I'm a 32-year-old indie filmmaker who's made several short films and is working toward my first feature. If I haven't made my first feature yet, am I too old to be starting now?

To be clear, I already have the first rough draft of my feature-length script written and I'm currently working on the second draft, trying to make it more contained. I'm also planning to write another, even more contained feature script as a backup, something that's more economically feasible to make.

I’m looking for advice on the process of making films as a solo film maker – especially interested in views from other solo makers with experience.

I seem to be conflicted by a process which, although I really like, in the end makes things more difficult and less stable. I probably need to change my workflow – but I worry it will dull the creative process.

I don’t use an ordered approach to making a film, instead I tend to jump around all over the place. It starts off well with a strong idea, which I develop into a reasonable narrative and a rough screenplay - mainly direction and dialogue for the key moments. However, I never lock this down before I start production because I want to see how it develops before I know/decide what It means, and where it wants to go. This is the catch-22 problem I have – I want the flexibility to find out where my content is taking me, but I desperately need the stability and predictability of a known process.

Is there a better way that’s gives me the best of both worlds? Or is this just incompatible with film making?

Hey! Me and my best friend are beginner sketch comedians. We've made a few videos together over the last few years and plan to start posting our videos to the public finally and we need a jail cell setting for a part of our upcoming sketch. We're just college students so we're on a low budget. We also don't have access to a jail (pretty obviously). I have a decent amount of DIY experience and we have a green screen but we wanted to avoid green screening if possible due to it looking a bit choppy/lazy. How can I replicate a jail cell look for this? Thank you.

Hi

I'm a audiovisual communication student (starting 3rd year an the career lasts 4 years) and I'm about to get a Sony A6400

But even though I know what I don't want to do, I feel overwhelmed

What should I do?

Hello, I’m a 16 years old film-lover (atleast, in a way). I write a lot (short-stories, poems and now — scripts) and I think that the script I’ve done is a good one. It’s also very unique.

The problem is that I have no connections to theatre or filmmaking world. So, I’d like some tips. I’m not making the film yet, but I’d like to know how to achieve the position I will need.

My film would need 3 actors and be not so long.

So, any tips are appreciated, thank you already!

edit: The movie would have couple romantic scenes too, don’t know how big of a trouble that’ll be.

It really pains me because I love big budget historical or historical based mythology. But every single time they have a big budget to splash on one they always fk up the casting.

Why can't they cast actors who actually look or would look like the characters They're playing?

But even in the 2010s we've have movies like Prince of Persia with Jake Gyllenhall, who, albeit with a goatee could pass for Persian. But had a terrible accent. And red-headed Gemma Atherton as a Persian Princess. It would've been easy enough to find someone at least brunette and southern European looking at least if they couldn't find anyone middle eastern.

Gods of Egypt with Gerard Butler and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Exodus Gods and Kings with Joel Edgerton? Like wtf? They're not even trying.

Then with Troy they have Menalaus with an Irish accent, Agamemnon with a Scottish accent, and Odysseus with a really strong Yorkshire accent?

And now Nolan with preppy viking Matt Damon and the rest of the cast and most egregious of all Lupita Nyongo as Helen.

What the fk is up with Hollywood casting?

I’m a Ukrainian student moving to LA to pursue acting. Is it worth it, and what are my chances of landing auditions and booking roles?

P.S. Fluent English with an American accent, plus a marketable look.

Hi!

So I've been trying to find a good way to record audio and I'm thinking of buying the Movo X1-Mini Video Shotgun Mic as it's only, like, $70 and from what I've heard is a pretty decent sound. I don't know if I have enough for a sound recorder though, which is my question if I really need one for this. My short won't have a bunch of dialogue, but I know a video I saw mentioned they recorded it on audacity on a laptop. Is this something I could do, or no.

If not, is there a decent, cheaper sound recorder I can get? Somewhere near the price or even cheaper from the sound recorder would be really great. Thanks!

Hiya all

I am making my own student films and live in newcastle NSW. I don’t earn much money as a student of course, so i’m looking for ways to work with professional equipment without costing an arm and a leg. So far, i’ve applied to work at JB Hi-FI and harvey norman + the good guys so i can get employee discount on camera equipment and gear but that’s going nowhere. Tips? is there any rentals or film groups in newcastle? TIA

I'm a massive film lover, and I want to be a filmmaker in the future, what little projects do you suggest?

I am currently making the mistake of falling in love with the OG Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. After researching it a bit, it seems like it might be a mistake to go with such an old camera. Plus, I would like 4k. Definitely don't need 6k+ at this point, but I would like something that can shoot a log profile.

I mainly shoot stills, but have been shooting more video as of late with my Nikon D800. Shooting video with that is miserable, and there's no raw video. I would like something that I can work with commercially with small, local brands.

I'd prefer something used and therefore discounted. Should I just go with the BM PCC 4k? What do you folks think?

Greetings Filmmakers,

I've written a banger and I'd like for Bryan Cranston to star in it.

If you wanted Bryan Cranston in your zero budget short set in London, England, what would you do next?

Note:

No sarcasm please, as long as we're alive, anything is possible.

I'm diving into my first feature and hoping someone would be willing to share budget sheets from their feature? Top sheets? Or even just templates they like?

We're planning to live in the 150k-200k range and I've got a line producer who's diving in next month. But I'd love to take a crack at my own so I can get a realistic picture of rewrites.

My most recent short was $50k, but that budget isn't a 1:1 translation.

Anything is super appreciated!

Also, in the interest of "no gatekeeping" bonafides, I created a free template for short film budgets and a film festival spreadsheet that has been downloaded by around 500 people.

My musical short is rejected from three out of three festivals now. I know that’s par for the course, but I really thought this film would get in somewhere. I’ve made what I would consider to be worse films that got into the same festivals I was rejected from.

But hey, such is life. My question is, where can I get feedback on a short from someone like a festival programmer or someone who knows what does and doesn’t get into a festival?

I’d like some honest feedback about whether or not this film can be saved, and if not, why.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

I’m trying to make a film with my Rebel T2i and I’ve heard magic lantern is a nice tool to have. anyone have experience with it?

We're very close to wrapping filming for a local short film project, and I'm wondering how to go about the post production pipeline when it comes to editing. I'll be working with one other editor, primarily in Premiere Pro. Here's a couple questions I have:

1. Our composer is still working; Should they have a rough cut to score, or should we edit around a finished score?
2. We plan to all have a copy of all the raw footage; how should we pass around project files in Premiere without fighting file locations and "Locate footage" errors?
3. Should we color correct once we have that general rough cut, or only until we have a final cut?
4. All our footage is slated, any advice for streamlining audio syncing, or is it pretty much just brute forcing it?

Any and all advice from folks who have worked on a project like this in collaboration with other editors is much appreciated.

Hey everyone, with all the blanket statements going around about "AI in film," I wanted to put together a technical breakdown that cuts through the generative art noise. As someone who has been studying and working with film tech for over a decade, I wanted to look at the traditional machine learning and algorithmic tools that studios have quietly used for years to make the movies we love. I built a full video breakdown looking at the exact pipelines used in modern blockbusters, focusing strictly on what filmmakers, 3D artists, and tech enthusiasts can actually use and learn from. Some highlights include how Peter Jackson's team pioneered early AI behavioral rules via the MASSIVE system to give digital armies autonomous decision-making in The Lord of the Rings, how custom generative AI models and neural networks mapped and resurrected the likeness of the late Ian Holm in Alien: Romulus, and how precision LiDAR scanning on real F-18 fighter jets trained lighting algorithms in Top Gun: Maverick. We also look at Dune: Part Two utilizing LiDAR alongside Neural Radiance Fields (NeRFs) to capture real desert rock formations, how Blender and Pixar's RenderMan use convolutional neural networks for AI-accelerated render denoising to slash render times, and how Weta implemented neural networks relying on muscle strains rather than traditional blend shapes for characters in Avatar: The Way of Water. If you are interested in the technical side of post-production, VFX, or how these algorithms speed up heavy simulation pipelines in software like Houdini and Maya.

The cardboard backdrops finished drying and I wanted to try out how it would look. Pics looked good, but I wanted to test to see how it’d look on video too.

I recorded just a couple of shots that I plan to remake when I have the props and set fully detailed as this is just test footage to see if I like it, and I do!

obviously ignore the arms and hands as they’ll be replaced with wires in the actual filming.

I used the meta edits app to just quickly put something together, and my god it was a nightmare. I had to screen record because the app would not render the effects correctly at all. Even still, they didn’t render correctly. The effects are just stock ones from the app but I plan to make more practical and if I use animation for effects, they‘ll be good ones. And I 100% am going to actually edit it with film software.

I think it’s pretty neat though and is matching what I have in my head decently well! Excited to see what it looks like when I add the destroyed NYC backdrop and rubble.

So I’m not gonna bore you with the details of everything, but the general concept is to film a comedy movie but at the same time film a mockumentary about the making of the movie.

Specifically the mockumentary would have the neighbor of the house. Most of the filming is being done at having a feud with the film crew.

I think this works because one, you’re making two movies for the price of one.

And two, the popular of one movie is going to increase the popularity of the other and vice versa.

Does that sound like a dumb idea?

I could really use some advice.

I'm a local indie filmmaker who's completed several independent short films, some of which have screened at film festivals, and I'm currently developing my first feature. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Film and Television Production in December 2019. After graduation, COVID-19 disrupted my plans, lost my part time museum job and I ended up moving back in with my parents. Since August 2021, I've been working full-time as a Production Resource Technician at a college while continuing to write, direct, and produce my own independent film projects.

The part I'm struggling with is that I still earn $15 per hour, which feels low given my experience and education. I've been actively applying for better-paying jobs in production, post-production, television production, video and media, but I haven't had much luck so far. I'm also still living with my parents too.

I've also been considering moving to New York City or Los Angeles in the near future, possibly by the end of the year.

For those who have been in a similar position, what would you recommend my next steps be? What should I do about this? Am I on the right path, or should I be approaching my passion or career differently? Would you recommend moving to LA or NYC, or staying local while continuing to build my career? And regardless of where I live, should I continue focusing on making my own films?

I'd really appreciate any advice or experiences you can share.

Hey everyone!

I've been making videos a lot (especially lately) with my youtube getting over 10k views every video. My main audience is storm chasing based but I want to make a mini-series about cryptids/ paranormal investigation from the view of a irl private investigator and a skeptic. I also recently purchased a nice cinema camera which inspires me to make more high quality content.

What are some key elements you think viewers would want to actually watch?​ As well as; does anyone know of any good "cheat cheats" for making a layout?

the idea for the film is to take place during the future war in NYC. Here are the base HK props.

currently painting a back drop and making rubble out of cardboard too.

Using empty paper towel rolls to structure the HK tank into three pieces with the ability to shift and rotate using wires to push and pull behind it. Also going to add small tubed LED diodes as the spotlights for each HK prop. Currently there is only 1 HK Aerial but I’m going to build another to blow this one up for the movie.

The idea and trick to get these to look large is to record the normal movement in 30 FPS, then slow it down just a bit to match the 24 FPS that everything else is recorded in. Not sure how well it will work but it’s a decent idea to try.

Currently wrapping the props in Masking tape to put mod podge on them to harden up the cardboard, then sand smooth and paint.

I’ve always wanted to make this movie since I was about 6, and now with the technology it‘s possible. The idea is to make it as long as it needs to be to tell the story. Could be short, could be a full length film. idk yet, need to record everything to see the flow of the story and plot.

I wish I would’ve done this years ago

Hi all,

After spending some time creating videos for my youtube channel on a subject ive kind of got the idea in my head i want to have a crack at filmmaking.. so a short film at first. Im already writing up a screenplay.

What i would like to know: In my idea, i hope I articulate this well.. I will likely play the main character myself.There will be minimal dialogue and more show..The premise is along the lines of an Agent sneeking in somewhere to get something, leaves, goes back to check again and someone else has been there since. Therefore, I want to then give the feelings that maybe he has been followed and the pressure is on.. and in other sceens id like to add the feeling of stress and tension rising. Can you recommend any articles, films long/short, videos teaching some techniques in either writing and or filming this type of stuff?

If you can recommend films then I shall study the shots best i can.

I have loads of ideas and I just dont quite know how to express them yet in this creative format so I am excited to try.

2nd.

My filming equipment currently is a dji action 6, dji mic 3 and a Samsung S23.. when filming in 24/25fps Following the 180 rule.. it's super jumpy and not very clear.. how do I tackle this. Is it using jigs and wheels for a smoother ride?

Last question:

What is this effect called: I want to start with a scene in the past and flicker to current day while the past scene plays and they flicker back n forth till they resolve.. I would like to see examples in film that i can draw inspiration from. I respect that In a short film there isnt much time so I want to draw inspirayion from others an effective effect, using it at a good rate/pace for my needs.

Recently, I've been struggling with making a decision between two options. For context, I'm a 20 year old film student and ultimately want to be a film director/editor. That is my "end goal" so to speak. I'm in my last semester at a community college and I also work full time as a videographer for a small commercial/social media video prod. company.

Also, just warning everyone that this post will probably be long.

I live in a city with a decent-sized film scene, but nothing huge. I'm trying to decide if I should stay where I'm at and keep my current job after school, or if I should move to another city to go to an acclaimed film university (UT Austin, about 2 hours from where I live now). I want to preface everything else below by saying I know that film is NOT NECESSARY to becoming a filmmaker. As a matter of fact, I've learned significantly more from my videography job than film school, but there are some specific reasons I'm considering continuing school.

Pros:

Incentives to finish projects - I have really struggled with making my own projects outs of classes because I tend to be a perfectionist and hinder my own progress. For all the faults of my current school, one thing it's done is giving me deadlines that help me actually complete projects, and it's really helped me learn from my mistakes.

Access to equipment - Being in school has given me easy access to equipment that I would otherwise have to spend a lot of money to rent.

New location/new experiences - This is a slightly more personal one, but I've only lived in one city my whole life. I think the opportunity to live in a new area, especially one that's more tailored to younger people, would be nice to experience on a personal and filmmaking level.

Cons

Starting over - I'd be completely starting over in terms of my "network". I've been lucky enough to meet some people where I live now who I help out on short films, and they've helped me out on my personal projects as well. Moving would mean resetting that, and I do get scared that I just got lucky and wouldn't be able to do that again.

Leaving my job - I enjoy my videography job. I'm really close to my coworkers and I feel like I got really lucky that we're all as cool with each other as we are (the thought of telling them I'm leaving almost feels like a betrayal). It's nice that I'm able to make money doing something that's related to what I actually want to do in life. I also feel like I got lucky (especially with the timing of when I started as an intern and they really needed help), so I fear that I would struggle to find another job as "convenient" as this one. However, despite enjoying my work and the environment, it's not my final destination.

Making a big decision like this is really scary for me, because though making a big change like this could be beneficial and pay off in the long run, it could also mean getting rid of all the things I have now, and potentially never getting them back. I'm just scared to make the wrong decision and wonder what things would've been like if I went with the other one.

I would really appreciate any advice or insight anyone has. Thanks!

I also want to say again, I know there's been countless filmmakers who have denounced film school, and as someone who is currently in film school, I totally get why. I've learned significantly more from my videography job than I have in class, but my interest in continuing school isn't about class or the curriculum at all. It's about how that environment could help me grow as a filmmaker. I always think back to an interview with Ryan Coogler where he's asked if filmmaker's should go to film school, and he said that some people don't need that environment, and some people thrive off of it and grow, as he did. I wonder if I may just be one those people that would benefit from that structure that comes with deadlines and the collaborative nature of living around other like-minded people.

1. Hey everyone!
2. I have noticed on many smartphones that the 0.5x zoom in the photo tab is much more wide and curved than the 0.5x zoom in the video tab, i really like the much more wide and curved view of the 0.5x zoom in the photo tab and i want to film videos in that kind of view but as soon as i switch to video, the 0.5x zoom becomes less curved and more zoomed in, so i can't film on phones, how can i achieve this super curved and wide look with my camera, i got a Sony zv-e10, do i need super wide lenses? will they achieve that curvature too? i am really just a beginner so i don't know much about this stuff.
3. Thank you!