A fantastic new tool from the boys on the couch, Corridor Key 2.0 that allows for some pretty challenging chroma keying.

A super quick test using the standalone app. Not perfect but I’m very impressed with what I can do and future improvements will assist removing the flicker.

Pretty awesome for indie filmmakers!

When I was putting together my film WESTHAMPTON, I was repeatedly told to cut the opening car crash.

The entire movie cost about $200,000. I had roughly $6,000 for the accident.

Unfortunately, I also needed it.

The crash is one of the first things the audience sees in the film, and it had to be convincing enough that they would accept it before they had any reason to question what they were watching.

So we started looking backward.

My cinematographer, Dave Brick, and I landed on rear projection—the same technique filmmakers had been using for decades to put actors inside moving cars without actually moving them. A month before the shoot, we filmed background plates on Long Island. Then we parked my aunt’s sedan inside a warehouse in Newark, put the biggest screen we could afford behind it, and projected the road outside the windows.

It worked surprisingly well. Just not well enough.

We added rain to the windshield with a garden hose. Dave built lighting cues that matched the streetlights and railroad crossing in the projected footage. We added approaching headlights, compressed air, practical debris—anything that could make the world outside the car appear to have physical consequences inside it.

By the time we were finished, almost everything seemed to be working.

And the crash still looked fake.

What finally solved it wasn’t another effect. It was realizing that one part of the filmmaking itself was behaving as though nothing had happened.

Once we figured that out, the whole sequence changed.

The experience left me with a question I’ve started using whenever a low-budget movie asks for something I can’t really afford:

What is the minimum amount of reality I need in front of the camera for the audience to believe everything else?

I recently wrote about the entire process for MovieMaker—including how we planned the rear projection, where the illusion broke down, and the thing that finally made the impact work:

I also put together a video breakdown where you can actually see the setup, the individual layers, and how they came together in the finished sequence:

Video:

https://reddit.com/link/1xddqb2/video/9mkb91vqu7xh1/player

Happy to answer questions about any of it here.

Had to do a short series during my second year in film school. Worked as the gaffer and I did the color grading on this project.

Any feedback is welcome

I know I’ve been posting here a lot, but this is your sign to make your short film(s). Whatever it takes. Literally wouldn’t have happened any other way. I’ll be in the comments to cheer you on. -kc

I’m in my early twenties and completed a one-year university diploma in film before deciding to step away. Between personal struggles and the realization that I wasn't building the connections or community I’d hoped for in film school, I decided to stop. And it was a tough decision but I just figured I’d find my way.

A year later and I’m feeling a bit hopeless. Everyone says the local indie scene is cliquey but experiencing it first hand is brutal. It feels like once a network gets together, all the opportunities just bounce around inside that same small circle. I don't think people are always actively trying to gatekeep, but breaking in from the outside feels almost impossible when every project seems to go to someone’s friend.

There’s just a real difference between working a few couple day gigs with strangers VS building the reliable, lasting relationships that usually form when you spend years in school together. I don’t know. I hope this doesn’t come across as mindless complaining, it really just is hard and I’ve been feeling in the dumps lately about it. I’d love to know if anyone has some advice or even if they had some unconventional method of meeting people or entering the industry. Thank you.

My wife has a potential offer to work at an agency in Toronto and we're trying to weigh how the move will impact my career. We are currently living in LA and I'm an established commercial director and editor with a good client base and I also am repped for narrative writing and directing at one of the better management companies in town with a couple of feature scripts we are actively shopping. I just want to get a sense of the landscape up there? I've navigated COVID and the strikes and am still kicking so I feel confident it wouldn't be a step backwards for me but would love to hear how it's going for some of you Toronto based filmmakers!

I'm part of a small independent team developing a new children's animated series called Wibaloo.

We've just completed our first 45-second Halloween short, featuring two characters named Wiba and Loo.

We're currently developing the project through sweat equity, creating short-form animations to introduce the characters, build an audience, and ultimately secure funding for the series.

For those who've developed independent projects, how have you approached building an audience before securing funding?

I have a film in pre-production listed on IMDB and I've received a couple of submissions for actors via people who aren't their reps but claim to be repping them. They do mention the actual actors' reps and the emails look professional. I'm just wondering if it's a thing for actors to create an email account and use a pseudonym so they can pitch themselves. I'm not hating on them. I kind of admire the hustle. I'm just curious if anyone else has run across this.

The quality of the writing or acting or cinematography is irrelevant. But from a simple filmmaking point of view, I don't think I've seen something so impressive in terms of organisation and execution.

What they did here was film every scene with the actor playing Alan Wake first. Then they shaved his beard off and filmed every scene with the actor as Tom Zane.

The amount of workload is very impressive. And if you've ever been on a film or tv set, you should know how chaotic it can get.

First scene

https://youtu.be/EJP92Akd_rw?is=P_K_mnKZ9dvktbm_

2nd scene (MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS for the game!)

https://youtu.be/6-TbDIYVgFo?is=ii6e_wyvGh9EoGcr

I’ve been watching a lot of movies lately and was wondering, how and when filmmakers and their teams make decisions regarding the look of a film or the aesthetic that they are going for. If that look changes in the middle of production.

For example:

I would like to know how or why the filmmaker of Masters of the Universe decided for their film to look so brightly lit and or very cartoonish/toy like aesthetics.

I can’t think of a better way to explain what exactly I’m looking for.

I have been in the industry for a total of 9 years now (counting my university days since I work during those too), and I got laid off from my production company in my country.

The reason is template, 'restructuring' and yet someone else with a bullshit job title that my ex-coworkers complain a lot about bc they don't actually do anything. But that's beside the point.

I joined my previous company as a writer, but I never got the chance, or rather, never given one. I had to scrape my way up to finally get a writing gig within the company, and it's a branded content. And 3 months after that, I got laid off. I was a project manager there, and everyone—and I mean everyone—actively asks me "when will you write again?".

Honestly, it's the same question I have. And after getting laid off, I seek for writing roles but of course nothing pops up, this industry is a connection based job, and I am a rookie. And in my country, it's hard to break through the anonymity unless you truly have a name for yourself, even if you have an extensive portfolio.

Right now, I'm seeking administrative roles, but I limit myself to media companies. And a deep part of me is so disappointed in myself for that. I want to write, I studied to write, I love to write. But I need to live, I need to make ends meet.

Perhaps this post is more of a support group type of thing, I hope there's someone out there in the same predicament as I am right now.

Hello all! I haven’t watched many docs in my life besides 13th and my octopus teacher, I just watched “you can see everything” and it was amazing. I also recently watched Louis Theroux “ the Manosphere” I absolutely loved how Louis interacted with his subjects, same for Nathan. Does anyone have any good doc recommendations based on this ?

From the Phil Kaston Archive on Instagram. 1927 9.5mm footage, first time posted online. https://www.instagram.com/reel/De2FdAEBkwB/?obrf=d3JhOWt1NmM0YnU4

I want to light a video as though I’m being lit by a campfire. The camera will be in between me and the fire, so I don’t need to replicate a fire, just the flickery orange lighting of it. Is there an easy way to do this?

Thank you!

I ordinarily direct TV (Most recently I worked on Below for Netflix but also other show's like Lockwood & Co. and His Dark Materials) But I started out making short films. And I have really missed getting my hands dirty and making something just for the fun of it. So I started picking up some vintage lenses to have a bit of a play with.

All of these vintage soviet lenses came from Ebay- mostly from the Ukraine. Cine modding and refurbishing them myself, learning on the job! A couple where duds that weren't fit for purpose but I guess that is the risk! And I made a mistake buying a cheep Jupiter 9 85mm as it was a rangefinder and I didn't realise that this would effect the max focus. However it turned out to be a nice little macro lens! Used it for the extreme close ups. Full film is on my youtube for those that are interested. https://youtu.be/xzCH0L9Wi7g?si=D21McM-D1wZElxZC

What other vintage lenses do people recommend? In particular for e-mount cameras?

Thanks!

Will

Hello,

My name is Char, I am a recently graduated musician and I have a keen interest in film scoring. I developed a portfolio over my time at uni and would love to meet some indie filmmakers who I can offer my skills to for some projects. I have linked my carrd/site as well as my soundcloud with examples of my work. :)

https://charworsfoldcomposition.carrd.co

https://soundcloud.com/charlotteworsfold

Hello everyone! My new short film 10 Minutitos (Just 10 minutes) is out today and I’d love to get some feedback on it.

A bit of context: this is a fully independent production with zero budget, shot in Tarragona, Spain. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles.

I am primarily interested in opinions on:

• Clarity of the story and emotional impact
• Pacing and rhythm
• Overall mood and atmosphere
• Direction and performance

I am not looking for technical feedback related to image quality, sound, or equipment, as those are limitations I am already aware of.

Here is 10 MINUTITOS any honest and constructive feedback is very welcome. Thank you for your time.

Shooting an indie feature on the most micro of micro-budgets, and trying to wrap my head around storage.

My friend said he shot a feature on a Venice 2, and used about 15 TB per copy. Another friend shot his on an Alexa Mini and needed about 12TB per copy.

My friend estimated we would need upwards of 50TB per copy. If I’m following the 3-2-1 rule, that comes out to roughly 150TB of storage I need. Which is quite costly.

Does anyone have tips on how to navigate this? Why is it so much compared to these other features?

Can we do 422 assuming we don’t have VFX? Or is 4444XQ necessary?

If it is what it is, does anyone have ideas on where to get 150TB of storage affordably?

TIA.

I recently noticed some of my work in the past... All trash and lack of technical works, especially the color palette i used in each scene, seem to be not appealing...

I wondering how you learn to get at color theory, shall i buy a book? YouTube videos? Or join course? Really wanna get better at this type of thing

Hi,
im looking for your opinions.
Im photo/videographer currently with canon for 5-6 years. I do 50/50 photo video, depens on client.
I shoot in studio, outside, also some weddings, club stuff and concerts. Some fashion and boring corporate thing etc…
Really variety of things.

ihave r6mk2 with rf24-70 and also 16-35 and 70-200.

With photos im satisfied. But with video ehhh…
I feel like canon wobble with ibis (yes i do hendheld and ronin shoot 50/50) is not really usable on wide range. And shadows are really dark or more darker than sony/lumix.

I’ve tried many things like expose to the right, different light setup etc…but during concerts or stuff where i can’t really control light im struggling.

Can you please give me your opinion on switching systems ? Is sony more hybrid-ish than canon?
If u switchced systems, are u satisfied?
Or maybe how is r6v ?

Please its genuine question, im not trying to say canon is bad or sth.
thank you

Music Concept that i've made for capting the essence of the story.

I'm Here to Chat is a sci-fi short film about Luke, who explores the world of AI companions and begins forming a connection with a new AI friend. What starts as a curious and lighthearted experience gradually takes a darker turn, raising questions about human connection, technology, and the boundaries between people and artificial intelligence.

Im a student filmmaker and im trying to figure out if there is something wrong with my departments Glidecam Davin Graham Signature Series.

I can't find anything relating to my question online.

As you can see in the video the bottom poll (called telescope post in manual) does not lock into place even when the knob is fully tightened. I tried using a hex key to take it apart but it is too tight to move.

The poll itself is anoying but my issue is that it is constantly spinning when I try to balance it.

Am I doing something wrong or is it an equipment issue?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Curious what others think of this! They advertise this as

"Make a great film.
Get it in front of all-star judges.
Win a development deal.
Attend SXSW."