Filmmaking is an art that requires skill, creativity, and a solid understanding of the fundamentals. Unfortunately, many film students struggle to find their footing in this competitive field. Here’s how to avoid common pitfalls and thrive as a filmmaker.
Why Film Students Fail (And How to Succeed)
A lot of people have a really cavalier attitude about creativity these days. I just saw a TikTok come across my FYP by @kianadecorates, where a commenter responded to her expertly decorated cookie art with, “AI could do this in 1 min.” We’re not about that here. Art is hard, and you shouldn’t make assumptions about how difficult it is until you try it.
In Depth Cine’s thoughtful video on filmmaking fundamentals pulls a quote from Jiro Dreams of Sushi about how chefs in training don’t jump right into making complicated dishes. Often, they are entrusted with lower-level tasks in the kitchen before they can make rice or eggs. Filmmaking is similar. You need to understand story and production components before jumping into a big-budget feature.
Here are four pieces of advice from In Depth Cine that can transform how new filmmakers approach their craft.
Master the Fundamentals First
Like in the video, New York Film Academy emphasizes that “every movie you’ve ever seen first starts with an idea in someone’s brain,” and proper planning forms the foundation. For filmmakers, this means mastering basic dialogue scenes, cinematography, and lighting, and contained storytelling before attempting ambitious genre pieces. As we’ve told you before, poor audio, poor lighting, and poor costuming were the things that wrecked our early work. Sparks Film School warns that “one of the biggest giveaways of a beginner filmmaker is a film that’s mostly shot in continuous wide angles.” Mix up your shots with close-ups and different angles, but master the fundamentals of each shot type first.
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Tell Stories About Life
The video warns against using genre as a crutch, encouraging filmmakers to tell stories reflecting life rather than copying other movies. Screenwriter Travis Braun, a two-time Black List topper, told me once that many writers love Die Hard, decide they want to write their version of Die Hard, but then can’t sell it because Die Hard already exists. Don’t copy others.
Contain the Story
The most successful student films minimize locations, time periods, and characters. I’ve given notes on ambitious 20-page shorts that would require five or six sets and complicated VFX shots—and if you don’t have the resources, that’s going to be impossible to create the way you want to. Filmmaker Noam Kroll advises that “the oldest advice in the book when it comes to micro-budget filmmaking is: Shoot everything in a single location,” followed by keeping cast and crew minimal. StudioBinder notes that no-budget filmmaking “relies heavily on creativity, resourcefulness, and volunteerism” rather than expansive production values. You can shoot your film in all sorts of places, like public spots (but beware of permitting needs in certain cities), your friends’ houses, or your own apartment. Get creative with your framing, and you can make a single location look like a few different places. The video also suggests building stories around what you have access to—if you can only cast early-20s actors, don’t create a story requiring older characters.
Use Realistic References
Rather than attempting to recreate Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar with student resources, study his low-budget debut, Following, instead. Look to small, character-driven stories. Those will shine regardless of budget. Raindance’s Elliot Grove notes that “nothing glues you to the screen more than a good story. If the story is there, does one really care about the budget of the film?” Successful low-budget films, such as Clerks and The Blair Witch Project, achieved success through compelling narratives told creatively within tight constraints. Let us know the lessons from your first film.
