So You Want to Make a Movie? 10 Things You Need to Transition From Stills to Video

Image via Complex Original

Before you start your project, take a look in the mirror and ask yourself, “What am I good at?” There are filmmakers out there who serve as writer, director, DP, and producer on their films. Understand that these people are the exception. These are four distinct and important jobs, and on many projects, even one of them can be overwhelming. Most people who are able to wear several of these hats can only do so because of the scope of their project. If you are shooting a short with no lights over the course of one weekend at your parents’ house, then the job of a producer become a little easier.

Let’s be honest—the desire to make art is at least somewhat driven by ego. Unlike writing or painting, film is a collaborative medium. This means that the best films are made by people who can put their egos aside. If you aren’t the strongest writer, or if you don’t have the best sense of the bottom line, or if your photography skills may not translate so well to the big screen, be sure to find the right form of help for the job. This brings us to our next point…

One of the biggest mistakes young filmmakers make is valuing talent above all else. That may sounds strange, but hear me out. When you seek out a director of photography, you are naturally going to want to go with the guy who has the best reel. But what does their reel tell you about their ability to work on your project? If all of their work is carefully photographed, big budget commercial fare, how are they going to operate on your budget and timetable? Do you get the sense that you’ll be able to work with this person when times get tough? How will they react when you lose a location, crew members quit, or the cops show up asking for permits (more on that later)?  Go through this process with every key member of your cast and crew. The question isn’t who is the best, but rather who is the best for your project. Many seasoned filmmakers quickly find that 20 percent talent and 80 percent work ethic often goes a lot further than the other way around.

Every major city has laws about film permits. Even the most podunk towns would like to be notified before you pull six trucks in front of a house and start filming. Many young filmmakers make the mistake of so-called “guerilla filmmaking.” But there is a difference between being guerilla and being unprepared. You need to know how much of an impact you’re going to have on the restaurant, house, or street where you’re filming, and whether or not your footprint will draw the attention of local law enforcement. With the exception of Los Angeles, film permits are generally extremely reasonable. And even if you are filming in Los Angeles, taking precautions to stay on the right side of the law is a lot cheaper than getting caught.

In fact, sometimes obtaining a permit can save you money. Inquiring about permits will put you in touch with the local film commission. Every state has a film commission, as do many cities. Film commissions do far more than issue permits. They can connect you with locations, production resources, and if your show is big enough, that all-important tax credit. Currently in New York, you get 30 percent of your budget back in tax incentives if you shoot one day in a studio. Some other cities, like New Orleans and Detroit, offer even larger tax incentives. If your Kickstarter project goes better than expected, you could get back way more than the cost of your permit by opening communication with the local film authorities.

Budgeting is a craft unto itself. On pretty much any movie budgeted over $50,000 (which is basically zero as far as film budgets go), they pay a person just to make the budget. Accept this reality right off the bat: You do not have enough money to make the movie that you want to make. The next question is: How much money do you have and how should you spend it? Before you fantasize about 10K lights and dolly shots, let’s lay out some costs that are unavoidable (unless you are a dick): You have to feed your crew, gas up production vehicles, pay location fees, and pay for any expendables that your crew needs (such as gaff tape, batteries, and paint). When someone tells you that they will work for free, it doesn’t mean that they pay to work.

If you have $2000 for a four-day shoot, you probably just spent all of your money taking care of these issues. No matter what, you are going to have to be thrifty with your gear. Consider going with a camera that works well in low light (like Sony’s new a7 models). Consider making the most of the natural scenic design, and consider minimizing the number of locations. In short, get ready to start saving money wherever possible, because there is never enough of it.

Here’s a simple equation that you should keep in mind as you prepare to shoot your film: time + money = quality. The less money that you have, the more time you need to make a great product. This is where pre-production comes in. A friend’s film professor once told him that you should have one week or pre-production for every shooting day. This might sound extreme, but with each project you complete, you’ll probably come closer to the professor’s way of thinking. 

There are entire books about what happens during pre-production, but here is an extremely brief primer: Pre-production is when the budget is allocated, the schedule is built, and locations are locked. Once locations are locked, they need to be scouted. A scout will likely change the schedule, as the realities of the space will change estimates. No parking? Add time. Fifth floor walk-up? Add time. The walls are the wrong color and need to be painted? Add time and money. The garbage man comes at 8 a.m.? Add time. 

Pre-production is also the time to get all of the key crew members on the same page. Make sure that everyone is trying to make the same movie. This means that the props will look right next to the wardrobe and will look good in the lights. There is no such thing as too much communication during pre-production, as one mistake could cost you that perfect scene that you’ve been dreaming of.

Do not have your friends act in your movie. I repeat, do not have your friends act in your movie. 

This is going to sound crass, and I apologize to any actors in the audience, but securing high-quality actors for your film is incredibly easy. If you live in New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, any notice that you put out will likely get dozens of responses. A lead role in an unpaid short film or web series routinely gets hundreds of submissions. You just have to know where to ask. Actors Access, NY Castings, and various other companies exist solely to get actors auditions. If you have some money to throw around, you can hire a casting director to cast your net wider and with more precision.

Actors are available, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be treated with respect. If you don’t create a professional and respectful audition environment, many actors might turn down the role. Actors get good at smelling the disrespect because they deal with it so much. Here are some basic audition tips: (1) Carefully select good, meaty sides for actors to read. (2) Rent a room (not Starbucks or your apartment) for longer than you think your need it. (3) Email auditioning actors with clear, concise instructions prior to the audition. (4) Film each audition. (5) Build in time to see more from actors that you like. (6) Respond quickly to all actors and inform them whether they got the part or not—do not email actors that didn’t get the part until you get ironclad confirmations from the one that did. (7) Don’t be creepy. Every actor has dealt with a creepy producer, so don’t be the next horror story for their memoir.

An assistant director is not the director’s assistant; the A.D. has his own independent and important job. The assistant director builds the schedule, managers the crew, and keeps the shoot running on time. Directors are, by their nature, indulgent. They always want one more take or five more minutes to get that perfect shot. The assistant director’s job is to keep them grounded in reality. While the director is thinking about how perfect the next dolly shot is going to look, the A.D. is thinking about how it can get done before six, because after twelve hours, you have to pay the sound guy overtime. (Note: You always have to pay the sound guy overtime).

You might be tempted to skip out on an A.D. because, technically speaking, you can make a movie without one. Fight this impulse, however. Very few movies get finished without an A.D. If you are worried about cost, there are two things you should be aware of. The first is that the A.D. is a pretty lucrative job at the high-end and many young A.D.s might work on your movie to build their resume. Look for people in your area who work professionally as production assistants, as any of them want to someday be professional first A.D.s. It never hurts to barter. I have gotten free DPs, production designers, and sound guys on my jobs by serving as an A.D. for free. Figure out your skill set and trade it with someone who can keep your trains running on time.

This debate could go on for hours. And, yes, the images, performance, and writing are all important parts of filmmaking. However, as a filmmaker, you should behave as though sound is the most important part of your movie. It is easy to give sound short shrift. When the shot looks perfect, but the guy one apartment over flushes the toilet, ruining the take for sound, it’s tempting to think that it’s “good enough” and move on. If your sound guy says that the sound isn’t good enough, trust him.

What’s that? You don’t have a sound guy? Then don’t start production on your movie. Do not shoot your film unless you have a person on set dedicated to recording sound. If you are cash strapped, it’s okay to ask a friend to hold your XOOM or TASCAM, and ask another buddy to hold the boom mic. But if you want anything resembling quality results, do not shoot the sound in-camera. 

Ask any serious indie filmmaker about what is the first department that they will pay for on a shoestring budget. I guarantee that answer is almost always sound.

If this is your first foray into filmmaking, odds are that you aren’t going to have every traditional film production role covered on your crew. Most no-budget productions are missing some key crew members that are essential on a big budget show. Before you strike out on your production, know what members you are doing without. Pull up your favorite movie or television show and watch the credits scroll by. Figure out what each of those jobs are and ask yourself if you are dooming yourself by not having that role filled on your crew. 

Here is a brief list of jobs that people tend not to understand on a film set to get you started: (1) Script Supervisor: Ensures the continuity on the film. Who wore what when? How full was that cup? Was the door opened or closed? This job is incredibly important, but is often left off of the indie crew list. A good supervisor will also ask a director questions about script and camera choices when no one else will. My favorite script supervisor almost got into a fight with the D.P. about actors eye lines on set. That’s part of what makes her a great script supervisor. (2) Gaffer: The person in charge of the lights. If you’ve always wondered what a Best Boy is, they work for the gaffer. If you’ve always wondered what a grip is, they work for the gaffer, too. Basically, if the name doesn’t make any sense, then they probably work for the gaffer. (3) Location Manager: The person in charge of your locations (duh). On an indie show, this means that they coordinate maps, parking, meals, fees, permits, and the relationship with the owner of the location. They also talk to the cops when they show up. NO ONE ELSE TALKS TO THE COPS.

There are many other jobs on a film set that are essential to bigger shows, including production coordinator, second assistant director, set dresser, and line producer, to name a few. But a no-budget project may not have the luxury of having these people on set. Nonetheless, you should still know who they are and what they do.

If you are a still photographer, odds are that you handle post-production on your own. You retouch the photos in Photoshop, do some minimal color correction, and put the photos on your Flickr account. Film is more complicated. Even if you cut the film yourself, you may need sound editing, color correction, and visual effects after the fact. Every filmmaker has to find their own post-production workflow, but here is one good rule of thumb to get you started: Do everything until you’re in over your head. 

Non-editors who can read instructions can likely log, capture, and complete a rough assembly of their footage. If you’ve done that and then need to start paying an editor, you’ve saved yourself a lot of money. If you want to be in charge of the cut, pay someone to sweeten the sound and add some VFX when you’re finished. Or do it all by yourself and be prepared for the consequences. It isn’t really important what your post-production workflow is, what is important is that you have one. You need editors more than they need you, and if you aren’t sure what you want from them, they might stop returning your phone calls after the first check has cleared, and you still want one more round of revisions.  

“Distribution model” is a pretty complicated and scary-sounding phrase. Don’t worry though because it isn’t as bad as you think. Yes, for a big movie, a distribution model is complicated. Lots of people are paid a lot of money to figure out what territories a film will be screening in and when. Your project likely won’t have the same complicated calculus behind its release. You will probably follow one of two paths with your film. There is the “enter it into all the film festivals you can” path and the “put it on the Internet and hope it goes viral” path. Both of them have their virtues.

This is another one of those topics that has entire books dedicated to it, so let’s start with the basics. You need to be careful with what website you host your video on because some sites offer exposure by taking a cut of your potential profits. You need to be careful of what festivals you screen at because more prestigious festivals often want their screening to be your world premiere. For now, just know that it is vital that you have a plan. Your underpaid (or unpaid) crew members are going to ask “What is this thing for anyway?” after putting in a fourteen-hour day to work on your movie, and it would be best if you have an answer for them.

Besides, you should know why you’re putting in all of this hard work yourself.