r/filmmaking

I'm a student (not specifically studying film) whose dream job is working in film/tv production. I'm most interested in sound mixing or video editing, mostly because I've gotten the most experience in those areas in the few video production classes I've taken. However, now that those are over, I'm not sure where to go from here.

I've been looking around for opportunities to work on people's short films, YouTube videos, etc., but I feel like I'm so lacking in experience that it'd be irresponsible to apply/ask for those jobs. But in that case, how can I grow my skills? I have the lowest of low-end computers and no personal equipment, so I don't know how I could practice on my own. There must be something I'm missing.

I've had problems with motivation in the past so this might be me putting up nonexistent barriers, but I really feel stuck. Would it be best to not touch anything production related until I can save up for a better laptop/equipment? Or just apply/connect with people and hope that my limited skills are enough, and learn from there? What would you recommend?

Hello my dear everything makers,
I want a cob led light, 100w and more. One of the criteria is battery power supply, as I am planning to shoot when there is no electricity. The other one, is it should be not too big and heavy, as I’m planning to travel/ take it with me while not always having a car. If I can solve the car problem, I’m still not sure about fitting it in my baggage in a plane. I was considering some of the Amaran and Nanlite version, however they seem to not being able to be powered by a battery, although I like em. I’ve also heard sum about zhiyun, but I know nothing about them. And I’m not sure if I need only one light.
P.s. My budget is around 300€
Thanks for the answers

how do you know you have a good scene that you can build a story out of with some meaning

In songs you can easily hear a good melody for example, in film i find it much harder

Curious about how indie filmmakers here deal with subtitles translations.

A few things im wondering:

• Do you handle subtitle translations yourslef, does your distributor do it?
• If you outsource, what are you typically paying? Per minute? Per language? Flat fee?
• How many languages do you usually need?
• Are you happy with the quality, or is it always a compromise between budget and accuraccy?
• For those submitting to international festivals or platforms, do you find that bad subtitles actually hurt your retruns? are platforms translating at too high prices?

I've been working in film distribution for a few years and subtitling costs keep coming up as a pain point, especially for filmmakers working with tight budgets. Would love to hear how others are navigating this.

For as long as I’ve been making films (2010), I’ve heard the same refrain: the industry is collapsing, nobody’s buying movies, the market is impossible, independent film is dead.

I don’t buy it and I'm tired of hearing the same things.

Independent film is thriving. The problem isn’t the artists. The problem is a set of outdated, arcane systems that have devalued creative voices while conditioning audiences to consume “content” instead of connect with art.

The future of film won’t come from endlessly explaining what no longer works. It will come from paying attention to what does. 

And what continues to endure is the creative class. The people who keep creating despite every cycle of panic and every institutional “no.”

The creative class has already survived the collapse of the studio era, the VHS revolution, the rise and fall of DVD, piracy, the collapse of mid-budget cinema, the 2008 financial crash, the streaming gold rush, algorithmic curation, the fragmentation of audiences, social media, the pandemic, Wall Street consolidation, vertical video, the endless content boom, and now AI anxiety.

Somehow the thing that remains is the creative class finding a way forward anyway. Because without the creative class, there is no industry. No platforms. No streamers. No conventions. No trades. No ecosystem. None of this exists without people willing to make something from nothing.

And right now, the creative class wants something very simple: a better living from the work that built this entire business in the first place. I’m just one filmmaker rowing upstream but I’m going to try to do something about this.

Yours, humbly (and tiredly), all the way from Nashville,

Rod Blackhurst

I’m pretty new to making music videos and I recently hit a point where something started bothering me creatively.

I can plan shots, storyboard scenes, sync edits to the music, and technically put together a complete video.
Unfortunately when I watch the final result it still feels like just a sequence of clips instead of something emotionally cohesive.

So I realized the thing I’m actually struggling with isn’t editing or visuals, but the creative thinking behind a music video.

How do you personally decide what a song should become visually? When you listen to a track, what makes you think “this scene belongs here” or “this is the right direction”? Do ideas usually come from the lyrics, the mood, the rhythm, a story, or something harder to explain?

I think what I’m trying to understand is how directors translate music into images in a way that feels intentional instead of nearly random.

Would genuinely love to hear how different people approach that process.

Hi all! I posted this in another group, but I’ll post here too.

So I attempted crowdfunding $20,000 for my indie feature film, and it didn’t go well. Totally my fault.

This time, I plan to crowdfund initially for $5000 for the psychological thriller. We already secured $20,000. $9000 was from crowdfunding. The plan is to build an audience as we crowdfund. Get people excited and wanting to see this film.

My question is: Between Crowdfunder and Seed & Spark, which is best? Crowdfunder lets you keep what you raised. Seed & Spark green lights you around 80 percent, I think.

Indiegogo and Kickstarter have too many scammers, but I’d love to hear your thoughts if you feel those are the better option.

Thanks in advance! I’m really excited to get back at it!

My main interests are directing, cinematography, and editing, but I'm interested in learning VFX to give me more options and possibilities when making short films. I'd probably use VFX similar to how Ponysmasher (David F. Sandberg) and Dylan Clark use them on their short films.

What's the best way to go about learning this with very little knowledge on it? I'm well-versed on Premiere Pro, decent with Photoshop but can't do anything too crazy, and have very little knowledge on After Effects (which is probably the most important for this). Should I just watch tutorials on how to do specific effects and try them out myself, or is there a course I could follow that would be better? I don't want to get caught in the trap of only knowing how to replicate the tutorials I watch and not be able to do anything else.

Thanks!

What makes a runner standout to you?

What signs and attributes determine for you whether they have what it takes to move up in the production department?

What signs show they don’t?

Are ‘older’ runners a ‘turn-off’?

These would be mine

Remove dress codes from places that normally have dress codes in real life or scenes where very few characters follow a dress code but nobody cares

Characters who hate politics or removal of politics

Scenes where characters eat burgers and/or eat pizza

Dead mothers (inspired both by my mother's death and Steven Spielberg's trademark of absent fathers)

Normalizing things that are usually considered wrong in real life (for example characters refusing to vote in elections and everybody's ok with it)

Evilize characters who follow social norms I find stupid (for example scenes where a client gets offended because an employee attends them without a suit but the client is framed like the one being unreasonable)

Homages to some of my favorite directors like Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron and Alfred Hitchcock

Mostly female casts because I'm mostly into female actresses than male actors including always casting the same actors like Emma Watson, Jennifer Lawrence and/or Alexandra Daddario

Can someone recommend textbooks used in popular film schools for someone who can't afford film school?

Hopefully yall can help me out and im on the right thread. If not, my apologies.

I know everybody has a differing opinion but Im really hoping to get some informative feedback.

What would you say to a 58 year old filmmaking hobbyist who is familiar with PC tech but is turned off by the physical size of a desktop and is willing to go the Macbook route for sheer portability? I dont plan on making 4k feature length films, but rather short live action and stop motion films. Almost all of my previous efforts have been edited in camera (mostly because of computing limitations) but i got a bit of money as an old man and would like to upgrade. Im leaning towards getting a macbook pro but would like to get the opinion of people who know. Oh yeah, i like davinci resolve for editing.

Doing my final for video production class and I need stock footage of like,,, a greedy business man, from old movies that just shows examples of corporate greed or human greed if that makes sense. I only have a week to make it so any help would be awesome!!!!

In your opinion, what is the best shot horror movie and why do you feel that way?