I sketched out a budget for the film I'd like to make. I've arrived at a total somewhere between $12k and $15k, depending on a few variables, and that does include four paid actors, assuming I can shoot in seven days and recruit friends for everything else. It also includes a DP, because I'd like to have someone that has actually been on a set before and owns a light meter to help me out there. (If you're reading this, Frank, you could do it!)
I could raise that cash working two to three months, no problem. I also intend to buy equipment, not rent it. The real question is whether I buy the camera this month, and thus write off the expense for tax purposes, or wait until next year. The toughest part of that is I don't know if I could get one anyway, because I suspect they'll be in short supply when they finally start to ship in about a week and a half.
I have some ideas sketched out for screenplays that I need to flesh out a bit, and if I get really ambitious, maybe I'll write more than one. Third Time, my first screenplay, needs a huge rewrite or three, and frankly it's too auto-biographical and not creative enough.
So why the hell would I endeavor to do any of this? Well, mostly to say that I did. I doubt it would ever make any money, and really that's OK. But at least by shooting it in HD there's the potential for a film blow-up if by some chance it did get noticed. Otherwise, it's all about Internet distribution, and that's good enough for me to get it in front of people.