Filmmaking is a very technological art. There are many skills to learn and master. Camera, Lighting, Sound, Writing, Acting, and many more. However I think that there are some ideologies which are even more important than the technical skills. There are two. The first is "Story Comes First". The second is "Hierarchy of Command".
Story is the most important part of a film. It is the plot, theme, conflict and characters of your film. Without these, your film is just a test video. Test videos may be cool to filmmakers but the average person won't care. Story should be a key thing that helps you make every decision. For example which shots you want. If you are filming a fight scene, a handheld look might increase the tension. However if you were filming a beautiful dance, a handheld look would make the dancers look less elegant. A steadicam shot might be more appropriate. Hierarchy of command is a very important concept that many beginning filmmakers do not grasp. On many beginner sets, everyone tries to direct the film. They try to decide what should happen and even important details like which shots they should have. But on an experienced set, everyone follows a single vision of the director. Everyone else is focused on their specific task. On beginner sets, the sound guy might suggest a shot. Many beginners welcome this because they believe that more input creates a better film. This is wrong. By suggesting a shot, he is taking his mind off of sound and may compromise the film's sound. They also may be inputing the wrong vision. Instead of shooting one vision, you may end up shooting 1/3 of one person's vision and 2/3 of another's. So you really don't end up with a whole movie. It may be hard to create this on a set where everyone is on similar levels of experience and all working for free. The best way to off balance this is prepared-ness. If the director is the most prepared, he will be able to command his crew into the best direction. However a lack of preparation will likely lead to everyone trying to throw in advise and thus a slower shoot. But also each individual element will not be as cleanly executed. Hopefully these ideas will help you on your next shoot.
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Recently I have moved to Atlanta, a big filmmaking hub. I've also decided to try and make it as a freelance only. It's been difficult but I've learned a few things over the past month.
1) It only takes one "yes" Don't let an endless sea of nos get you down. Sending out resumes and cover letters to nearly everyone is part of the job. Everyone else is doing the same thing. One job can end up leading to another and soon your booked. 2) Check job sites several times a day Many jobs are posted mid-day. I typically check craigslist and staffmeup daily. But there are plenty of other sites out there. 3) Send your resume to people who aren't hiring I know this one seems kind of counter intuitive. Why would you spend the time to message someone without a job? Well everyone with some sort of success in the industry will end up hiring someone. Maybe in the near future. By sending a resume early, they may call you even before posting the job. 4) Networking Events & Facebook Pages Just simply commenting on someone's post could land you a job in the future. Make some friends. Atlanta has a facebook page, Atlanta Film Community, plus a weekly networking event, Film Bar Mondays. 5) Keep working on passion projects Working on passion projects keeps you learning when all you get is corporate videography jobs. It also may help you get noticed and get new jobs. Who knows? Hope this helped! And good luck! (you'll need it) Lost Type Co-opLost Type has many beautiful font types. All of them (I believe) free for personal use. Every font is top notch. Google FontsAlthough slightly lower quality than Lost Type Co-op, it's still better than Dafont for most applications. Also all of the fonts are under creative commons. So free for anything. Unlike Lost Type... Rocketstock FreebiesRocketstock has some really nice effects and templates for free. You can either use them or tear them apart and figure out how they made them. Either way, a great resource.
Drugbusters - Short Film from Zachary Will on Vimeo. Have you shared your music to all of your friends and family to the point where they are annoyed but still disappointed by your view numbers? Well I have a way for you to be slightly less disappointed. I'm not exactly an expert on getting views but I somehow was about to get 16,000 plays on soundcloud. Here's what I've learned. Maybe you can apply some of these tips.
Give out free music. People love free stuff. People want to receive something before they give you anything. This even includes views. Letting your soundcloud audience download some cover songs or sketches that may never become realized may help you views. For those of you who want to go to the next level, release a song under creative commons. This will bring filmmakers to help distribute your music to new audiences. Use Soundcloud Groups. Soundcloud has this feature called Groups. You can submit your songs for others to view. There are groups for everything. Hip Hop, Dubstep, Film Scores, Creative Commons Music, and More. Submitting your films to these groups can give you an extra edge and get you some more plays. Share your content through several social media sites. Sharing your content to all your audiences is the best way to get the most views. Use everything you have to your advantage. Blogs, Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and more. Reddit. Reddit allows you to post links. There are several subreddits for submit music to critiques. This could help you get a couple more views. Thanks for reading. I hope some of these tips helped. If you want, check out some of my music on Soundcloud. These lights are great and could easily stand up to a Mole Richardson or Arri equivalent. The stands are also great. They can extend past my 10ft tall ceiling. They also have flip out feet for use on uneven ground. Colortran not only makes small open face lights but also fresnels and ellipsoidals. Just search ebay and see what you can find. Happy Hunting! Ebay - http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR11.TRC4.A0.H0.Xcolortran.TRS1&_nkw=colortran&_sacat=0_ |
Zachary WillZachary Will is an Award-Winning Filmmaker creating short films and content for the Internet as the owner of Riverside Studios. He has a Bachelor's in Film from Full Sail University. He has worked on productions for companies like Webmd, Sears, Home Depot, Six Flags and more! "the trick is to never give up... I think the secret of success is not how little you get knocked down but how often you get back up." - Gareth Edwards Archives
February 2019
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