How I Made My Biggest Short Film in Three Days

How do you film a 20 minute epic fantasy adventure short film in three days with no budget while you’re in school? 

If you said blackmail, slave labor, or sell your soul to the devil, then you're a horrible person. Also, you are probably a filmmaker. Also, have you been reading my notes?

Also, can I introduce you to this guy?

(If you didn’t get that joke it means you haven’t seen the short film yet. Which you can rectify below and then read it again to laugh uproariously. )

I did this question back when I made my last student film Happy Never After. After filming my previous film over six weekends in a schedule that made everyone involved hate life (and me) and pray for the I they knew would not come I decided to try a different strategy: one, breakneck pace weekend where we work like crazy and get everything done. As crazy as it sounded--and it sounded Joker, Annie Wilkies, and Norman bates on a road trip in a stopped car crazy--it worked. What I learned helped me learn the best ways to use your time best to get the most from your crew in the shortest amount of time.

1. Preplan, preplan, preplan.

Everything that went right that weekend went well because we pre-planned things well. Everything that went wrong went wrong because we didn’t pre-plan enough. The Cinematographer, Forest Erwin, and I went over the vision for the look of the film and the shots and scenes beforehand so we knew exactly what we were shooting, where, when, and for how long. We figured out we could save so much time if we divided our shoot into everything we filmed in the FiDi (Ron/Sarah’s coffee meeting, flashback, walk by the water) Day 1, the chapel scene Day 2, and everything else in Brooklyn (zombie chase, funeral, party) Day 3. This served us amazingly well. This meant everyone knew where they should be when and for how long and could plan their other stuff accordingly.

2. Have dedicated people.

You can’t convince people to give up so much of their weekend for free unless they really want to be there. Nobody will do it unless they really like you or really like your idea. Fortunately, I had both. I had made a lot of amazing friends while at school who wanted to work with me, and a great script I'd written that people loved. My cinematographer was excited about the project, my actor friends were excited about it. Everyone wanted to make it work and so they put in the work to make sure it did. They even convinced their friends and family to be on the project too. Most of the extras where there because of our line-producer, Deryka Tso. We got the church because of Forest. If they didn't, the movie could not have happened. So make friends and have a good script is the lesson here. 

Was it hard? It was hard, but selling your soul to the devil is more costly in the long run. 

Don't ask me how I know.

What say you? What are stories you have about making a film at a breakneck pace on no budget? Let me know in the comments.

How to Make a Short Film: Happy Never After

I just released my latest short film Happy Never After this past week. Of all the films I’ve made in my time filmmaking, this is the one that is most personal to me and of which I am the most proud.  It is the first where I explored expressing my faith in film, and learned to grapple with far darker material. I also wrote this story during my father’s illness and he passed away when I was in post-production.  So the story’s theme—death—holds an added importance for me.

(Watch the movie here!)

It was also where I learned some of my best lessons about how to make the kind of films I want to make: (SPOILERS BELOW.)

How Do You Express Faith in Film?

I made Happy Never After to find a way to express how my faith shapes my view of death. I’ve always struggled to express my faith in film. Why is it so hard? Because we have very few good models to go off of. People think a faith movie means arguing with the audience about what to believe. Usually in speeches that go on too long.

Not that I'm talking about anything specific...

I wanted to, instead, invite people to share in my experience of joy at being a Christian. So I wrote my thoughts about death as an exciting cosmic tale of good vs evil where you are drawn to root for a couple to choose faith over the alternative. The villain has the main speech in the film, and the “come-to-Jesus” moment is done with a simple look toward the cross.

How Do You Collaborate With Others?

The two biggest things I learned about collaborating was a) it should be done early and thoroughly and b) you need to know what you are willing to compromise on and what you’re not. Forest Erwin’s cinematography and Kyle Trivanovich’s performance as Jacob Applegate were so amazing partly because we spent so much time together getting on board with the same vision.

One of the best shots by Forest and best performances by Kyle.

Pre-Planning is Important

We did the entire film over three days with pretty much no budget. How? By lots of pre-planning by dedicated people. We had all the shooting days picked out and filmed all the scenes in close locations to each other. So everything to be filmed in the FiDi we filmed on the same day; everything at the church the same day, etc. There were screw ups, of course. But when there were, it was because we didn't pre-plan enough.

What About When Things Go Wrong?

I learned the best thing to do when things go wrong in filmmaking is to keep calm, figure out what’s really important, and cut out the rest.

One day we were filming in the park and some of the equipment was late getting to us. It was so late that we knew we wouldn’t be able to film everything before the actors needed to leave. So Forest and I cut down drastically the number of shots we needed to take before they left. It was rough, but we got the shots we needed to make the film work.

Everything Works Out

The biggest thing I learned filming this though was that God is in control and everything works out. This is something you learn making films for a while. For some reason, when everything goes wrong, things still work out.

Comment by Forest: "I caught a barracuda thiiisss big." 

Before I finished the script for Happy Never After, most of my school’s filmmaking club—of which I was president—dropped out. I had no crew so I was pretty sure the film couldn’t be made.

But two coincidences happened that made the project possible: My friend Hope Epperson (now Hope White) told me she still really wanted to be a part of the film. So she worked to get her friends to be the actors. I had also just reconnected with Forest Erwin. So, since Hope really wanted it to happen, I called up Forest to see if he wanted to be DP. And he said an enthusiastic "yes". If these two things didn’t happen, Happy Never After probably would not have been made. And I wouldn't have had had the tribute to my father or the God that makes seeing him again possible.

The best films not only teach you about filmmaking, but also about life. This film did more: it because one of the best parts of mine. Thank you, everyone, who shared it with me and made it possible.

How to Make a Short Film: Surviving Your First Day of Filming

The first day of shooting a short film—or any film—can suck. Here’s how I learned to make it suck less.

Chillin' on set waiting for the action (Rachel Kyle, Jennifer Verzuh)

At the point you are on your first day of shooting to make your dream project you have somehow convinced/conned a bunch of people to believe, a) you have a story worth telling and b) that you’re capable of leading that story to screen—keeping all the spinning plates in the air on set and managing every crisis that comes up. But when you get to set you prove you either can or you can’t, you either get the shot or you don’t.

Sometimes a sword is just the answer to your problems

And even when it's not it's awesome.

My first day filming my first short film (Kelly vs ThePhilosophers) was one crisis management after another. We had lost one of our costume people the other night and so the costumes hadn’t been tested. We were left with costumes that didn’t work and hadn’t been tried on the actors. Several actors had to pitch in to pull stuffing out of jackets or run back to their apartments nearby to try on different sets of outfits. Because the DPs and I didn’t thoroughly block things out beforehand, a lot of actors who came in their timeslots had to wait around for us to be ready. This was frustrating for them and stressful for me. (Remember this, guys? Ahhh good times.)

No, this is an actual scene. The set didn't come to blows. (Marry Cassella, Rachel Kyle)

But it worked out. Here’s what I learned.

Lesson #1. Do pre-production right. Almost all of these things would have been avoided if I put more work into pre-production. I’ve learned you can almost never do too much with pre-production. If we had planned out for costumes to be done long before, if I had planned more blocking of the scenes before the actors were there, things would have gone more smoothly.

Lesson #2. Work with forgiving people. It makes so much a difference when you're starting out--or anytime--to have friends who love you working with you. Because these were all my friends—as well as great at their jobs—everyone was on my side and wanted to make things work. During the whole debacle, I didn’t have one person act angry with me, annoyed with me, or give me a hard time. Everyone was helpful and supportive.

I say this over and over, but there is probably no better lesson to learn than that the people you work with matter. As a filmmaker your film family is your closest family for the time you’re filming. And if you can build as great a film family as I did not only will your filming suck less—life will suck less.  In fact, it will be great.

Lara Jane, Rachel Kyle, showing what we all feel.

Love all you guys. You are the reason that first day--and every day--didn't suck. It was amazing. 

Josh Shabshis, Hope Epperson, Alex Foley

How to Make a Short Film: Explaining Your Vision

How do you, as a filmmaker, communicate your vision?

Epic pose with "Kelly" star Rachel Kyle

One of the most important things that a director does when trying to make a short film or any film is communicate his vision. Quentin Tarantino said: “As a director ... Your job is explaining your vision. Your job is articulating … what you want on the screen.” If you explain to everyone well what your film is supposed to look like, feel like, be like, then they know how to use their unique creative talents and expertise to make that happen. (A phenomenon I also discuss here.) You don’t have to micromanage every detail for things you don’t know. Like costume design. Do I know the best way to make costumes? No, I do not.

In case you doubted...

But how do you, a budding filmmaker, explain your vision to your team?

The best way I’ve found, as a filmmaker, is use two things they already know. This is actually a very common way to “pitch” films to producers. Sky High was called Harry Potter meets The Incredibles. The Martian was called Castaway in space.

Along with the inevitable Die Hard everywhere combinations

My first short film Kelly vs The Philosophers had such an odd story people had a hard time getting it.

“So it’s an action-comedy about a college student who fights the phantoms of various philosophers she’s studying for class.”

Totally blank expressions.

So I changed tactics. Since it was a video-game eque action comedy and my college was big on classical education, I added this to the pitch.

“It’s like Scott Pilgrim vs The World at our college.”

“Ohhhhh, that sounds really cool!”

Right away that helped me with pre-production. My chief editor Benjamin Capitano made a night of it and went to Midtown Comics and looked through a bunch of Scott Pilgrims and other comics. Then we spent a night watching the movie again. There was popcorn and laughter in the apartment. I can neither confirm nor deny Scott Pilgrim battle reenactments. 

We take our work seriously (Ben, left. Me, right)

This was also helpful with my costume designer, Megan Ristine. Once she knew we were going with a  Scott Pilgrim vibe, she was able to lend her experience to making the outfits believable but over the top—authentic, but with character. The actors also knew where to ground their performance on the realism scale with less coaching. We had such a fun time with it together, laughing about the concept and everyone throwing their own ideas into the pot.

Megan Ristine in her element.

This is the best part as a filmmaker: when you’re all on the same page with the film, it’s not just your vision anymore. It’s all your vision you’re sharing together. Everyone wants to make this movie, not just you. That’s how real communities are formed that last a lifetime. And that is one of the best things you can have when you make a short film, or any film at all.

Cast and crew photo. Left to right: Taylor Pope, Jennifer Verzuh, Joshua Shabshis, Hope Epperson, Megan Ristine, Rachel Kyle, EC Hannah, Alex Foley, Bryce Lewis, Brian Stewart, Josh Simons, Lara Jane

What I Learned at the Tribeca Film Festival

Tribeca Film Festival is something that every aspiring filmmaker loves. For five extra bucks on a ticket (and an hour in line for rush) you get to prove to everyone that you love movies more than everybody else and explain to them perfectly legitimate reasons why your movie didn’t get in but should have. Who cares if you liked the movie? The bragging rights are worth it.

So this year, my first time going, I got all this and also watched movies at Tribeca Film Festival I really liked and helped me improve my craft. Here’s what I learned from the movies I saw.

ADULT LIFE SKILLS – EXECUTION IS EVERYTHING

I loved Norah Ephron and so really wanted to see the movie that got her award this year (given to great female directors). Tribeca Film Festival’s Adult Life Skills was the kind of movie I normally hate, done so well that I really liked it. Few movies irritate me more than dramas about dysfunctional, privileged, dissatisfied people engaging in naval gazing. But this movie had real spunk, creativity, real, legitimate drama, endearing characters and great humor

MY SCIENTOLOGY MOVIE – STYLE SUPPLEMENTS SUBSTANCE

I was interested in this Tribeca Film Festival movie because I’m really interested in knowing more about Scientology. But the movie began with the documentarian admitting that nobody in the church would talk to him, so the whole movie was about he and some ex-Scientologists attempting to re-construct the goings on in the church. There are a lot of good filmmaking tools used. But the best part was when the Scientologists started following them around with video cameras.

SOME THINGS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN MOVIES

Waiting in line for Tribeca Film Festival rush tickets to My Scientology Movie I didn’t think I or my friend were going to make it in. There were too many people ahead of us. Then there seemed like a miracle: a lady offered my friend and I a free ticket. My friend insisted I take it even though it meant I might get to go in without her.

Yes, it is totally legitimate to take way too many pictures
of yourself at the film festivals.

But then there was another moral dilemma: behind us we discovered there was a group of friends behind us who all had tickets except for the one friend who would have to stay behind and attempt to get rush tickets. My friend looked at me and told me that I could solve that problem for the lady right there. And reminded me that if my whole group of friends went into see a movie I would be praying someone gave me an extra ticket to join them. I really wanted to see the movie. But I had just heard a sermon on how Christians should be a different kind of community who make different—more generous—choices.

I decided to give her the ticket, trusting that what God willed would happen.

And guess what? My friend and I got in anyway.

Life lesson: movies, and bragging rights about movies are worth the extra five bucks. But loving people is more important. Even more than the Tribeca Film Festival. 

How to Make a Short Film: Coming Up with the Story

How do you pick the right story when you make your short film?

Aside from using in a bathtub. That is assumed. 

Almost every independent filmmaker has to struggle between telling the story they want to tell and telling the story other people want to watch. Independent filmmaker Hal Hartley told No Film School “people don't go to movies unless you see sex and violence. So no matter what you are to address …, no one's going to pay attention unless there's a girl and a gun. And so I try to just wrestle with that.” The juggling of these things becomes something of a Faustian bargain between making something meaningful and something enjoyable.

I wanted to challenge myself with my first short film—Kelly vs The Philosophers—to effectively tell a story that was both deep and really fun to watch. Now, I have an advantage because my favorite movies are the ones that have appeal to the elites and the masses, such as Gladiator, Silver-Linings Playbook, Inception and Iron Man. So to me it’s not a Devil’s pact as it is just making the kind of movie I’d like to watch. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

The story for Kelly vs The Philosophers came about when my politics professor David Tubbs told the class that we should “struggle” with the philosophers he was assigning us to read. He believed if we argued mentally with what they were saying we would get a lot more out of them than if we just passively accepted or dismissed their ideas. For me, my first thought was? What if I too that idea and had a student literally fight with the philosophers, action-hero style? And what if I played against type and made the action hero an average girl rather than action archetype? From there the ideas came quickly and easily.

Our lineup of philosophers was actually pretty intimidating, right?

The film, when it finally premiered, opened to enthusiastic reactions at my school. Everyone enjoyed it and were—best of all, also—engaged with the ideas. That convinced me that I was on the right track with my self-challenge to make movies that are fun and important.

Four takeaways.

1. Don’t feel like you’re cheapening the story by also having it be fun. You don’t have to be. And it will mean more people will engage with the story you want to tell.

2. Play against type. A lot of the magic of the story came from gender-swapping the lead character from the expected guy to girl. That makes your story a little different and sparks creativity.

3. Know your audience. My college was very into philosophy. So taking an idea that was relevant to the student body meant that the people I would be showing it to could get excited about the idea.

4. Love what you’re telling a story about. I love philosophy and I love action and comedy. These are things that are worth celebrating to me. People love to see other people share what they love with them—even if they don’t already love them. People can tell, and believe me, it’s infectious.

Do you have a story about coming up with a story for your film and what you learned? Sound off in the comments below!

How to Make A Short Film: Finding Your Team

(Left to right: Bryce Lewis, Megan Ristine, Brian Stewart,
 Rachel Kyle, Josh Simons, Taylor Pope, EC Hannah, Alex Foley,
 Hope Epperson, Jennifer Verzuh, Lara Jane, Josh Shabshis)

I wanted to make a short film but I wasn’t going to a filmmaking school.

You need a lot of help to make a really good film. Orson Welles once said, “A poet needs a pen, a painter a brush, and a director an army.” To make a short film to start on your filmmaking career you have to find a way to convince other people to join in with you. The people you have around you is going to very a lot so you need to know who’s in your circle and why they might agree to work on your project.

Orson Welles could get pretty bitter about the film industry. Later on he said: "I think I made 
essentially a mistake in staying  in movies but it’s a mistake I can’t regret because it’s like saying 
I shouldn't have stayed married to that woman but I did because I love her."

The spring of my freshman year I was talking to prospective students who might be coming next year. Everybody I was talking to wanting to go into filmmaking. Seemed to me there might be a market for someone to start a filmmaking club. We had one for theater. Why not this?

First thing I needed was to test to see if there really was interest in making short films. I came up with a story and hammered out a script. (Which became Kelly vs The Philosophers) Then I started asking around to the people I knew and people I thought might be interested

1. Theater crowd.

2. Filmmaker crowd.

3. Any Friends.

4. General advertisement to student body.

Immediately I got a lot of filmmaking interest in the general call for cast and crew, which made me very happy. I called up one of my friends who I had specifically in mind for the role of Machiavelli: Alex Foley, a guy who, if you knew him, you’d know why he was instantly the one I wanted for that role. I messaged him and he immediately and enthusiastically agreed. Another friend I had in mind to be my editor—Benjamin Capitano--I didn’t have to even ask; the minute he got wind it was happening, he jumped on it. Which I was really glad about because he was—and is—so amazingly talented.

 (Here Alex Foley is in another video series he starred in that I made--just to give you an idea.)

My filmmaking resources were the fact that I was going to a school where—although it was not a film school per-se—it was full of people who were interested in the arts and film. More than that, everyone I knew was a doer who liked to pull together a do things and do them well—whether that was to make a short film or not. So what are yours? Make a list of the ones you’ve got.

Do you have any stories about getting started on your filmmaking career or getting to make your first short film? Tell me in the comments. And stay tuned for more lessons I learned working on Kelly vs The Philosophers.

How To Make a Short Film: Make Their Dreams Come True

So long guys. What an amazing journey it's been.
(Photo Cred: Tianna Halldorson)

This past Saturday I finished my last day of shooting a short film with King’s Image Films (KIF). KIF is a student filmmaking organization I started back in fall of 2013 as a sophomore. Now, as a senior, I am preparing to walk away.

It made me so happy to watch my KIF family taking charge of things. The short film was from a script by a freshman, Rachel Sheldon, directed by another freshman, Ashley Morris, cinematography and sound were done by two of my best friends and loyal exec team Tianna Halldorson and Deryka Tso. I am president of the filmmaking org but I was simply there to make sure everything went smoothly and everyone was okay. Soon, I will be graduating and no longer president. One of these people will be the new guy in charge. I feel a lot like a dad watching his teenage daughter leave for college.

Left to Right: Zeke Ward (star), Ashley Morris, Rachel Sheldon,
Deryka Tso, Me, Tianna Halldorson
(Photo Cred: Tianna Halldorson)

My KIF filmmaking family is the best. They are hard-working, talented, passionate and full of love for the film medium. They know how to laugh through the crazy production problems, improvise, encourage each other, and just tell amazing stories in a short film. It was and is a privilege to know them and work with them. I started this club so that people like them could learn to be the best filmmaker they could be in a community that loved and supported them.

When you’re a filmmaker you often get caught up in our own vision. It’s about me. My story I want to tell. My short film. My dream. But we forget that we inevitably bring other people with us. Other people dedicate their time, talent, to make our filmmaking dreams a reality. And in indie films, they’re not doing it for the money. They are not doing it for your dream. They are doing it because—for some reason—they have decided it is their dream as well.

You want to be a great filmmaker? Make other people’s dreams come true. Give that actress the role of the lifetime. Give that cinematographer the best stuff to shoot. Help that screenwriter make the best script she can. Be the person who allows them to be their best filmmaking self. And they will always come back to work with you again. And you will find something more precious than that by the end.

Remember Mad Max: Fury Road? That movie won every technical award for filmmaking there was to win at the Academy Awards. George Miller, the guy who made all that possible, didn’t get nominated for best director. But he made a space for other people to be geniuses who won awards. And everyone who did is glad they worked with them. Same with your short films.

Your film—short film or not—is not just about your dream. If you learn that, you will not just be a filmmaker or succeed at filmmaking. You will gain a family. Without even knowing what you're doing.

How to Get Free (or Cheap) Equipment for Your Film

This is the face of a man who spent all his money on film equipment.

Making films is expensive because you need expensive equipment to make your product. You can’t just use a paintbrush and easel, or music and your feet. Like I said in my first blog post, making a movie without a camera is like making ice cream without milk. Without milk you are not making ice cream. You may be making sorbet, which is great, but it’s not ice cream. If you want to make sorbet, you can ignore the rest of the post. For the rest of you, read on.

Now I’m hungry.

Good quality in production is the difference between being considered a professional and an amateur. If, like me when starting out, you are poor and unknowledgeable and technically illiterate and poor (and don’t forget poor), here is what I learned about getting the best equipment possible.

SCHOOL

I was very particular about my choice of colleges. Particularly the location of the college. Specifically, I wanted to live in New York City, because, although I didn’t know that New York City was the independent filmmaking capitol of the world, I knew it was pretty darn close to it.

It was a big move. But it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

My college is not a film school. But one of the great things about it is it does have a media lab for the film students. Until recently it was run by students and gave them great on-the-job training. (I wish I had taken more advantage of it. But that’s another blog post.) If you have the opportunity to go to a film school or a school that has a good media lab, take advantage of that in every way you can.

Not everyone has the choice to go to a college in NYC like I did. I recognize that this was a blessing that I am grateful for.

But that’s another blog post.

FRIENDS

I will go back to this again and again. Having film friends is important. Having friends is important in general. (Shout out Aristotle so I make my philosophy professor proud.) But when it comes to getting the best equipment, friends are irreplaceable for four reasons: 1. they will tell you what you should be looking for when you buy your own equipment, 2. you can borrow their equipment, 3. they will teach you the tricks they know, and 4. they might let you buy it off them for a cheaper price. Aside from what I used from the school, all of my films where shot one or more of these four ways.

If you want to make film friends. It is also helpful to live in New York City (or LA, but that’s a bit more the Hollywood scene than independent). Because there are so many film nerds there. You have a higher chance of making those connections here.

Basically, live in New York City is the lesson here.

RESEARCH/GRANTS

Finally, the best thing you can do—if all these fail, and even if they don’t—is learn to do your own research. The internet is full of places that you can look at to give you the best deals or give you advice on. Look at amazon, look at craigslist dealers. Find the equipment that have the best reviews and within your price range and experiment as best you can. Research grants to fund your projects so you can get the top notch stuff. This is tough to do on your own and could take some expensive trial and error. (Grants less so.) I have never been good at research and experimenting, and that has held me back. If you can have a friend who can walk you through this it will be a better.

And there you have it. That’s how I learned to get the equipment I need. How about you? Any other tips you’ve learned on how to get access to good equipment on your films? Comment below.

If you’ll excuse me, it’s time to make some ice cream.

The Importance of Doing Research

Research is something you’re going to have to do when learning how to make films. Because there aren’t enough friends, classes, or time to experiment in the world to figure out everything you need to know about filmmaking as fast as you need it.

Research is something I hate doing. Partly because I’m no good at it. It’s like in gym where you enjoy it less with each injury you sustain. Using the internet to find what you need without knowing where to look is like trying to find a needle in an atomic explosion.  Google is like handing me a metal detector and pointing me to that same explosion.

I once tried to look for a new camera to buy. I looked on Amazon. I compared the types. I did research. I thought I knew what I was doing.

I had no idea what the differences were.

I talked to a friend. I took them two minutes to figure it out.

So how do you go about finding the best ways to do research?Some things are easy to find on your own. If you need a tutorial on how to use a particular camera or Adobe Premiere, those are good with a google search and one is as good as another.

Where things become a problem are when you’re looking for specialized knowledge and expertise or equipment. With that, the best way to get started is get your filmmaker friends to recommend places for you to look. My friends recommended several film sites such as “No Film School” for general tips on better filmmaking, and “Every Frame a Painting” to help me notice the artistry of film. Once you find sites like that, they typically lead you to other sites that are helpful.

At that point you also become much better at discerning what things are going to be useful to you when you do your own research.

Basically: get friends help, find useful sites, just bite the bullet and research.

Not every part of film is glamorous. But you can wear shades and help that out a bit.

Six Things You Need to Make Your First Movie

So you want to be a filmmaker. You were born with a camera in your hand yelling "action" when you wanted your parents to feed you (which may explain why they never supported your dream) You have the talent and the will, but where do you start? What stuff do you need in your utility belt before you can put together your film?

I was once where you are. I had next to no experience in film and little to no connection to the industry. I had to make do with what I had and fumble along until I came to a reasonable place. I haven't made it yet. (I have still have not won my first Oscar. Yet, if Leo can, there's hope.) But I've come a long way and I want to share with you the benefits of my experience.

Ready to go on the journey with me?

For those going on the journey to the Mordor that is the independent film industry, here is the checklist of indispensable things you need to bring on your way. They won't make the journey easy. But without them, it won't even be possible.


1. A CAMERA

If there is one thing that you need by definition to make a film, it is a video camera. A movie without moving images is simply not a movie. It's a photograph or a radio show or the sound of one hand clapping. Now, this doesn't have to be an expensive one. If you let an old-timey filmmaker or film nut talk long enough they will talk about how "everyone can make movies on their phone now"--which to me is basically endorsing the use of phones to make your first movies. Now, the better your camera, the better your movie will look. But if you're just starting out and all you have is an iPhone 6, don't let that keep the world from experiencing your life-changing work. (I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt, here.)

The beautiful thing is, if you've got a camera, and you go out and shoot footage, you are a filmmaker. You have found a way of looking at the world that no one else has and found a way to show it to others.

Well done. Now keep reading.

2. EDITING SOFTWARE

Unless the movie you are making is one long take with no cuts, you need some way to edit your different shots together. Again, the better the software the better your work will be. But until you can afford to buy Adobe Premiere (or unless you want to go old school and cut and paste actual film), feel free to start small. If you're doing simple, short videos for quick upload to the internet, "KnowMe" is a great video editing App. If you have no other options, I will allow you to use iMovie or Windows Media Player. Just don't let anyone know you used them.

Ever.

Trust me.

Lie, if you have to.

It's not worth it.

3. INCOME



Real talk: you will not be making money on your movies right away. Probably never. But I don't want to take away all your hope. Because then you might stop reading my blog. And, anyway, if I'm deluding myself that I can make it it's not fair for me to not delude you too.

Regardless, at first you will not be making money off of it. So you will need some other source of money. Whether it is your parents while you're in school (Thanks, Mom! :) ) or a day job when you graduate, your your parents after you get fired, you will need food and shelter until somebody discovers your brilliant work at Sundace. So be sure you find a good job or good parents until that happens.

4. THE INTERNET



The internet is where you find how to properly format your script. It's where you can do research for you story. It's where you can get educated in filmmaking techniques without going to school. It's where you can share your movies on youtube or submit it to festivals. It's where you download software. Basically, unless you know people who can teach you, give you stuff, and show your film to others, you need the internet.

5. FRIENDS



You can't pay people yet. So who's going to be in your films? Yup, your buddies who like you enough to stand around for hours in a silly looking outfit while you frame the right shot. These are the people who will--if, God willing, they get into the film industry later--will give you the opportunities you need to get in yourself. They will be doing it because they like you. Does nobody like you? Find people to like you. And it will only work if they like you before you need something from them. Every great opportunity I had was because of someone who liked me and wanted to help me out. Because I needed a lot of it.

But that's another blog post.


6. LOVE



But the most important thing you need is love. You need to love making films; you need to be unable to imagine not making them. If you love it that much you'll find a way to get the other things.

Making movies is a hard business. You have to be willing to work long and hard. You have to be willing to embarrass yourself and call in favors and let other people laugh at you. When you've organized everything and then everything falls apart and everyone blames you and thinks badly of you, you have to think it was worth it. When you are spending your weekends on getting that last shot because it will make the movie that much better instead of sleeping in and hanging with your friends, you have to think it was worth it.

Here are two things every filmmaker knows: making movies sucks. And it's totally worth it.

If you guys are still here, congrats. You might just be filmmakers. Follow me. Mordor isn't going to conquer itself.