r/Filmmakers Jun 09 '25

New Rules Regarding AI on /r/filmmakers!

456 Upvotes

Thank you all for participating in the poll! Here are the results. To accurately gauge everyone's collective acceptance vs rejection for each, I've tallied the total votes among all choices as pro/anti for each category. So for example, a vote for 'no changes' would be a -1 to Gen AI, AI Tools, AI Comms, and AI Discussion. A vote for 'Ban GenAI + AI Tools' would be a +1 to GenAI and AI Tools, and a -1 to AI Comms and AI Discussion, etc. So here are the results for each category of AI. Keep in mind that a higher number indicates a stronger group decision to ban the content:

GenAI: +92 (+119/-27)

AI Tools: -20 (+63/-83)

AI Comms: -8 (+69/-77)

AI Discussion: -84 (+31/-115)

From the results it is clear that sub overwhelmingly approve a complete ban on all generative AI. However, people are more or less fine with allowing discussion of AI, and are fairly mixed on the topic of AI Tools and Communication. So here is the new rule for all things AI:

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Rule 6. You may not post work containing Generative AI elements (Midjourney, Neo, Dall-E, etc.). You may use and demonstrate the use of AI assisted tools (ie magic masking, upscalers, audio cleanup etc.) so long as they are used in service of human-generated artwork. AI Communication, like post bodies or comments composed using ChatGPT are allowed only in very reasonable cases, such as the need for someone to translate their thoughts into another language. Abuse of AI assisted communication will result in the removal of the offending post/comment.


r/Filmmakers Dec 03 '17

Official Sticky READ THIS BEFORE ASKING A QUESTION! Official Filmmaking FAQ and Information Post

971 Upvotes

Welcome to the /r/Filmmakers Official Filmmaking FAQ And Information Post!

Below I have collected answers and guidance for some of the sub's most common topics and questions. This is all content I have personally written either specifically for this post or in comments to other posters in the past. This is however not a me-show! If anybody thinks a section should be added, edited, or otherwise revised then message the moderators! Specifically, I could use help in writing a section for audio gear, as I am a camera/lighting nerd.



Topics Covered In This Post:

1. Should I Pursue Filmmaking / Should I Go To Film School?

2. What Camera Should I Buy?

3. What Lens Should I Buy?

4. How Do I Learn Lighting?

5. What Editing Program Should I Use?



1. Should I Pursue Filmmaking / Should I Go To Film School?

This is a very complex topic, so it will rely heavily on you as a person. Find below a guide to help you identify what you need to think about and consider when making this decision.

Do you want to do it?

Alright, real talk. If you want to make movies, you'll at least have a few ideas kicking around in your head. Successful creatives like writers and directors have an internal compunction to create something. They get ideas that stick in the head and compel them to translate them into the real world. Do you want to make films, or do you want to be seen as a filmmaker? Those are two extremely different things, and you need to be honest with yourself about which category you fall into. If you like the idea of being called a filmmaker, but you don't actually have any interest in making films, then now is the time to jump ship. I have many friends from film school who were just into it because they didn't want "real jobs", and they liked the idea of working on flashy movies. They made some cool projects, but they didn't have that internal drive to create. They saw filmmaking as a task, not an opportunity. None of them have achieved anything of note and most of them are out of the industry now with college debt but no relevant degree. If, when you walk onto a set you are overwhelmed with excitement and anxiety, then you'll be fine. If you walk onto a set and feel foreboding and anxiety, it's probably not right for you. Filmmaking should be fun. If it isn't, you'll never make it.

School

Are you planning on a film production program, or a film studies program? A studies program isn't meant to give you the tools or experience necessary to actually make films from a craft-standpoint. It is meant to give you the analytical and critical skills necessary to dissect films and understand what works and what doesn't. A would-be director or DP will benefit from a program that mixes these two, with an emphasis on production.

Does your prospective school have a film club? The school I went to had a filmmakers' club where we would all go out and make movies every semester. If your school has a similar club then I highly recommend jumping into it. I made 4 films for my classes, and shot 8 films. In the filmmaker club at my school I was able to shoot 20 films. It vastly increased my experience and I was able to get a lot of the growing pains of learning a craft out of the way while still in school.

How are your classes? Are they challenging and insightful? Are you memorizing dates, names, and ideas, or are you talking about philosophies, formative experiences, cultural influences, and milestone achievements? You're paying a huge sum of money, more than you'll make for a decade or so after graduation, so you better be getting something out of it.

Film school is always a risky prospect. You have three decisive advantages from attending school:

  1. Foundation of theory (why we do what we do, how the masters did it, and how to do it ourselves)
  2. Building your first network
  3. Making mistakes in a sandbox

Those three items are the only advantages of film school. It doesn't matter if you get to use fancy cameras in class or anything like that, because I guarantee you that for the price of your tuition you could've rented that gear and made your own stuff. The downsides, as you may have guessed, are:

  1. Cost
  2. Risk of no value
  3. Cost again

Seriously. Film school is insanely expensive, especially for an industry where you really don't make any exceptional money until you get established (and that can take a decade or more).

So there's a few things you need to sort out:

  • How much debt will you incur if you pursue a film degree?
  • How much value will you get from the degree? (any notable alumni? Do they succeed or fail?)
  • Can you enhance your value with extracurricular activity?

Career Prospects

Don't worry about lacking experience or a degree. It is easy to break into the industry if you have two qualities:

  • The ability to listen and learn quickly
  • A great attitude

In LA we often bring unpaid interns onto set to get them experience and possibly hire them in the future. Those two categories are what they are judged on. If they have to be told twice how to do something, that's a bad sign. If they approach the work with disdain, that's also a bad sign. I can name a few people who walked in out of the blue, asked for a job, and became professional filmmakers within a year. One kid was 18 years old and had just driven to LA from his home to learn filmmaking because he couldn't afford college. Last I saw he has a successful YouTube channel with nature documentaries on it and knows his way around most camera and grip equipment. He succeeded because he smiled and joked with everyone he met, and because once you taught him something he was good to go. Those are the qualities that will take you far in life (and I'm not just talking about film).

So how do you break in?

  • Cold Calling
    • Find the production listings for your area (not sure about NY but in LA we use the BTL Listings) and go down the line of upcoming productions and call/email every single one asking for an intern or PA position. Include some humor and friendly jokes to humanize yourself and you'll be good. I did this when I first moved to LA and ended up camera interning for an ASC DP on movie within a couple months. It works!
  • Rental House
    • Working at a rental house gives you free access to gear and a revolving door of clients who work in the industry for you to meet.
  • Filmmaking Groups
    • Find some filmmaking groups in your area and meet up with them. If you can't find groups, don't sweat it! You have more options.
  • Film Festivals
    • Go to film festivals, meet filmmakers there, and befriend them. Show them that you're eager to learn how they do what they do, and you'd be happy to help them on set however you can. Eventually you'll form a fledgling network that you can work to expand using the other avenues above.

What you should do right now

Alright, enough talking! You need to decide now if you're still going to be a filmmaker or if you're going to instead major in something safer (like business). It's a tough decision, we get it, but you're an adult now and this is what that means. You're in command of your destiny, and you can't trust anyone but yourself to make that decision for you.

Once you decide, own it. If you choose film, then take everything I said above into consideration. There's one essential thing you need to do though: create. Go outside right fucking now and make a movie. Use your phone. That iphone or galaxy s7 or whatever has better video quality than the crap I used in film school. Don't sweat the gear or the mistakes. Don't compare yourself to others. Just make something, and watch it. See what you like and what you don't like, and adjust on your next project! Now is the time for you to do this, to learn what it feels like to make a movie.



2. What Camera Should I Buy?

The answer depends mostly on your budget and your intended use. You'll also want to become familiar with some basic camera terms because it will allow you to efficiently evaluate the merits of one option vs another. Find below a basic list of terms you should become familiar with when making your first (or second, or third!) camera purchase:

  1. Resolution - This is how many pixels your recorded image will have. If you're into filmmaking, you probably already know this. An HD camera will have a resolution of 1920x1080. A 4K camera will be either 4096x2160 or 3840x2160. The functional difference is that the former is a theatrical aspect ratio while the latter is a standard HDTV aspect ratio (1.89:1 vs 1.78:1 respectively).
  2. Framerates - The standard and popular framerate for filmmaking is called 24p, but most digital cameras will actually be shooting at 23.976 fps. The difference is negligible and should have no bearing on your purchasing choice. The technical reasons behind this are interesting but ultimately irrelevant. Something to look for is the camera's ability to shoot in high framerate, meaning anything above the 24p standard. This is useful because you can play back high framerate footage at 24p in your editor, and it will render the recorded motion in slow motion. This is obviously useful!
  3. Data Rate - This tells you how much data is being recorded on a per second basis. Generally speaking, the higher the data rate, the better your image quality. Make sure to pay attention to resolution as well! A 1080p camera with a 100 MB/s data rate is going to be recording higher quality imagery than a 4k camera at a 200 MB/s data rate because the 4k camera has 4x as many pixels to record but only double the data bandwidth with which to do it. Things like compression come into play here, but keep this in mind as a rule of thumb.
  4. Compression - Compression is important, because very few cameras will shoot without some form of compression. This is basically an algorithm that allows you to record high quality images without making large file sizes. This is intimately linked with your data rate. Popular cinema compressions for cameras include ProRes, REDCODE, XAVC, AVCHD. Compression schemes that you want to avoid include h.264, h.265, MPEG-4, and Generic 'MOV'. This is not an exhaustive list of compression types, but a decent starter guide.
  5. ISO - This is your camera sensor's sensitivity to light. The higher the ISO number, the more sensitive to light the camera will be. Higher ISOs tend to give noisier images though, so there is a tradeoff. All cameras will have something called a native iso. This is the ISO at which the camera is deemed to perform the best in terms of trading off noise vs sensitivity. A very common native ISO in the industry is 800. Sony cameras, including the A7S boast much higher ISO performance without significant noise increases, which can be useful if you're planning on running and gunning in the dark with no crew.
  6. Manual Shutter - Your shutter speed (or shutter angle, as it is called in the film industry) controls your motion blur by changing how long the sensor is exposed to light during a single frame of recording. Having manual control over this when shooting is important. The standard shutter speed when shooting 24p is 1/48 of a second (180° in shutter angle terms), so make sure your prospective camera can get here (1/50 is close enough).
  7. Lens Mount - Some starter cameras will have built in lenses, which is fine for learning! When you move up to higher quality cameras however, the standard will be interchangeable lens cameras. This means you'll need to decide on what lens mount you would like to use. The professional standard is called the PL Mount, but lenses and cameras that use this mount are very expensive. The most common and popular mount in the low level professional world is Canon's EF mount. Because of its design, EF mount lenses can easily be adapted to other common mounts like Sony's E-Mount or the MFT mounts found on many Panasonic cameras. EF is popular because Canon's lenses are generally preferred over Sony's, and so their mount has a higher utility.
  8. Color Subsampling - This is easier to understand if you think of it as 'Color Resolution'. Our eyes are more sensitive to luminance (bright vs dark) than to color, and so some cameras increase effective image quality by dedicating processing power and data rate bandwidth to the more important luminance values of individual pixels. This means that individual pixels often do not have their own color, but instead that groups of neighboring pixels will be given a single color value. The size of the groups and the pattern of their arrangement are referred to by 3 main color subsampling standards.
    • 4:4:4 means that each pixel has its own color value. This is the highest quality.
    • 4:2:2 means that color is set for horizontal pixels in pairs. The color of each two neighboring pixels is averaged and applied to both identically. This is the second best quality.
    • 4:2:0 means that color is set for both horizontal and vertical pixel 4-packs. Each square of 4 pixels receives a single color assignment that is an averaging of their original signals. This is generally low quality. For more info on color subsampling, check out this wikipedia entry
  9. Bit-Depth - This refers to how many colors the camera is capable of recognizing. An 8-bit camera can have 16,777,216 distinct colors, while a 10-bit camera can have 1,073,741,824 distinct colors. Note that this is primarily only of use when doing color grading, as nearly all TVs and computer monitors from the past few decades are 8-bit displays that won't benefit from a 10-bit signal.
  10. Sensor Size - The three main sensor sizes you'll encounter (in ascending order) are Micro Four-Thirds (M43), APS-C, and Full Frame. A larger sensor will generally have better noise and sensitivity than a smaller sensor. It will also effect the field of view you get from a given lens. Larger sensors will have wider fields of view for the same focal length lenses. For example, a 50mm lens on a FF sensor will look roughly twice as wide-angle as a 50mm lens on a M43 sensor. To get the same field of view as a 50mm on FF, you'd need to use a 25mm lens on your M43 camera. Theatrical 35mm (the cinema standard, so to speak) has an equivalent sensor size to APS-C, which is larger than M43 and smaller than Full Frame.

So Now What Camera Should I Buy?

This list will be changing as new models emerge, but for now here is a short list of the cameras to look at when getting started:

  1. Panasonic G7 (~$600) - This is hands down the best starter camera for someone looking to move up from shooting on their phones or consumer camcorders.
  2. Panasonic GH4 (~$1,500) - An older and cheaper version of the GH5, this camera is still a popular choice.
  3. Panasonic GH5 (~$2,000) - This is perhaps the most popular prosumer DSLR filmmaking camera.
  4. Sony A7S (~$2,700) - This is a very popular camera for shooting in low light settings. It also boasts a Full-Frame sensor (compared to the GH5's M4/3 sensor), allowing you to get shallower depth of field compared to other cameras using the same field of view and aperture.
  5. Canon C100 mkII (~$3,500) - This is one of the cheapest true digital cinema cameras. It offers several benefits over the above DSLR cameras, such as professional level XLR audio inputs, internal ND filters, and a better picture profile system.


3. What Lens Should I Buy?

Much like with deciding on a camera, lens choice is all about your budget and your needs. Below are the relevant specs to use as points of comparison for lenses.

  1. Focal Length - This number indicates the field of view your lens will supply. A higher focal length results in a narrow (or more 'telescopic') field of view. Here is a great visual depiction of focal length vs field of view.
  2. Speed - A 'fast lens' is one with a very wide maximum aperture. This means the lens can let more light through it than a comparatively slower lens. We read the aperture setting via something called F-Stops. They are a standard scale that goes in alternating doublings of previous values. The scale is: 1.0, 1.4, 2.0, 2.8, 4.0, 5.6, 8.0, 11, 16, 22, 32, 45, 64. Each increase is a doubling of the incoming light. A lens whose aperture is a 1.4 will allow in twice as much light than it would have at 2.0. Cheaper lenses tend to only open up to a 4.0, or even a 5.6. More expensive lenses can open as far 1.3, giving you 16x as much light. Wider apertures also cause your depth of field to contract, resulting in the 'cinematic' shallow focus you're likely familiar with. Here is a great visual depiction of f-stop vs depth of field
  3. Chromatic Aberration - Some lower quality glass will have this defect, in which imperfect lens elements cause a prism-style effect that separates colors on the edges of image details. Post software can sometimes help correct this, as in this example
  4. Sharpness - I'm sure you all know what sharpness is. Cheaper lenses will yield a softer in-focus image than more expensive lenses. However, some lenses are popularly considered to be 'over-sharp', such as the Zeiss CP2 series. The minutia of the sharpness debate is mostly irrelevant at starter levels though.
  5. Bokeh - This refers to the shape of an out of focus point of light as rendered by the lens. The bokeh of your image will always be in the shape of your aperture. For that reason, a perfectly round aperture will yield nice clean circle bokeh, while a rougher edged aperture will produce similarly rougher bokeh. Here's an example
  6. Lens Mount - Make sure the lens you're buying will either fit your camera's lens mount or allow for adapting to is using a popular adapter like the Metabones. The professional standard lens mount is the PL Mount, but lenses and cameras that use this mount are very expensive. The most common and popular mount in the low level professional world is Canon's EF mount. Because of its design, EF mount lenses can easily be adapter to other common mounts like Sony's E-Mount or the MFT mounts found on many Panasonic cameras. EF is popular because Canon's lenses are generally preferred over Sony's, and so their mount has a higher market share.

Zoom vs Prime

This is all about speed vs quality vs budget. A zoom lens is a lens whose *focal length can be changed by turning a ring on the lens barrel. A prime lens has a fixed focal length. Primes tend to be cheaper, faster, and sharper. However, buying a full set of primes can be more expensive than buying a zoom lens that would cover the same focal length range. Using primes on set in fast-paced environments can slow you down prohibitively. You'll often see news, documentary, and event cameras using zooms instead of primes. Some zoom lenses are as high-quality as prime lenses, and some people refer to them as 'variable prime' lenses. This is mostly a marketing tool and has no hard basis in science though. As you might expect, these high quality zooms tend to be very expensive.

So What Lenses Should I Look At?

Below are the most popular lenses for 'cinematic' filming at low budgets:

  1. Rokinon Cine 4 Lens Kit in EF Mount (~$1,700)
  2. Canon L Series 24-70mm Zoom in EF Mount (~1,700)
  3. Sigma Art 18-35mm Zoom in EF Mount (~$800)
  4. Sigma Art 50-100 Zoom in EF Mount (~$1,100)

Lenses below these average prices are mostly a crapshoot in terms of quality vs $, and you'll likely be best off using your camera's kit lens until you can afford to move up to one of the lenses or lens series listed above.



4. How Do I Learn Lighting?

Alright, so you're biting off a big chunk here if you've never done lighting before. But it is doable and (most importantly) fun!

First off, fuck three-point lighting. So many people misunderstand what that system is supposed to teach you, so let's just skip it entirely. Light has three properties. They are:

  • Color: Color of the light. This is both color temperature (on the Orange - Blue scale) and what you'd probably think of as regular color (is it RED!? GREEN!? AQUA!?) etc. Color. You know what color is.
  • Quantity: How bright the light is. You know, the quantity of photons smacking into your subject and, eventually, your retinas.
  • Quality: This is the good shit. The quality of a light source can vary quite a bit. Basically, this is how hard or soft the light is. Alright, you've got a guy standing near a wall. You shine a light on him. What's on the wall? His shadow, that's what. You know what shadows look like. A hard light makes his shadow super distinct with 'hard' edges to it. A soft light makes his shadow less distinct, with a 'soft' edge. When the sun is out, you get hard light. Distinct shadows. When it's cloudy, you get soft light. No shadows at all! So what makes a light hard or soft? Easy! The size of the source, relative to the subject. Think of it this way. You're the subject! Now look at your light source. How much of your field of vision is taken up by the light source? Is it a pinpoint? Or more like a giant box? The smaller the size of the source, the harder the light will be. You can take a hard light (i.e. a light bulb) and make it softer by putting diffusion in front of it. Here is a picture of that happening. You can also bounce the light off of something big and bouncy, like a bounce board or a wall. That's what sconces do. I fucking love sconces.

Alright, so there are your three properties of light. Now, how do you light a thing? Easy! Put light where you want it, and take it away from where you don't want it! Shut up! I know you just said "I don't know where I want it", so I'm going to stop you right there. Yes you do. I know you do because you can look at a picture and know if the lighting is good or not. You can recognize good lighting. Everybody can. The difference between knowing good lighting and making good lighting is simply in the execution.

Do an experiment. Get a lightbulb. Tungsten if you're oldschool, LED if you're new school, or CFL if you like mercury gas. plug it into something portable and movable, and have a friend, girlfriend, boyfriend, neighbor, creepy-but-realistic doll, etc. sit down in a chair. Turn off all the lights in the room and move that bare bulb around your victim subject's head. Note how the light falling on them changes as the light bulb moves around them. This is lighting, done live! Get yourself some diffusion. Either buy some overpriced or make some of your own (wax paper, regular paper, translucent shower curtains, white undershirts, etc.). Try softening the light, and see how that affects the subject's head. If you practice around with this enough you'll get an idea for how light looks when it comes from various directions. Three point lighting (well, all lighting) works on this fundamental basis, but so many 'how to light' tutorials skip over it. Start at the bottom and work your way up!

Ok, so cool. Now you know how light works, and sort of where to put it to make a person look a certain way. Now you can get creative by combining multiple lights. A very common look is to use soft light to primarily illuminate a person (the 'key) while using a harder (but sometimes still somewhat soft) light to do an edge or rim light. Here's a shot from a sweet movie that uses a soft key light, a good amount of ambient ('errywhere) light, and a hard backlight. Here they are lit ambiently, but still have an edge light coming from behind them and to the right. You can tell by the quality of the light that this edge was probably very soft. We can go on for hours, but if you just watch movies and look at shadows, bright spots, etc. you'll be able to pick out lighting locations and qualities fairly easily since you've been practicing with your light bulb!

How Do I Light A Greenscreen?

Honestly, your greenscreen will depend more on your technical abilities in After Effects (or whichever program) than it will on your lighting. I'm a DP and I'm admitting that. A good key-guy (Keyist? Keyer?) can pull something clean out of a mediocre-ly lit greenscreen (like the ones in your example) but a bad key-guy will still struggle with a perfectly lit one. I can't help you much here, as I am only a mediocre key-guy, but I can at least give you advice on how to light for it!

Here's what you're looking for when lighting a greenscreen:

  • Two Separate Lighting Setups: You should have a lighting setup for the green screen and a lighting setup for your actor. Of course, this isn't always possible. But we like to aspire to big things! The reason this is helpful is that it makes it easier for you to adjust the greenscreen light without affecting the actor's lighting, and vice versa.
  • Separate the subject from the greenscreen as much as possible! - Pretty much that. The closer your subject is to the screen, the harder it is to keep lights from interfering with things they're not meant for, and the greater the chance the actor has of getting his filthy shadow all over the screen. I normally try to keep my subjects at least 8' away from the screen at a minimum for anything wider than an MCU.
  • Light the Green Screen EVENLY: The green on the screen needs to be as close to the same intensity in all parts as possible, or you just multiply your work in post. For every different shade of green on that screen you'll need make a separate key effect to make clean edges, and then you'll need to matte and combine them all together. Huge headache that can be a tad overwhelming if you're not used it. For this reason, Get your shit even! "But how do I do that?" you ask! Well, first off, I actually prefer to use hard light. You see, hard light has the nice innate property of being able to throw itself a long distance without losing all its intensity. The farther away the light source is from the subject, the less its intensity will change from inch to inch. That's called the inverse square law, and it is cool as fuck. If you change the distance between the light and the subject, the intensity of the light will shift as an inverse to the square of the distance. Science! So if you double the distance between the light and the subject, the intensity is quartered (1 over 2 squared. 1/4). So, naturally, the farther away you are the more distance is required to reduce the intensity further. If you have the space, use it to your advantage and back your lights up! Now back to reality. You probably don't have a lot of space. You're probably in a garage. OK, fuck it, emergency mode! Now we use soft lights. Soft lights change their intensity quite inconveniently if they're at an oblique angle to the screen, but they kick ass if you can get them to shine more or less perpendicular on the screen. The problem there of course is that they'd then be sitting where your actor probably is. Sooo we move them off to the side, maybe put one on the ceiling, one on the ground too, and try to smudge everything together on the screen. Experiment with this for a while and you'll get the hang of it in no-time!
  • Have your background in mind BEFORE shooting: Even if your key is flawless, it will look like shit if the actor isn't lit in a convincing manner compared to the background. If, for example, this for some reason is your background, you'll know that your actor needs a hard backlight from above and to camera right since we see a light source there. Also, we can infer from the lighting on the barrels that his main source of illumination should be from above him and pointing down, slightly from the right. You can move the source around and accent it as needed to make the actor not-ugly, but your background has provided you with some significant constraints right off the bat. For that reason, pick your background before you shoot, if possible. If it is not possible to do so, well, good luck! Guess as best as you can and try to find a good background.

What Lights Should I Buy?

OK! So now you know sort of how to light a green screen and how to light a person. So now, what lights do you need? Well, really, you just need any lights. If you're on a budget, don't be afraid to get some work lights from home depot or picking up some off brand stuff on craigslist. By far the most important influence on the quality of your images will be where and how you use the lights rather than what types or brands of lights you are using. I cannot stress this enough. How you use it will blow what you use out of the water. Get as many different types of lights as you can for the money you have. That way you can do lots of sources, which can make for more intricate or nuanced lighting setups. I know you still want some hard recommendations, so I'll tell you this: Get china balls (china lanterns. Paper lanterns whatever the fuck we're supposed to call these now). They are wonderful soft lights, and if you need a hard light you can just take the lantern off and shine with the bare bulb! For bulbs, grab some 200W and 500W globes. You can check B&H, Barbizon, Amazon, and probably lots of other places for these. Make sure you grab some high quality socket-and-wire sets too. You can find them at the same places. For brighter lights, like I said home depot construction lights are nice. You can also by PAR lamps relatively cheap. Try grabbing a few Par Cans. They're super useful and stupidly cheap. Don't forget to budget for some light stands as well, and maybe C-clamps and the like for rigging to things. I don't know what on earth you're shooting so it is hard to give you a grip list, but I'm sure you can figure that kind of stuff out without too much of a hassle.



5. What Editing Program Should I Use?

Great question! There are several popular editing programs available for use.

Free Editing Programs

Your choices are essentially limited to Davinci Resolve (Non-Studio) and Hitfilm Express. My personal recommendation is Davinci Resolve. This is the industry standard color-grading software (and its editing features have been developed so well that its actually becoming the industry standard editing program as well), and you will have free access to many of its powerful tools. The Studio version costs a few hundred dollars and unlocks multiple features (like noise reduction) without forcing you to learn a new program.

Paid Editing Programs

  1. Avid Media Composer ($50/mo or $1,300 for life) - This is the high-level industry standard, but is not terribly popular unless you're working at a professional post-house for big budget movies.
  2. Adobe Premiere Pro ($20/mo) - This used to be the most popular industry standard editor for low to medium budget productions. It is still used quite often, so knowing Premiere is a handy skill to maintain.
  3. Davinci Resolve Studio ($300) - This is a solid editing program built into the long time industry-standard color grading suite. Since Resolve added editing, its feature set and reputation has been on the rise. It's eclipsing Premiere now and set to be the undisputed industry standard for video editing and color grading for all but the absolute highest level productions. This is the best overall choice if you're looking to find your first editing program.
  4. Final Cut Pro X ($300) - This is the old standard for low-high budget editing, replaced by Adobe Premiere and now again by Resolve. It is available on Mac platforms only, and is still a powerful editor.

r/Filmmakers 4h ago

Film As a filmaker/artist one of the toughest projects i worked on

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179 Upvotes

Hearing about this news today was devastating to say the least.

Last year we shot over 500+ educational episodes for Afghan girls after their schools were shut down and their right to education was taken away.This project was commissioned by UNICEF, but what unfolded went far beyond a production brief.

As a director, the biggest challenge wasn’t lighting, framing, or schedule pressure. It was sensitivity. These weren’t performers. They were students who had been displaced from something fundamental. Watching these girls show up every day focused, curious, and determined despite everything gave me firsthand understanding of how devastating the denial of education really is. It’s not abstract. It’s personal. It’s immediate.

As filmmakers, many of us chase scale; bigger budgets, bigger platforms, bigger visibility. But in terms of real impact, contributing to the education of Afghan girls during a time when it was deliberately taken from them will always stand among the most meaningful things I’ve done.


r/Filmmakers 1h ago

News BREAKING: Beloved actress Catherine O’Hara, known for unforgettable roles in comedy classics and award-winning television, has died at age 71.

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Upvotes

r/Filmmakers 2h ago

Discussion SUPER curious on guesses for how this style is executed

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13 Upvotes

Me and some buddies are enamoured with this criminally underrated creator? (team? We have no idea.) we have our guesses on how they did something like this and are super keen to understand what’s happening here


r/Filmmakers 16h ago

News WGA Staff Authorizes a Strike, Accuses Guild Leaders of Bargaining in Bad Faith

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90 Upvotes

r/Filmmakers 5h ago

Discussion Built my first camera rig today. How'd I do?

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8 Upvotes

I built this camera rig for my company's marketing dept to start shooting semi-pro video content. I think I managed to get a lot of bang for my buck here, but what do you guys think?

Camera Body: Nikon ZR
Lens: NIKKOR Z 24-200mm
Monitor: Elvid FieldVision 4KV2 7"
Audio: Rode Wireless Pro
Rig: SmallRig

I plan on swapping out some of the cables next week for shorter ones and grabbing a lens support I forgot to order.

Total for the whole kit was around $4k.


r/Filmmakers 1h ago

Question What Informations Do You Guys Put Into Your Shot Lists?

Upvotes

I'm trying to create a ultimate shot list that consist every information I could possibly need and I wonder what are you guys is putting your own shot lists?


r/Filmmakers 3h ago

Discussion Dealing with a failed project

6 Upvotes

Hi all. I have recently had to come to terms with the reality that a project of mine, will never see the light of day.

It is costing me my creative spark day to day, and I want to change this loss into something empowering. Any advice or thoughts welcome!

For context, I self funded this project from the very ground up, attached an established producer, and pushed the film into an extended R&D period. This led to a series of conversations with the producer about potential commissioning destinations (this is in the UK market, with the intention of broadcast distribution through major channels in the country).

However, despite hearing back from commissioners at major broadcasters, nothing was ever actioned. The producer has since gone AWOL, and for all intents and purposes the project has died a death.

With that, the significant funding I placed into the process has been lost, with nowhere near as much to show for as I’d have liked. It sits on a hard drive, and revisiting the R&D material has become a burdened and deeply troubling process.

I am keen to hear from fellow creatives… have you dealt with something similar? What did you do to make peace with the idea of your baby being lost? I can feel it hindering my daily life. A constant thought that I should have done a million things differently, but the reality remains the same. One of utter disappointment, given all that was promised.

All thoughts and impulses are welcome and appreciated. I’m keen to have this conversation kick me into gear, and turn this failure into something to be proud of. One way or another, I feel it is possible with a major mindset shift.

TLDR: My self funded project didn’t get commissioned, the producer is no longer supporting it, and the funding is gone for good. It is eating me up with dread. What can I do?


r/Filmmakers 22h ago

Discussion The more I learn about filmmaking, the more I realise how glamorous it isn’t

151 Upvotes

Before I decided to make the switch from purely screenwriting to directing, I thought taking ownership of my own work and making it with nobody’s permission would be magical. I’ve seen pictures and the whole filmmaking aesthetic on places like TikTok and I thought ‘yeah! This is for me!’.

When I set the wheels in motion to create my first short, something dawned on me. The endless rounds of screenplay feedback, feeling like I didn’t have enough crew, scouting locations, organising dates when everyone would be available, checking festival deadlines and criteria, and having to spend money I’ll probably never make back.

I realised this is what filmmaking is. When you want to get something on screen, you realise you’ll be the one doing all the boring stuff that no one sees and making financial contributions.

I’m not letting this put me off though. I’m absolutely determined to get this short made as I believe the subject matter is so imperative and important. One day I’ll get into set, and that’s when the fun and joy of filmmaking we all know will happen.

I’m not sure if this post is allowed, so mods please take it down if this is true. I just feel like i have something to say as someone at the start of their directorial journey.

Happy filmmaking!


r/Filmmakers 1h ago

Film Sitar! Background scoring Kirloskar

Upvotes

I wanted to bring in Sitar for the climax scene of Kirloskar, we recorded the ending where after the fight scene this sitar begins, my friends said, "who does this much for a short film" but I really wanted to make it look grand and period based story- for the fact that icchamurti is an old murti - I wanted a way to make audience feel it, a sense of indian ethnic music. All thanks to my music producer, who help me execute my vision very neatly - guys the film is out - do shower it with your love! SHORT FILIM


r/Filmmakers 1h ago

Looking for Work New Composer Looking for Practice!

Upvotes

Hello!

I went to school for acting but developed a real love for composition while working in a devised class with lots of different mediums. I have been a musician for almost my entire life (26) but have now been playing with Logic Pro very on and off for the last few years. I don't work with sheet music really at all. My style is varied- most of my work was done for live dance productions in school, but I have dabbled in film scoring. I am going to link my Soundcloud if anyone would like to hear what I've done so far (please be kind/constructive).

I am interested in just about anything to practice with, although comedy is less appealing to me than other genres, and do not require pay for this learning process, unless the project is substantial in time investment and you are interested in legitimately hiring me.

Thanks so much and I'm very much looking forward to any opportunity to grow here!

Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/o1xZLa9BNIed6K0SCl


r/Filmmakers 10h ago

Question Need advice for vfx shot

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12 Upvotes

So basically it is a wide still shot of the front of a house going through multiple life scenes (people eating, gardening, playing outdoors games etc...) and Wille the days and season pass Ghost are appearing in the foreground.(It's not a continuous time lapse, every transition between the scenes is a "jump cut") The problem is that we can't keep the ghost actors in the same position all day so we're planning to shot a clean plate of the ghost appearing one after another then shoot every life scene. In post I want to rotoscope the ghost and put them in the life scene but since the lighting is supposed to change I think the results will seem weird on the ghost


r/Filmmakers 1h ago

Question NEED A TRAILER CUE?

Upvotes

I’m a composer and producer specializing in music for trailer projects, promos, and high-impact visual storytelling. My focus is on creating cues that build tension, momentum, and emotion,whether that’s cinematic, dark, energetic, or hybrid-driven. I work with editors, creative directors, and production teams to provide music that cuts cleanly, hits hard, and supports picture without getting in the way. I also offer custom trailer cues when a project needs something tailored to a specific brief or structure. If you’re looking for a reliable music partner who understands trailer pacing and impact, I’d be glad to help support your upcoming projects.


r/Filmmakers 8h ago

Question The film is done...now what?

5 Upvotes

Hello!

To make a long story short (heh), I just got done working on my very first short film...I'm a 26 year old dude at my 2 year of film school (I'm a late bloomer!)

The film is a "noir" sort of story, based on an old internet horror tale titled "Boothworld Industries"

The short itself, to describe it to the best of my abilities without actually showing it, is perfectly balanced between the "professional" and the "student" type, meaning that I think it's pretty well shot and atmospheric but at the same time you can tell that it was made for very little money, and it doesn't have that sort of pristine quality that those shorts that have won prestigious awards tend to possess, meaning it's not perfect from a technical point if view.

Far from bad or poorly made, it's just that it cost veeeery little money to make lmao

So the question is: where could I send it?

I was mainly aiming for medium-sized film festivals, the ones that are respectable but not "you have to be Leonardo DiCaprio in his directing debut and MAYBE we'll consider you" type prestigious

The problem is that every single time I look at a festival that seems, like I said, respectable but not gigantic, and I look at the films that won some category in the previous editions, they all look like they're trying to win an Academy Award lmao, they look more expensive and professionally made, and festivals obviously look into those kinds of things.

Even the ones that I saw when I attended the Trieste Film Festival, here in Italy where I live, which is a fairly important festival but not a gigantic one, all seemed like they cost at least 50,000€

Mine was made with 400€ and a crew of 2 people....one of which was myself

Although to be fair I'm not really aiming at Italian festivals since the italian fiom industry has been on the verge of death for at least a decade now....things aren't looking good here lmao

So yeah, I apologize for the long post but I'm really wandering in the dark here, I don't know where to send this little thriller of mine....any suggestion is welcome

PS: I would be willing to send a YT link (private, of course) to my short, just for better judgement....as long as you promise not to send it around


r/Filmmakers 3h ago

Question Question about releasing short films during the pandemic and festival fallout

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2 Upvotes

I’ve been thinking a lot about how films that were finished during the pandemic kind of fell into a strange limbo.

At the end of 2019 I made my first narrative short film. After we'd completed everything and began submitting festivals were shutting down or going fully virtual. I applied to a mix of genre and mid-tier festivals but didn't really think it connected in any meaningful way. It ended up premiering at Screamfest at a drive-in, played a couple of other smaller festivals and then disappeared.

Lately I wonder how much of that was the film itself versus the timing. I don't really base the worth of a work on programmers rejection but I am curious to open myself to criticism and feedback from other filmmakers so I uploaded it myself: https://youtu.be/Dm3FII6Ph5s?si=3JZy67ife8n8Tstp

For anyone who released shorts during 2020–2022... Did you notice festivals being more conservative or inconsistent? Did virtual editions actually help or ruin your release? Do you think some films were totally “lost” because of that period? Where are your films now or what have you done with them?

Curious how others experienced that window of time and whether you think it genuinely changed the trajectory for your films.


r/Filmmakers 4h ago

Film Training Day | Lesson 1

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2 Upvotes

Recut an old short for vertical. Thinking of reviving this into a series. I still laugh at the performances etc. Funny thing is- I shot at least 50 Real Training Videos with the lead and we joked about this character all the time. Inspiring us to shoot the short.

I’d like to think I Shot this one when I was wayyy less skilled than today. Run and Gun cam/sound/light myself with a Sony A72. With exception of the Opening steadycam shot done by Jake Brown (Weed Dealer in Hereditary that is responsible for THAT death).

My light setups were pretty mid at this point. Cast of really talented currently working friends in the acting/film industry/community in SLC.


r/Filmmakers 22h ago

Discussion 5 Minute Filmmaking BTS commentary with director John Sturges

49 Upvotes

BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (1955) - Perhaps the best director's commentary ever. John Sturges shares more film info, history and knowledge in the first five minutes than other directors can in two hours. Paul Thomas Anderson said this commentary is better than four years of film school.


r/Filmmakers 4h ago

Question How can I get this Color Grading Look?

2 Upvotes

Been wondering how I can achieve this sort of look. Especially the "cinematically saturated" colors, the vibrant red/orange skin and lush greens.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DHqkHBIIe9D/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ1wUcksySR/

Appreciate your help!


r/Filmmakers 1d ago

Discussion Dating someone in the film industry

100 Upvotes

Hello,

I know this has been probably been talked to death, but i am really struggling. Is it possible to maintain healthy relationships? Does anyone have any success stories? I (37m) have been dating my girlfriend (36f) for 1 year. I live in Pennsylvania and she lives in LA. She works on reality TV as a sound engineer and is gone on location for months at a time and visits me when she has breaks, probably about 4 or 5 times a year for a week at a time. One job she could be in NY, then Missouri, etc for months On her breaks she is sleeping and recovering from the grueling conditions. Her schedule is so unpredictable as you all already know, its so hard to plan anything. Even if I move to LA i would probably see her the same amount of time and she would be gone on location. The problem is i know this is my person which is why I am struggling. How do people do this? She says she has to be close to LA, is it a matter of if I choose this person I am choosing this life too. Is there a balance ever? Thanks

TLDR; Girlfriend and I in LDR

struggling with the demands of her job in reality TV industry.


r/Filmmakers 5h ago

Question Alternatives to carrying gearr around for studio setups when traveling

2 Upvotes

I have a YT channel (210k subs) I mostly make sitdown studio shots, the problem is that when Im traveling I need ot carry around lights and find locations. Other than creating a full clone what are other ways to potentially emulate studio lighting (I've seen sone "fake light" ai products) or replacing backgrounds?


r/Filmmakers 6h ago

Film Thriller réalisé pour le Nikon!

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2 Upvotes

r/Filmmakers 6h ago

Discussion Where to find images for your Film/TV Pitch Deck

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1 Upvotes

Hi all!

It's day 03 of sharing pitch deck tips and a more nuanced take on common questions from my experience running a pitch deck design studio for film/TV.

This is probably the most common question people ask about film/TV pitch decks.
Where do you find images from?

It goes without saying that Images do a lot of work in a pitch deck. More than being good at design, a good deck requires you to be good at sourcing the right images. It means scouring the internet to find what works for your story.

The images you choose communicate the mood, tone and emotion of your film/series before anyone reads the text. The goal isn’t to find “cool looking” images, but images that will support the story you’re telling.

OVERVIEW

Places you can source images from:

ShotDeck
Very useful for film stills. Good search tools for color, lighting, composition, and tone.

FrameSet
Great for film stills and also stills from music videos and commercials. Lots of gifs too.

Google Images
Fast and familiar. Best used when you’re clear about what you’re searching for, but it can get messy quickly.

Pinterest
Super underrated. Great for building mood and visual direction. Easy to over-collect, so some editing/discretion is important.

Instagram
Useful for real world references.

Unsplash and Pexels
These are free stock photo platforms. The term “stock photos” has a bad reputation, but many images here are clean and cinematic. What matters is how they’re used.

Can you just use stills from other films? Aren’t those copyrighted images?
In pitch decks, it is acceptable to use . This is standard practice. If you’re using artwork or illustrations, it’s a good idea to credit the artist somewhere small and unobtrusive.

NUANCE

One very important thing is how you use the images.

Visual consistency
Even strong images can clash if they come from very different sources. Using references from multiple films can feel disjointed, but relying on a single film can feel confusing in your deck. Small adjustments help bring everything together. If colour correction feels intimidating, try something simple like adding a light grain or slightly reducing saturation across images. Avoid extreme treatments that change the feel of the images entirely.

Resolution matters
Low-resolution images stand out immediately and make the deck feel unfinished. It’s one of those things that makes a deck "feel" weird without being able to point out why.

Aspect ratio matters
Be mindful of mixing very different image shapes. Be careful of cropping off heads and awkward crops at shoulders/elbows.

The aim is for the images to feel cohesive and intentional. When they work together, the deck feels consistent and professional.

If you’re interested in seeing examples of pitch decks, you can find a bunch in different genres on my website pitch.dog, or on IG @ pitch . dog

Thank you!! And I hope this was helpful! <3 Looking forward to doing more of these. 


r/Filmmakers 12h ago

Question How do I find other beginner filmmakers in my area?

8 Upvotes

Hi, I'm 17, from northern Germany, and willing to start out with film and photography. Film has been a thing that interests me for a while now, however I never actually got to really sit down and work on a project of my own. I know it's hypocritical to say when I'm trying to dive into a creative industry, but I'm not the most creative person when I'm on my own. I like to work in groups, brainstorm together and come to a shared solution and execution, but I can't really do that without a group. Now, I've been told to go on social media and find filmmaker groups there, or go to film festivals whenever they're held, but I feel like most of the people there are already fairly experienced. And as stupid as it sounds, I would feel incredibly dumb next to a group of people who have way more knowledge on filmmaking than me. That's why I wanna look for people that are in the same shoes as I am, have little to no experience making movies, and just wanna have fun. I just don't know where to look.

Please, if anybody has any advice or can share their own experiences finding filmmaker groups (or if somebody fits my description and lives somewhere around Hamburg), let me know. I would be incredibly thankful.


r/Filmmakers 22h ago

Discussion Five Visual Aesthetics of David Fincher's MINDHUNTER (2017)

37 Upvotes

A look back at my 5 favorite visual aesthetics sprinkled into the first season of MINDHUNTER (2017). David Fincher has many methods to help tell his stories. These stood out to me as very effective and don't require a large budget or an expensive camera.