http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8F9Qvror6g
That right there is with a budget of $300. Fede Alvarez uploaded this on Thursday, and on Monday his inbox was full of offers from movie studios. He's been hired by Sam Raimi's studio to the tune of $30 million to make a full-length "sci-fi thriller".
In case anyone can make somewhat-decent special effects like this guy and post it on YouTube, perhaps you can make it big like this guy.

How could you get all those extras for $300? Never mind the cost of all the computer and filming equipment. Something tells me that figure has been trimmed somewhat.
Still, it's very impressive and I can see why he was hired on the basis of it.

Hey I have that robot from 0:08 too! Bought it for $20 about a decade ago for my brother, was a fun distraction lol
I just finished watching the video. Very impressive, even if ignoring the fact that the budget is only $300. Definitely quality stuff there, the guy definitely knows how to make a video.

Crappy videoclip-era garbage, with that "catastrophic-homemade" atmosphere that already said all it had to say with Cloverfield. For the "giant robots fucking the city" plot I still prefer Japanese authors and Mazinkaiser, anyway.
Plus, it stinks as a marketing trick from kilometers away....

I don't know exactly what I was expecting beforhand, but I actually was disappointed with the video after watching it.
I guess I saw the thread title and was expecting some amazingly original/creative script as the reason the guy got an offer, not just because of special effects.
If it was unique original writing, I'd probably say "wow I'd really like to see what that guy does with a full lenght movie". Or even if it was was some unique set design, makeup etc. I'd be more impressed .That video struck me as generic
Computery special effects just make me go meh. Special effects are good enough these days anyway, so I don't care what the guy can do with more money at his disposal, Nothing that hasn;t been done already probably.
I know the point of this thread wasn't saying "OMG I can't wait to see this guy's movie" but I felt like rambling

I find it hard to believe it was just $300. That's a lot of volunteer work and loads of people doing something "for fun" and skipping on charging for their work (the extras could all be friends and family, who knows?).
However, I did like the video and with four minutes you can't really expect to delve into some deep moving, original script. He does have a great sense of photography but I figure the whole point of the clip was to see Montevideo and it's national landmarks blown to pieces, a la disaster/invasion movies from Hollywood destroying US landmarks time and time again.

Hrm. Yeh. Not convinced, either. In terms of extras ... there aren't that many people in most scenes. At most 100, (and that in only one shot, rest far less). Not THAT hard to find enough volunteers, especially for what probably didn't take a lot of time filming.
The $300 was the cost for the film shot, only. CG and animation after took them a year - which is quite possible for a few people doing that in their spare time.
But ... given that there are people doing real amazing stuff with CG in their spare time, I'd have thought that there'd be more .... promising talents out there to hand $30 million to. People that actually push what can be done with CG, rather than copying the way Block Busters use CGI.
Like, for example this two-man project completed over a two year period (see their ). Or [url=http://vimeo.com/1252427]this one, also by just two people (webpage, including downloadable higher res versions).

What? I don't believe that it costs $300, no way. It maybe fits the style of Sam Raimi, action-ish, horror movies, but any news source for this?
Just look at the credits, it is impossible to have all that people for $300, that only is possible if they were doing it for free or voluntary. Or, if they shared the CG reel both on the short film project and the music clip project, but paid the people only on the music clip. So he gets his name up on the cg clip. ;)
Good use of Montevideo, two or three nice explosions there, although for me, the music clip was much better, better editing and pace than the cg one. Like Mnemon said, there's much, much better CG out there waiting for a $30M opportunity; this if we are talking cg only, and not his management skills on the project and etc.

Yeah. And I don't see the problem getting people to do that for free. Ask friends to ask their friends to ask their friends. I know I would volunteer, if someone asked. Knowing that it is an indie production by very few people. That doesn't require "acting", just a mass of people running.
So I really don't see the massive problem of getting people for free, for a project like this. The only cost was probably food/drinks for everyone.

Me too, I don't have any problem with voluntary or free. I like some indie films even more than usual studio films. But there is some trick on those credits/costs.
Even the cost of food, meals for a lot of people, for 1 week, exceeds $300. We need a news source confirming the real story, that's it.
(I know, I know that a lot of people from facebook would do it just for the fun and zero money. I meant total costs, considering that if this was a professional project, not including people working for free, ok? then isn't possible for $300 I think.)

This is the trash we can get every day of the week at the theater. Mnemon is right about there existing more "promising" talent to hand money to.

Guys... we're talking Hollywood here. An original / creative script or pushing a technology could have gotten him 10k on some great, but rather unknown short film festivals, but millions?
If James Cameron gets 300 millions for a Pocahontas in space, I'd say that guys right on track.

Was the movie good? It sounds like it would be interesting to watch!

I remember hearing about the people making it, but I don't remember the movie's name. Sorry. Doing a quick google search, I think I've found it.
The movie's name is Colin. http://mashable.com/2009/05/23/colin/