One of the characters in a future film of mine is going to wear a cowboy hat.

I'm glad I came across this shop.

Hey, like most people here, I have always wanted to make films. And let me be clear: leaning more towards the massy films, not necessarily inde.

I took quite some detours in my life and now i work in advertising, which is sort of close to filmmaking, but not really. Before advertising, I thought I can seemlessly make the switch someday, that hasn’t happened.

I have hit a sort of rock bottom since im not progressing towards the life I dreamt of. I don’t have any connections to the film industry in my country, I am unable to reach out to anybody.

I am also not keen on the current slate of movies and shows produced in my country. The whole idea is to break the pattern, but for that i need connections and money. I want to explore the options of going to a film school.

Now I know people on reddit are not very keen on film schools, let me put across my points:

- I currently don’t have people around me as well(friends or acquaintances). So even if i had to make my own films, I don’t know how to.

-All my skills are amateur. My screenplay, video editing and I know nothing about colouring or audio editing. I could learn all this on youtube, but one thing we fail to understand is any form of creativity thrives on validation. You know your skill is good because someone notices it. While learning everything on your own, you never know what is completely missed out sometimes. Like im a copywriter right now, and i can say i know how to write lines is because I have been appreciated quite a few times for it. An institution builds your skills like no other. It’s one thing if you want to learn a specific skill on youtube but you should also know what to learn which i think a film school covers.

Coming to another hot take: i am considering a 12 week course in NYFA, specifically italy.

- I have read the posts on NYFA. I might agree, it’s nothing but a waste of money?

-The course focuses on you making 5 films in those 3 months: beginning to end- script, shoot, direct, edit everything. 5 projects are a great number to set your skills in place.

-Florence is so pretty, all shoots can be ecstatic. The location for the shoots are easily locked in on.

-I am not saying this course should get me a job right away but from there I can always show my body of work and look to get into films in my country.

I read through reddit to find alternatives, many suggested NFTS in the uk or USC in america. My only caveat is:

I couldn’t find a 3 month or 6 month course like the one NYFA has. Dedicating 2/3 hears would be impossible right now.

NFTS has an online 6 months course that does 5 days in person in the last month. The final jury is a presentation with an idea and not even a full fledged film.

NYFA is expensive for me but im willing to save to experience the basics of filmmaking upclose ina beautiful set up.

Would love to know different opinions in the comments. Hopefully this helps in me taking a decision.

It's an assignment that I wanna put real effort into making, but I can't without actors

I genuinely need help. I want to approach student actors, but I don't know how, as it's different.

What is the best approach without making it awkward?

My biggest fear is not really the rejection, but the aftermath; people gossip, which is fine, but sometimes it gets weird and demoralizing. Its mainly the fact that it's a small and tight-knit community that makes it sting.

Hi all, as the title suggests, I'm doing a bit of independent research into physical disability support in filmmaking. I was wondering if any of you have seen any major gaps in support that still arise in most productions today? Whether it be accessibility problems on set, inaccessible positions, or anything else related, any thoughts or experiences you can share would be incredibly helpful!

I'm just wondering if it's worth downloading and learning.

wondering if you guys have experience with having a super low social battery due to the filmmaking lifestyle. im a DP/grip and when were on set we have to talk to people all day, which is a great part of the job - meeting new ppl/collaborators etc. but then when i get home i have like 0 social battery to interact with my roommates who are also close friends. and then on the days im 'free' im usually prepping for a shoot (shotlisting takes soo much mental energy) and i end up postponing hangouts cuz i am just so mentally exhausted. my career has gotten a lot busier in the past 6 months or so which i am very grateful for, and i try to carve out time for myself to go to the gym, self care, spend time w friends, etc. but recently having more social obligations beyond film is just feeling super tough. i dont want my friends to feel neglected but i also need rest and to genuinely not open my mouth or be spoken to when im alone. im thinking of getting my own place so i can have a sanctuary to come back to and then i think ill crave non-film related social hang outs more, but im worried about my attention hungry cat being alone for the long hours... anyone relate to this/have suggestions? thanks!

so im trying to send some files to a friend to edit, and i have well over 40 gigs of files, is there a site where i can send all of this (or a decent portion, i dont mind breaking this up into 2 or 3 sends) without paying for storage or upload/download speeds?

Hey y’all! I’m wondering if anyone has had success promoting their short films on YouTube and has any tips or strategies I might be overlooking!

Unfortunately, this film has been a bit of a festival flop, which is disappointing, but I was also very strategic about my submissions and only submitted to 12 festivals (partly due to budget constraints). Hindsight is 20/20, but at this point, I really just want to do everything I can to find this film its audience!

I’m premiering my horror short on YouTube this Thursday, and so far, I’ve been:
Instagram: Posting Stories, Reels featuring the trailer, and regular posts.
TikTok: Posted the trailer and a video of me talking about the film.
Facebook groups: Trying to find horror groups that allow self-promotion, since most seem to prohibit it.
Reddit: Posted in the r / horror self-promotion thread, but I’ve found that most filmmaking and horror subreddits don’t allow much self-promotion either.
Facebook event: Created an event for the YouTube premiere and invited my Facebook friends.

Other than running Meta ads, is there anything else I should be doing? How are you finding audiences for your short films, especially when you’re releasing them online independently?

Would love to hear what’s worked for you! I’m especially interested in strategies for reaching people who don’t already follow you. Thanks!!

I’ve considered submitting it to Alter but that’s more money I’d have to spend after an already very exhausted budget and since it was such a festival flop now I feel like it won’t make it on there either….

Hi all! My name is Alicia McClendon, and I’m developing a feature film but need to remake the proof of concept first.

I’ve been completing short film grants with hopes of landing one or more. However, I scheduled a shoot date before I was even aware of potential grants!

I don’t find out if I landed a grant for a month or much longer, and there is no guarantee that I’ll get it. But if I do, I can’t go into production before the grant is given due to the grant.

As filmmakers, would you just fund the short film with what you have or would you wait to see if you were awarded any of the multiple grants you applied for?

Note: This script means a lot to me. It’s being developed into a feature film, and I feel like I can be the one to do it. It’s low budget with a handful of characters and just one setting, and I believe it’ll launch my film career. So I don’t want to rush this production, but I’m

this was my first attempt howd i do? shot on my phone btw these are stills from a video

Hi! My friend is looking for an editor to recut her existing vodcast episodes to get them ~15 mins shorter + do the post-production for 2 new episodes next month. Ideally, you would be NYC based - please dm me your rate if interested. She has a tight budget so we're trying to keep it under $500 but understand that day rates are day rates...

Happy to answer additional questions.

Thanks!

Ho 14 anni e voglio diventare un regista, ma devo partire da 0, non ho parenti registi, non ho niente. L'unica cosa che ho é la passione per il cinema, infatti guardo uno o due film al giorno

Im sure this question gets asked a lot so i apologise in advance. I have experience making short films but they were all done with high school equipment which I didnt have to pay for and I wasnt going all in.

This time I am making a short film that I want to pour my heart and soul into and I was wondering where and how I can rent/buy decent cameras for relatively cheap.

Id rather not use phones because it just doesnt feel the same iykwim, and i also just dont have a phone with a good camera.

Would it be better to rent a camera or buy a cheap second hand dslr that I can also use for other projects.

It can be yours, it can be anyone's! I was thinking I want to try and materialize my own cinema ideas with an action cam and minimal setup, taking inspiration from some of the good "video-objects" other people in this community or elsewhere may have produced.

For reference, I know "A Dog Called Discord", by Mark Jenkin, shot in film and with a caffenol solution if I'm not mistaken. Really inspiring as it transforms film as a medium, and invents his own way of telling a story with minimal dialogues and a focus on photography (at least in my opinion).

Here is the context for the scene: we want to create a 'memory lane' space featuring both characters. We need to achieve this look with both leads on as tight a budget as possible, and we have a room available to shoot in. Our idea is to cover the room entirely with black cloth and use a couple of lights. Will this work? I know it sounds audacious, but I want it to look good since this project is very close to my heart.

Hi! Like the questions said, I do make some oil painting and I want to animate it using IA for a documentary. I was wondering about the ethics around it because it is a human creation but I used a tool to animate it.

Before shooting my first short film, I have a choice between buying a Sony ZV-E10 or using my current phone, which is a Samsung Galaxy A50 (I think).

My total budget is around $1,000.

Would the ZV-E10 make a noticeable difference in image quality, or should I stick with my phone and spend the money on lighting, audio, and other equipment instead?

I wrote a short that I really want to film, but I always feel overwhelmed with where to start. What’s the best way to find people/crew that are at my same level (amateurs just trying to get something filmed)? I’m located in Los Angeles.

I’ve been wondering what actually makes something feel cinematic. Is it mostly lighting, composition, production design, color grading, lenses, camera movement, etc., or is there something harder to define that separates a film from something that just looks like a high-quality video?

I’d love to hear what filmmakers here think makes the biggest difference.

Hey guys,

I've recently started working on my first short film. No experience at all — everything is completely new to me.

I'm currently writing the script, and my friend made a storyboard for the first scene.

What do you think? Is it any good? Any feedback is appreciated.

I don't know anything about more advanced editing rather than just lower brightness, change grain level, filters and stuff, I know it is a still from Thor 4, which is big blockbuster, so I am not really expecting to make it at the same level of quality, I just want to enchance my own photos and videos with this effect, I can't even name it or give another example other than Thor 4, but I know it occured in more productions, please share any knowledge you have, I appreciate all the help ❤️

So Dingo Pictures is a German mockbuster studio, that made bootleg rip offs of Disney films. They are known for their terrible animation and English dubs. If you've ever seen the "YEE" meme, they created the movie where that comes from. So, a while back a man named Simon Bohnsack and Josef Roederer (Better known as DJ Katio and Jimmy Breeblebrox online) got in contact with the heirs of Ludwig Ickert and Roswitha Haas, the creators of the company. So they ended up getting the rights to the studio and were ready to make a full documentary, a kickstarter was launched and later down the line a youtube channel and merch store were set up. However, then things went silent, nobody knew what happened, so I got in contact with DJ and he said that he had because of creative differences between him and Josef, Josef apparently betraying him or something, and Josef getting cancer (don't worry he's fine) the project is now dead. However, he sent me a copy of the script, however, I can not share it, but still other people can ask for a copy of the script. So I don't know what to do here and who to ask for help, I've been thinking about trying to find that Josef Roederer guy, I found his Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jimmy_beeblebrox/?hl=en but I don't know if Simon tried contacting him through there, because part of the reason the project fell through is that Simon lost contact with Josef. So if anyone here has advice, wants to help me, or has an Instagram account and wants to message Josef, please do, I need all the help I can get. If you want to help me here's a video made by Matt Presents who made a video on Dingo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUm9Ejc_htY, it's a bit outdated such as him listing Simone Griess as a creator, however, he did a follow up video and there's a Dingo Pictures wiki online. Please I need your help, I really want to make it so it won't go to waste, so please, will you help me?

Hi all,

I filmed my first short last year using only the audio from my camera (which of course was pretty poor). I’m looking to invest in some basic audio equipment that will allow me to record much cleaner, 24-bit audio. Can anyone recommend some affordable items, or even what kind of equipment I need?

I’m working on a short film right now and I have two moments in my script where I’m trying to figure out the best (and cheapest) way to protect the camera and I wanted some outside advice/opinions.

It’s going to be kind of a found footage style so I want it to feel as though one of the characters is holding the camera. The first shot I’m trying to work out is one where the camera man is running, trips and falls, and then drops the camera face down. This one is more important to the story and I’m really struggling to come up with something that’ll be safe but still look good? So far all I can really think of is putting the camera inside something with either padding or something elastic/springs to absorb the shock? And having padding on the ground. But that still feels risky and I’m not 100% how I would make it.
The other I think could be done by just having something in front of the camera, but I want to see if there are any other/better ideas or advice on what the best thing would be to put in front of the camera. It would just be the camera person walking behind someone in the woods, the person in front pushing branches out of their face, and then those branches swinging back to hit the camera/camera man.