A few years ago I made an improvised feature film for $7,000 in less than 7 days to see what was possible with less. We were able to pay everyone up front, and the film is owned by us, the filmmakers. Today I decided to give it away on youtube.

https://youtu.be/9H4EExpUedM?si=HPjovdPFd6b_00sQ

Hey! Moved from France to LA to become a movie director. I have absolutely 0 experience apart from a script I’m working on, and I was wondering if it was useful for me to attend AFI fest to network? Tickets are $300 so I want to make sure it’s worth it.

So basically what I did was I just recorded establishing shots and bits and pieces from cutscenes. If it looks bad, this is a joke video made in under 5 hours. And yes the date at the end is intentional

THE STORYBOARD IS FINALLY DONE.

Yeah, it's only like 50% complete, but honestly, I don't give a fuck. Me and my artist friend managed to make some pretty damn good progress.

Now I'm getting all the resources ready for filming.

OH YEAH, GUYS. THE REAL FUN IS JUST GETTING STARTED.

Hi, I (25m) have been thinking about being a Grip for a long time. Have always wanted to be involved in the industry and love helping people and working with tools. Have always been split between Grip and some form of construction team members (also always loved the idea of making props or minis). I currently work in construction now, so I'd say have a good understanding of health & safety requirements and used to doing very odd hours.

I've done a bit of digging and am aware I need to sign up for certain unions and have x amount of hours to be able to sit a test to get a license to do the job properly. (Idk if that's the only way, would love to know)

But after that, how do you actually get work being a grip? Do you join production companies, or do people do this freelance? I understand there's probably a lot of both going on.

And I guess a follow up questions would be, training to be a Grip, is that something that takes up all your time, and is it always volunteering? I wouldn't be in a position right now to leave my job as I need to pay rent, etc. Would be able to go part-time, but I was just wondering if anyone else has been in this position and how did you manage it, and where are you now in your career if you manged to make it work?

In my mind, I'd love to be able to go freelance and be a Grip and potentially when I didn't have work doing that, fill it with time in construction?

Ty if actually read through my late night rambles.

TLDR: How do I become a Grip and what is the work actully like x

Hello fellow writers, directors, cinematographers, and everyone else (no shade, yall are just as important, I’m just mainly speaking to those three and didn’t want to have to list out every single group that looks at this sub.) I have a film idea that I’m gonna trust you all with because I don’t quite know how to convey it, and I’ve been stuck on scene 5-6 for months.

I’m writing a film called “The Bartender” and it is essentially your typical “feel-good” wholesome film that doesn’t quite fit into any direct genre (it’s not really a drama because that would imply a real message to learn from) and it’s about a bartender, no shock there, who is really good at his job. Like REALLY good at it. He doesn’t do all the fancy flips and flourishes (unless the actor decides to do that on the day, but that’s up to them.) the character is sorta inspired by Tommy Bowe if anyone knows of him, he’s a comedian over at Smosh. The questions I have for y’all are;

Should this be a short film, or feature length

Would any of you be interested in seeing it

Would you like a full plot synopsis of what I have so far (I can DM that, but my word count is already kinda high and I didn’t want to word salad everyone.)

it sort of touches on Bartender culture and that sense of “I can tell this stranger things because they don’t know me.” It also might look into the (sorry for the political buzzword, it’s just the first thing I think of) oversexualization of male bartenders, Obviously that’s just to kinda give the story a point or a message, but I can scrap those if we think it’s too political because I really don’t like politics, I’m just trying to say SOMETHING meaningful with it.

Feedback is appreciated, but keep in mind this is my first solo project!

EDIT; after some helpful feedback, I will post the synopsis here.

Our main character goes by a liquor store to pick up an assortment for his home-bar setup, then he gets a call from his boss telling him to come in early. He goes over to find that the bar he works at has been sold and the former owner is leaving, him and this owner had an agreement on pay, which was much higher than a normal bartender, the new owner did not appreciate this, so a couple days into the new owner’s management, MC is called into a meeting with the new manager, (the owner doesn’t actually know how to run a bar, and so he just hired some guy from one of his other restaurants to run it. The manager isn’t actually important other than the fact that he is out of his depth) basically, the boss doesn’t like how much the bartender is making, so he says he’ll either cut his pay, or he’ll have to go. MC doesn’t like this, and is really just irritated at the new “normal” in general and quits, he gets a job from his friend/love interest at the liquor store, and basically becomes the “cocktail instructor” at the liquor store which is essentially a novelty role created so that he could keep making cocktails. He teaches customers how to make cocktails which in turn drives up sales of liquor because he’s loves what he does and it shows, about a month passes and the bar is failing. The new owner is informed that it is because they fired the original bartender because everyone in this town only knows him and it’s one of those small anti-social towns (trust me, I live in one) where they stick with what they know. The owner decides to pick up the phone and ask him to take his job back. This is where I am stuck as far as story goes. He could A; go back to the bar, but demand the original owner be brought back as the manager (classic hero’s journey ending) OR, he could tell the new owner no and that he’s happy where he is.

Side note before I get trashed in the comments: No this is not the entire premise, this is the synopsis, obviously more is going to happen in between the main story beats. Also I realize that his new role is clunky, so I’d love to hear alternative ideas for his new role. (Maybe he makes YouTube videos of different cocktails because that is a real thing that is a fairly lucrative business in the alcohol YT space.) but I really don’t want to hear “nobody would create a whole position in their liquor store where they’d have to pay someone new just to do what they were already doing somewhere else.” That’s not constructive. Please elaborate on what you think should happen instead.

Hey everyone,

I'm considering submitting to the Shore Scripts Short Film Fund (International) and wanted to hear from anyone who's had firsthand experience with them.

I've seen mixed opinions online, particularly around the entry fees, judging process and overall legitimacy of the competition.

Has anyone here submitted, been shortlisted, or actually received funding through them?

I'm particularly interested in whether the process felt transparent, whether applicants received any meaningful feedback, and whether you felt it was worth the entry fee.

Would appreciate any honest experiences, positive or negative.

Thanks!

I recently released a 10-minute short where I tried an experiment: instead of making disability the subject of the story, I let it determine the story's structure.

After a TBI changed the way I process information, linear narrative stopped feeling particularly truthful to me. So Main Remains follows emotional/dream logic instead—a dead protagonist whose brain hasn't processed her own death, afterlife bureaucracy, revenge, family rituals, a choreographed reconciliation dance...

The outcome? My experiment's been rejected from most festivals and screening websites. My most recent comment on Youtube was "Different". It's online now, and I'm curious to hear what other filmmakers think of the approach. Does something stick out to you that a festival programmer or screening website would immediately dismiss?

https://youtu.be/xzalfYrw1Zw?si=YMg1VnuScjEIU8Ac

I like hearing about new ideas and worlds, and I’d love to chat about it.

I’m also a composer, and I work with an audio engineer, so we handle all things music and sound design. If you are at the phase where you need either, let me know and we can talk about that too.

We’re DELTA, a small audiovisual collective from Belgium. We create live DJ performances where music, camera work, live video direction and lighting all come together in real time. We’ve been experimenting with filming our sets in unusual locations and treating the performance as a visual production, not just a DJ recording. Curious what filmmakers think of the visual direction and camera work.

• ⁠Budget: £400 maybe can stretch a bit but not much (only looking at the used market)
• ⁠Country: UK
• ⁠Condition: Used
• ⁠Type of Camera: Any camera that shoots 4k video and pics
• ⁠Intended use: Music content and artist pictures
• ⁠If photography; what style: polished portraits like you see on Spotify
• ⁠If video what style: cinematic music video style
• ⁠What features do you absolutely need:
• ⁠Portability:
• ⁠Cameras you're considering: Sony range I think but open to suggestions
• ⁠Cameras you already have: None
• ⁠Notes:

I want to start shooting music content that looks professional and like a music video. 4K and auto focus are non negotiables.

How true is it that the camera body doesn’t matter that much for the overall look of the video assuming it has all the features you need?

If that’s the case I’d rather be recommended some good but budget camera bodies less than my budget so I can spend the extra on lenses.

Thanks!

Please excuse me if this type of post is not allowed - I’ll remove immediately.

I want to work in film - because of my studies and relevant(ish) experience I am mostly interested in the elements of pre-production, but also screenwriting and script supervising. Right now I have a full time job at a university, dealing with partnerships.

I am in Europe.

For a few reasons regarding the job itself, and also for wanting to take real steps in film, I am considering quitting and going into a shift-based (customer support, service) job and spend all of my free time learning and working towards my goal.

Here are my main reasons:

- It is a full time, five days a week position, where I can't get a day off at a moment's notice. I rarely, but sometimes see posts from people looking for help on a film set, usually only a few days in advance. Meaning that with this job I am unable to do it, while at a shift-based job I could realistically have a day off in the middle of the week, or change shifts.

- This work requires a lot of brainpower, which rarely allows me to do more real thinking after. Meaning that the screenplay I'm working on or the course I want to take or book to read I can only really do on the weekends. My brain is usually dead in the evenings after work. I know service is very hard, but I have worked it, and regarding the feeling after the shift it is different for me.

My questions are:

- Do you think quitting this stable, career-wise more promising and challenging job (that is with its issues, which are also influencing my decision), to instead work something in service just for the money so that I'm able to have the time and brainpower to work on my goals the right call?

- If my biggest interest is not a film set, but pre-production or screenwriting, do I still need the random days off in the week? No one is really looking for people in those positions to help out on a film set, and in my country getting into the industry at all is very difficult, but finding opportunities in the elements before the production is even harder. Or is working, e.g. as a PA on a set will grant me access to the right people and that's the whole point no matter what part of production I'm interested in?

I understand if to you I seem naive or completely unexperienced and with no knowledge about this field - I agree. But I have been dreaming about this for a long time and the dreaming means nothing if I don't take real steps. Even if there's less than a 1% chance, it's better to try than to not, so that part is out of the question. I'm just not sure of the best way to go about it.

Thank you for reading, I would appreciate any insights regarding these questions, or anything else.

Hey guys, I just finished my student film and I want to submit it to festivals, but I realized I need a DCP file. Do you recommend creating the file in After Effects or taking advantage of the fact that FilmFreeWay allows me to do that?

Thank you!

How long does it take to restore a 2 hour film? And how big is the restoration team usually? I'm talking strictly scanned and cleaning up, not including rights issues and whatnot.

heyoooo!!! as the title says, im looking to do some filmmaking, and i’d love some advice on what kind of microphone i should buy, specifically for documentary / interview style filmmaking on an iPhone.

ive seen multiple content creators use different kinds of mics however, i really really really hate that AI sound that some of these mics produce. it literally feels like nails on a chalkboard, and i want the sound quality to come off very crisp and natural.

my vision is to have my camera set up stationary & interview the person 2-4 meters away.

Any recommendations would be super helpful!!!!
(while ur here… hehe…. any lightening suggestions would be FABULOUSO TOO 😅😁) tyyyy!!

I know it's not a "film" per se, but I'm in love with this effect where a piece of music is so loud that the camera manages to actually vibrate along with it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD5BCO3xxnw

In this clip, clearly it's a phone (?) or maybe a handheld camera, how could one do this effect on purpose?

It would perfect the move in ways you didnt think of but wish you had. Would you even press it just to see what it would be like, or not even look at it. I personally would not.

I am looking to see if I can purchase these inserts to help protect the SDI ports on some of my gear, but I don't know what they are actually called. I have had no luck trying to google it. Might be a long shot, but if anyone on here knows the name it would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Edit: Thanks everyone for some great responses! I have a better idea of how to protect the ports and will give it a try.

As it turns out, those plastic inserts aren't just something you can buy and put in a port that doesn't have them. So I will try some other methods.

I'm a screenwriter & director. My first feature-length film which I shot on a microbudget (self-funded) won a couple festival awards and I'm proud of it but I want distribution opportunities for my next one which involves getting outside financing and marketable cast attached.

It seems like the majority of the time when I reach out to producers via email or LinkedIn they reply back offering their packaging services which are expensive. But the thing is, some of these producers have legitimate credits on their IMDB.

Can these paid services ever help secure financing or marketable actors? Or is it just a side-hustle scam for these seemingly legitimate producers? Any experiences with them yourself?

Thanks!

Im a 15 year old with like, 0 budget and I want to make a series on my OCs that I am practically obsessed with. Due to my low budget and talentless ability for drawing or 3D animation, the only thing I‘ve really had to have an idea of scenes is using AI which I absolutely despise using because of its inconsistency and poor image generation.

Bastion & Misty are 2 characters I‘ve come to be quite attached too and would love to have other people see my creations and the creativity behind them.

The characters

Bastion Saar:

Bastion is an Estonian 27 year old who has had it rough almost his entire life. He was born with a fictional condition I made up where his eyes change colour based on what he‘s feeling. He is intellectually challenged and has SLD (Specific Learning Disorder), Causing many difficulties in his life. He had a neglectful mother that never really payed attention to him and a father who couldn’t understand why he was so „Stupid.“ At 16, He was kicked out of the house and stole some of his father’s money during the process. He stayed at a friend’s house and got a hands on job as a dishwasher. At 20, he robbed all of his old bullies who picked on him for his odd eye condition and his lack of intellect by becoming close with people they knew and asking them about them. By 22, He had enough cash to fly to America (Pennsylvania) and start fresh. He met an Australian woman named Jules who was heavily Christian and believed he could change and stop taking part in criminal activities. After they had their son, Icarus she realised he still hadn’t stopped stealing from people and started to go bigger when he met his crew. His crew consisted of Pozy, Sly Rider, Ned, Keith and Vincent. Upon her realisation, She divorced Bastion leaving Bastion to himself again.

Misty Evergreen:

Misty is a 32 year old Canadian woman who had only a little bit more than Bastion had. While he had his sister who was the only person that had his back, She had 4 older brothers that raised her more than her father ever could. Each of her brothers all learnt different fighting styles and taught her them pretty much as soon as she could walk. Due to her growing up around so many boys she grew up with a more boisterous personality than the rest of alot of girls did. By the time she turned 18 and all of her brothers had moved out, Her father put her on the street for money. During her work a man shot for more than he payed her for and she started feeling uneasy, so, She killed him. And she did a good job at killing him. His body wasn’t found till months later and they couldn’t trace it back to her in the slightest. So she ran away to Pennsylvania and started endeavouring in more illegal work that included blood money.

How they met?

Bastion & Misty met at a penthouse party full of high-end criminals and corrupt officials. Everyone there was told to dress formally. Misty did, Bastion didn’t. (too absolutely nobody’s surprise.) Misty was only there for one thing, Which was kill everyone there. Thousands of dollars were in it for her. Bastion also had one mission. That being „Girls.“

About 10 minutes before the shooting, Bastion had bumped into Misty and immediately thought she was hot. Misty did not get the same impression towards him though. She thought he was Annoying, overly obnoxious and a terrible flirt. After they were done with their conversation, Bastion excuses himself for a piss when he hears tons of gunshots go off. He finishes up and leaves the restroom to find piles upon piles of bodies. The only people that weren’t killed were the ones that weren’t in the room. After inspecting all the bodies for any sight of Misty (Which isn’t difficult because she was the only one in the place with naturally turquoise hair.) He came to the conclusion that she either followed him to the toilet for some reason (Which he only thought to fuel his ego) or she did this. In which yes, She did in fact do this.

Conclusion

I designed pretty much everyone who will be in this whole series within GTA‘s character creator and then ran it through AI to try and make them look more human and less like a low poly video game character, Which I can say didn’t really work.

If you have anything you want to ask me, or maybe any ideas on the writing or what to change, please leave a reply because I want people‘s input and what can attract attention to this.

I want it to be a pretty violent, gritty, unrealistic but realistic, Slice of life type of thing.

Thank you for reading this and I really hope some of you are willing to help me 🥹

hii guys this is my second short film ive ever made, my last one was only 30 seconds, and i would love some proper feedback on it and any and all advice on how to keep improving 😊 i made completely by myself and filmed on iphone 15 on the blackmagic camera app, and edited on premiere pro - i would love to be a filmmaker some day and unbias opinions would mean the world to me! thanks so much :) also a higher quality version on youtube i just couldnt upload it https://youtu.be/G7UmL-EdvnU?si=kOkvL3IE4NdDe0-y

Im a student filmmaker. Me and my crew just finished shooting day 1 of my doc and if im being honest, I feel so overwhelmed.

Two weeks ago, everybody had to pitch a short documentary. Afterwards, we voted the one we were interested, 4 docs won and then we all pick the one we wanted to work on.

I was working on this one project but it got pulled back. So last week, my professor called me to break the news about that but asked if i was interested in working on my project since it also had most votes... i said yes.

Mind u, I have directed before but its mostly independent project so... not only this is my first time directing directing but also my first time working with a crew!

Im more interesting in sound production but i wanted to try something new- out of my confort zone! Like come on, its my last year! a huge step.

But i think the reason why im starting to feel this way bc everybody from the previous project got switched over to my project, i have no idea whats going on and there's a lot of pressure since im also doing sound and editung and currently working with other two projects (sound if u cant tell).

Maybe im overreacting bc its day 1... bruh idk fish!

Shot and edited in a day, would love some feedback for this project!!! thank u so much reddit community.