that-they-can-reduce/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [I believe my signal of maturity as a filmmaker iswhen I'll actually acknowledge the fact that the first take is usuallythe best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/i-believe-my-signal-of-maturity-as-a-filmmaker-iswhen-i-ll-actually/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [We're still staring at TV screens, right? They're still monitors. But the way information is delivered is different. So it creates an interesting way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/we-re-still-staring-at-tv-screens-right-they-re-still-monitors-but/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) [Explore all 52 Atom Egoyan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you're working with a smaller budget I suppose one of the things that has to be in your mind when you are writing is that you have to keep the characters down to a minimum.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Atom Egoyan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/when-you-re-working-with-a-smaller-budget-i-suppose-one-of-the-things/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/when-you-re-working-with-a-smaller-budget-i-suppose-one-of-the-things/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/atom-egoyan-13048_character_when-you-re-working-with-a-smaller-budge_1330603.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/atom-egoyan-13048_character_when-you-re-working-with-a-smaller-budge_1330603.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/atom-egoyan-13048_character_when-you-re-working-with-a-smaller-budge_1330603.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you're working with a smaller budget I suppose one of the things that has to be in your mind when you…” — Atom Egoyan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Atom Egoyan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you're working with a smaller...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/when-you-re-working-with-a-smaller-budget-i-suppose-one-of-the-things/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/when-you-re-working-with-a-smaller-budget-i-suppose-one-of-the-things/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```