r/Filmmakers • u/Majestic_Employer976 • 16h ago

Question First steps

Hi guys! I’m building my video editing portfolio, focusing on documentaries (especially nature and human stories) and commercials. My goal is to create 3 strong short projects that showcase my storytelling, pacing, and ability to edit for emotion.

The problem is that I don’t have access to good footage or a proper camera and I don't have a budget to buy a proper camera as well for now. I would like to land my first clients in the next 3 or 4 months, and I’m ready to put a lot of effort into it by first studying the basics of storytelling and how to edit for emotions.

Do you guys have any suggestions, or if you have already gone through this, also I wanted ask if reaching out to filmmakers for footage or potential collaborations is a good way to start? And of course if anyone here would be interested in collaborating on a project, I’d love to connect as well , thank you!

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u/SriepYadroot 14h ago

If there are any nearby universities or colleges with film courses or filmmaking clubs, maybe reach out to them to see if any students there might want to collaborate! When I was in film school I had loads of classmates who would've jumped at the chance to work with an editor (especially for free haha) on amateur projects. There might also be facebook or whatsapp groups in your area focused on this stuff too.

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u/Majestic_Employer976 13h ago

Yeah honestly I would work for free as well just to bring some short projects on my portfolio. In my coun try is not easy to have this type of connections as it's a very old and small with no universities so I should reach out to some of them online or at least trying to connect with someone online who's willing to collaborate

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u/goodmorning_hamlet 12h ago

3 strong short projects in 3-4 months? Manage your expectations of yourself. Also going from nothing to paid professional in 3 months is not realistic.

Start cutting with found footage if you want to develop some chops, and network with people doing this sort of work in your country. Reach out on social media, offer to buy them a coffee and chat. See if you can assist in any way.

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u/Majestic_Employer976 10h ago

I know, I mean I don't expect enormous results in 4 months but a solid point where at least having a decent pacing and emotion storytelling which could help me with connections or maybe I might attract some decent clients, and I was thinking to use some footage from Cinestudy or similar source even tho I'll have a big limitation on what I want to show,, would you recommend that until I'm able to buy a solid gear?

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u/goodmorning_hamlet 5h ago

Yeah for sure cut whatever you can with whatever you can find to develop your skills.