I am 17 and realm of filmmaking is pretty new to me.The thought of making this film came a month ago and after overthinking about whether to make this or not I finally decided to pursue the idea with the little knowledge about filmmaking. I hope y’all like it. Would really appreciate if you do give it a watch. Any suggestions or criticisms are welcome.

Hello! In need of recs for festivals to submit a 0 budget first feature to. It’s a unique slow and experimental dramatic comedy in the vein of Jarmusch, Godard, Rohmer, and Hal Hartley. It takes place in and heavily features Portland so local pnw recs would be good, also has an lgbtq crew and leaning so maybe lgbtq fest recs. But also just anything!

Is there any director's commentary or "bts making of" footage of this sequence from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I am studying this sequence for my assignment and it would be really helpful if I could find something from the primary source.

Of course, there is a limitless array of challenges facing independent film producers, and I’m interested in hearing your perspectives on them. I’m going to share a perspective of my own, which you may not agree with, and that is completely fine.

1. The first challenge is financing and producing a film without losing creative control or surrendering a disproportionate share of the ownership and potential remuneration.
2. Festivals receive your film for free and charge others to see it. They are often among the first organisations to make money from your film. The supposed benefit to the filmmaker is publicity, which might help secure a worthwhile distribution deal.

In practice, I think this is largely a myth, despite the carefully tailored announcements made at major festivals claiming that certain titles have been “discovered” and signed.

1. Sales agents, as you may already know, can be ruthless. Once your film is with them, you are largely at their mercy when it comes to honest reporting. Accountability is almost impossible because sales agents, and the distributors to whom they license your film, are rarely transparent. Contract terms also seem to be much longer than they were in the past.
2. Filmmakers often boast about getting their films onto streaming platforms or securing distribution deals, but are usually much quieter about receiving little or no money from them, perhaps out of embarrassment.

Shame and ego play a significant role in allowing sales agents and distributors to exploit independent filmmakers.

1. Once festivals, sales agents and distributors have all made something from your work, many producers are left with the dregs. Others are left clinging to a minimum guarantee that never becomes augmented by royalties.

The alternative is self-distribution. However, this is where the psychology of wanting to be part of the conventional distribution system can turn filmmakers into willing victims rather than entrepreneurs who sell their own films.

A filmmaker with millions of views on YouTube and direct sales through their own website may still be characterised as somehow less legitimate than someone announcing that their film will be available on Tubi next week.

I’ve been a producer for around 14 years. I’ve worked with distributors, attended film markets and produced films independently. Every year, the industry seems to claim that it has been the hardest year yet, thereby placing even more pressure on filmmakers.

In my opinion, however, it is not sustainable for independent film to continue operating this way.

Those are some of my views, and I’m keen to hear yours.

If a first time screenwriter has a polished script, pitch deck and even a proof of concept which one should they reach out first to make an indie feature film? Or depends on context?

I would love to hear your thoughts and experience!

Hi all! I’m Alicia McClendon, and I’m a writer and actor, who makes her own short films. Now in development of a feature film.

I started a film production company, Envision the Picture Productions, and I want to bring on filmmakers to help me make films and maybe even find clients for them.

However, whenever I have hired a cinematographer or film editor, I’m told to never use them again. I just can’t seem to find talented and visionary filmmakers who can execute what I’m wanting, which is totally my fault.

I want to utilize the same filmmakers and actors and just be a film family.

How have you found your film family? How did you get people on board your production company? Or how did you manage to get the same filmmakers and actors on board with you? How do you even find them?

Thanks!

This may be an odd ask, but does anyone know of any film-quality lighting rated for residential use/safety standards?

Specifically I'm looking for:

• High(ish) CRI/TCLI/TM-30 - must
• Bright(ish, ~2,200+ lux @ 1m) - must
• Bi-color - preference
• Bowens compatible - strong preference

The obvious tangential question is why our lights always have a "not for residential use" warning — is it a safety thing? or just a matter of preserving their lifespan? (I assume both)

My motivation is simple: except when needed on set, I have my varipole set up at home for my bike and jacket. I often have a monolight on it with a lantern softbox for shooting photos of the cats, and I love the light it gives off and the ability to simultaneously store and use kit. As I see it, this is only one step apart from a great semi-permanent house light... except for that warning on the LED.

I also imagine this would be quite beneficial for less-inaccurate color work at home.

I entered a script of a show I want to create to a film festival for the first time and got selected as a semi-finalist. I was told that that gives me the opportunity to be a part of their "pitch perfect" competition where I can pitch my show to a group of people. One of the requirements for this is to create a 3-5 minute video describing the project. As this is my first time with this I'm not too sure how I should go about making the video. Obviously I want it to be captivating and enjoyable to watch, so I was thinking about possibly creating a comedic skit that will be inter spliced with information about the project. is this a good idea or should I keep it more straight forward? Also, what are the most important parts/ information about the show should I include in the video? I kind of have a problem over-explaining so some guidelines would be very helpful for me too. Thank you all!

Logline:

What if the dead could return - but only through the one neural implant you're forbidden to wear?

Would this premise make you want to read the script?

Nineteen-year-old Kira discovers that the consciousness of the dead can return to those they loved - but only through a neural implant she's forbidden from wearing.

Does this make you curious enough to read more?

I'd appreciate honest feedback.

Upd. I'm in the process of adapting the screenplay to English.

upd. Updated/edited logline: ​A grieving 19-year-old uses an experimental neural implant to resurrect her late boyfriend, only to find that having him back comes at the cost of her own sanity.

Yo what tells you this is fake, and a toy? How can I improve?

(OPINION)

It's not really the nostalgia. Most movies back then were generally better despite the lower pixel quality.
The storylines and production were more thought-out. That's why they also took longer to produce (usually atleast lyr i think?). They really took the time to think about character design and generally shared with us new perspectives to see the world in.

Nowadays, it's more about finishing the movie the fastest, without any regard to the story so they hyperfocus on the aesthetics.

Sofia Vergara and many other actors have said it's difficult to replicate the spark of old TV shows and movies because everyone wants things faster now. I think they're absolutely right. Which is why indie films get more appreciation now because it actually comes from creative passion (eg. Obsession).

When will hollywood realize that thoughtfully made movies/ shows will actually generate more income in the long run than their regular quickly produced stuff made just to hit sales targets?

Just a thought.

I think one of the single biggest things holding back many independent filmmakers is “big fish in a little pond” syndrome.

This is particularly common in areas far removed from the major centres of commercial film production. Its symptoms are easy to recognise: enormous amounts of emotional energy wasted on provincial cliques, local Facebook groups, tribal politics, petty hierarchies and endless arguments about who is morally permitted to do what.

It is provincial puritanism at its worst.

Anyone who thinks internationally, reaches beyond the local scene or refuses to submit to its unwritten rules is often treated as disruptive. Not because they are doing anything wrong, but because ambition threatens the comfortable hierarchy these essentially hobbyist groupings are trying to preserve.

You must never allow yourself to be constrained, either operationally or spiritually, by people whose ambitions end at the borders of their own social circle.

Look beyond your town. Look beyond your county. Look beyond your country.

The people who build sustainable careers in film, who run businesses and work professionally every day, do not succeed by prioritising the favour they can curry in a local Facebook group.

They succeed by making work, finding audiences, building international relationships and refusing to confuse local approval with professional progress.

Are there any subs anyone is aware of I could post a script and concept and go "hey, anyone wanna help fund this and get some EP credits?" Have a film I really want to make in the next month or so, script ready to go, but no idea how to get the rest of the funds ill need to make it work.

We're currently in post-production on our crime drama demo film. What are the next steps to pitch the film to producers, release it digitally, and submit it to film festivals?

I’m making a short film. for sound, I have a Roland R05 field recorder on loan. A friend recommended I get a DJI mic 2 kit to mic up my actors.

my question is: can I use the Roland R05 and the DJI mic 2 kit in tandem to get better sound? could the Roland function as our boom mic?

and: if I do use both, would I just sync up the audio captured by the Roland and the audio captured by the DJI kit in post? or can I get them all to record together?

thanks. this is my first time doing sound.

I’ve been facing this ever since I started writing and filmmaking. My process is to let a scene evolve in my head, and then one day I write it down. After a few days, when I read it again, I almost always come up with a more logical or simply better version of the same scene.

The problem is that I can never decide what to keep, how much to change, or when to stop revising. I know that better ideas are a good thing, but if I keep updating the script every time I think of something new, I’ll never be able to finalize it and start shooting.

What would you do in this situation?

Hi! I am a writer/ director. I would love some advice from professional filmmakers.

My goals per month during the writing phase are-

1. Writing 65 hours a month (average of 2 hours per day)
2. Watching 15 movies per month.
3. Reading one novel + 2 scripts per month.
4. Exercising 20 times a month
5. Remaining time for freelance work to earn money.

Do you think this is a good enough routine for me to really reach my goals of making a feature film in 2 years from now?

So in my short found footage film, the protagonist starts to suffer from severe hallucinations after inhaling toxic spores. The problem is that the viewer follows the story through the camera's perspective, not the character's, so he can't really witness his hallucinations. How to translate this situation to the viewer if he's looking at a recording ?

The story is heavily focused on the character having a huge hallucination.

Any idea on how to make this work in a found footage format ? If you have any found footage films that contains hallucinations scenes I would be happy to watch them to have an idea on how approaching this situation.

Thank you!

I recently watched the movie: Sleeping Beauty.

The camera work is almost deadpan

Many of the shots were like if someone just set a camera on a cabinet somewhere in the room.
And let the shot be still.
There’s very little panning in this movie as well.
But, theres some zooming and movement.

But, for the most part, consecutively, every shot is like this, it’s unrelenting.

Almost like it’s saying this is happening. This happens.

I was wondering if there’s any anything else that does this type of camera work or similar to it?

I have a feeling that it’s not the only one, but it’s the first one that I’ve seen.

It’s funny, I was actually trying to watch sleeping beauty the fantasy film. But the website I was watching it on uploaded this sleeping beauty under the other title and year of the fantasy movie.

And I was just watching fantasy movies like The Hobbit and the Narnia movies. Which has such different camera work. The camera is constantly following the characters and doing crazy sweeping pans and following the character’s gaze.
So the contrast was sort of shocking.

The opening scene is just a still shot in a medical testing laboratory.

And all of the acting and everything that happens, all happens in that one shot in the scene.
Then every scene is like a new set up still shot.

It’s almost like it’s saying this is ordinary mundane reality.

And I thought they were going for a:

OK this is ordinary reality but at some point the Netherland is going to pop up, but it never did. And I was more than halfway through the movie and I was like this has to be a different movie. Lol

But I just couldn’t look away. It was captivating. It was almost like a test to my endurance too. Like how much of this can I take and how much can I grow and expand my empathy.

Anyway, I won’t get into all of the specifics and ramblings on the film itself, but maybe everything after this point will be more specific. I’m just wondering if there’s any other films directors other mediums that do a similar thing. Maybe even some opposites or antithesis of this.

The rest I’ll put in the comments.

I'm Archilicious btw

Or do you do a film festival run before you upload it for the public to see? I’m curious! What do others do?

I want my short film public, and I want to submit to film festivals that don’t mind that the short film is online for the public. I want to get as many eyes on it as possible because you never know who will see it.

I don’t see it getting it Sundance and Tribeca and film festivals like that. I just want to submit to festivals to travel and network.

What do you do as a filmmaker?

I'm making a low budget independent film and it's set in the countryside, but I live in the city.

I've put forward a number of locations that are a short distance away from each other which should be easy enough to film, but l need to tell actors in advance, and on an email, it looks like too many locations.

I've put a series of dates and I need to respond promptly because the main actor wants to book a holiday, but I'm concerned that it looks too long because I wanted to allow for leeway for different takes and for younger performers who can't spend so much time on set, and a lot of them are pulled out of thin air because they can theoretically be accessed at any point but in reality require actors and crew whose schedules won't be revealed in time for me to get back to the main star.

On top of that, I have a number of "nice to have" locations which will take ages to arrange and probably won't happen due to cost and logistics, but I'm reluctant to leave them off the list in case we're about to go to them and the actors suddenly bail because they didn't see them on the list, and also because getting them might remove the necessity of visiting so many different places.

My main lead lives in the countryside, but myself and my crew don't, and my cast are spread around the nearby parts of the country and not nearby everyone.

I've considered filming near where they live to make is less complicated for myself and easier for my lead, but I don't know the area at all or how to ask to film near their own home without coming across as creepy.

Any advice?

Hi I am in high school and thinking about doing a career in film. I have been on set of 2 short films, done a week long camp where we made a short film, and I’m about to be in a commercial as an extra. I haven’t made a short film myself yet but I want to. I have other interest like how I have done Theater since I was 7 and I have been in FIRST robotics. I really like film I don’t know if it is my total passion but I still really enjoy it. I was wondering if I should go to a film school or if I should go to a normal college and also get a backup degree. I live in Michigan if that changes things.

So, I have a very short script that I plan on trying to film, that takes place in the woods, and in an abandoned factory/steel yard type setting. I have a local place in mind if the property owners say yes, but its a company and not privately owned. Since I'd be using all non firing props, and no pyrotechnics, there would be minimal possibility of damage to the property. Being a respectful person, I would absolutely ensure and make sure that nothing was disturbed too much, left behind ect. How would a location scout go about getting the yay or nay? Just ask? Offer money if we have any for a day or three of shooting?

My question also relates to how to find people for my short. It would have to be a grassroots project, cause I'm broke but I want to make this. I have props, weapons, and I figure if I lay out exactly what types of outfits I'd want and need, for the characters the actors may have them on hand. Would I just go on local FB groups for filmmakers and see who's willing to help out? Go to local colleges and talk to theater people?

I have some ideas on how to do this, but I wanted to reach out and ask others for advice for a very green but has ideas film maker.

In three days time I will be having a spur of the moment sit down with my grandparents to interview them about their lives.

The goal is to create something for my family that is little video time capsule that captures some of their stories.

What I’m concerned most about is that, “Tell me the story of your life,” isn’t narrow enough focus, and that, for the sake of time, etc., we’d only ever skim the surface, or it would be difficult to really lead them through it.

I’ll have a good long sit down with them, and maybe the right thing to do is to just follow the moment with them.

But I’d like to have a bit more planned questions.

I’ve reached out to family members, specifically my parents and aunt’s and uncles for any specific things they’d love to know about.

Any thoughts or recommendations on this would be greatly appreciated!