I need help finding a place to buy this piece. I tried circling it in red. It's that one piece that is detachable and can stick to your camera. I have no idea what it's called in English. Can I buy one like this or do I have to buy a whole other tripod? I have the Promate Precise 150 tripod. This is quite an urgent manner.

I also enjoy the filmmaking side... do people have ideas on what to shoot for like a short film thats simple but still enjoyable. ill be in Paris in a couple weeks and would like to plan something out but im not sure what I could do...

or are there places to grab unedited footage that is meant to be together (not stock)...

Hi, I am an aspiring film maker. I am 19 and currently applying to film school. The ones I am applying to are Pratt, Depaul, Cal Arts, and The New School.

I am posting on here because, I am like, really nervous about applying for two reasons.

One, my grades in high were not the best, I have a 3.1 GPA, and a 970 SAT. I am not the best applicant on paper.

Two, I am worried my short film is not good. It was film on my iPhone so it looks kinda eh, the audio sound kind of weird in places, etc, etc. I put a lot of effort into it, but it is still kind of bad. I look online and everybody portfolios who submits to these schools are, like so much better.

Since you guys are film makers on this sub, I am wondering if you guys could give me advice about likely I am to get in, or tell me about the short films that got you into film school. I am just looking for some advice or to be told I am over thinking it. Thank you for reading this post or responding to it. It is much appreciated.

Hey everyone,

I'm doing VFX for a project that has a shot of a person throwing a ring and it flying past the camera in an exaggerated, slow-mo fashion and i need to find some references for how to execute it and overal visual style of it.

We've all seen hundreds of these types of shots in hundreds of movies but now that i need it, i can't recall a single instance of it of apart from maybe LOTR, just cause it has to do with a ring, but i haven't even seen it, so i don't even know if it has what i need...

I know of eyecandy but are there any other services or ways i can find this specific type of shot?

Would really appreciate some help on this.

Thank you!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/135414204687?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=zxayjpwctla&sssrc=2051273&ssuid=zxayjpwctla&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Making a ww1 short film and need sandbags for trenches. What's the best and cheapest way to make them?

I have ASD and want to write and direct movies, but being a director is all about communicating with the group isn't it? That's like, my greatest weakness, I often misinterpret what people means and fail to convey my ideas to others, how am I supposed to overcome that? Are there autistic filmmakers at all?

Hey, I’m new to this community and I’m unsure what I need to purchase. I have a sony A7R V camera body. I already have two lenses, which are the Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II and Sony E 10-18mm F4 OSS. Do I need specific cine lenses for the best results or can I work with what I have as I also do work in the photography field? I’m interested in getting a rig, gimbal, and monitor. And is a matte box an investment I’ll appreciate later on? Overall, I need recommendations on brands, models, and the purpose of these products. I’m lost and I don’t know where to start.

Hi everyone,

I’m in the process of writing some short films that I plan to shoot before summer. Currently, I’m working with a Sony a6000 and its two kit lenses. I know this camera isn’t traditionally considered a go-to for cinematography, but it’s what I have for now.

My question is: how do you work within your equipment’s limits to create cinematic results without overcompensating?

This came to mind after watching several YouTube videos showcasing cinematography with the a6000. The footage always looks good (it’s a solid camera!), but sometimes something feels off. It’s like the person filming is trying too hard—maybe it’s too much color grading or overly dramatic effects. The end result looks polished but doesn’t feel natural.

I hope this makes sense—I’m not trying to bash these creators. I’m genuinely curious: how can you make something cinematic with a budget camera while keeping it natural and authentic?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

I am working on making movies mostly for fun, and I want to find a good place to find (possible moving) video or picture backgrounds. I have a green screen and would like to be able to make it seem as if the person is in a different environment. For example, if I wanted to have the person in a futuristic space room or something, it would be nice to have multiple angles of the same futuristic room so that I could have different shots from different angles. Maybe there’s a site that has backgrounds made specifically for that purpose? Or even better, the same thing but with video backgrounds. Or even just a good thing to put in the search bar to find what I need.

Hi filmmakers! I’m trying to start cartoon YouTube channel. Does anyone know of any character voice creating software for free or a low price?

I want to get into filmmaking; particularly screenwriting so I joined a bunch of online groups, started going to events, and jumping at any opportunity I feasibly can. So when a person in one group wanted to get a group of people together to make a film, so we could all have something to on resumes and such - I jumped at it. We're still in the early stages; we're developing ideas and I'm getting nervous.

We're going with the idea I pitched - but I couldn't describe everything I wanted to and wasn't given the chance and now that we're working on the outline, I'm not loving the organizer's ideas. (The other writers are the organizer and her friend, the latter who doesn't really have an interest in writing. She wants to act) So I feel a little outnumbered - especially since both the other writers again are friends and seem to hold similar beliefs and visions for the movie.

Not necessarily a bad thing, but it turns out "the actress friend" is, for a lack of a better word, homophobic. When I was describing my idea - I said it could work as an allegory for "coming out" and actress said she wasn't comfortable with portraying that due to her faith. (Which for me is a big yikes) I did some more research (FB stalking mostly) and found out the organizer and friend are both devout christians.

Which isn't necessarily an issue - but like they seem to be pitching in Christian themes/ideas and I am NOT Christian and not comfortable in promoting those values. How exactly do I bring this up?

We seem to have in general very different ideas of how to go about it and I feel a little defensive because it's my idea and I had a sort of vision but I also know filmmaking is collaborative and I'm going to have to accept that sometimes my idea isn't going to work. But - they're also pitching other ideas I'm not sure about (more like I'm not sure if I'm capable of writing them/the film doing the topics justice) and I could just use some advice.

Please let me know if there's anything I should clarify

Hello

I’m trying to make a film about a burnt out recent college grad who forgoes pursuing adult responsibilities in favor of role playing with AI chatbots.

I sent a copy of the script to someone and it was suggested that I include more content that blurs the line between reality and the fantasy he has with his AI chatbots. 

One of the most impactful ways to do that is to have the protagonist role play with a chatbot in a public place. A scene in which the demands of the public interrupt his role playing with the AI chatbot. Something that showcases the interplay between the protagonists role playing with the AI chatbots and the protagonist’s interactions with the outside world.

However I am trying to keep the budget to something that I could afford to shoot myself.

I’ve already used up all of the locations that I have immediate access to.

So I need to figure out what’s a public location that I could potentially get access to on an ultra-low budget and write a scene that takes place there.

Any help would be appreciated.

I live in the greater LA area in case that makes a difference.

I’m in the process of making an indie film and we’re about to go out to our investor pool this week with a deck. I understand it’s pretty standard for investors to recoup 120% of net profits first, followed by a 50/50 split between the creative team and the investors.

However, I’m a bit confused about how fees for things like sales agents, distribution partners, cast/crew residuals, etc. fit into this structure. Should our film be sold, where does this fit into the 50/50 split? Are these fees usually deducted before the net profit split, or do they come out of the creative team’s share after the split?

Would love to hear how others have navigated this in their own projects!

Thanks in advance for any insight.

I'm in my final year of school and have a strong passion for filmmaking, even though I don't have much experience yet. I've always loved cinema and would love to be involved in the creative process. I'm reaching out to anyone in the industry for some insights on how you got to where you are. Do you think studying film in college is a good idea? Can someone like me, without any connections, actually make a living in this field or is it more of a side job? I'm not aiming for fame or anything, just looking for honest opinions from those who know the industry.

What are my next steps? I am a 17-year-old in Madison, Wisconsin, and I am seriously struggling with what to do next in my career. I have a deep passion for videography and would love to go into Film and big-budget productions someday (I dream big), but I am at a crossroads. I can't figure out how or where to take the leap and get myself into the film community. I have been into filming for about three years and have made hype videos for my school. This summer, I got one of the best high school jobs as a videographer for a local company, where I had the freedom to create and design any marketing content I wanted (Social media and YT stuff). There's zero film community I have come across in Madison, and I don't have any friends who take the film as seriously as I do. I am a 1 one-man crew watching yt videos to get better, but it just isn't enough. I have applied to a couple of film schools, but I am skeptical about going as I hear you don't need film school (Just experience), and since I'm out of state, Depaul is gonna be around the same cost as a school like UCLA. I guess I'm asking about what I should do next.

I have also thought about going to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for marketing/communications and a minor in film (that's all they have) because I like what I am doing and have something to fall back on. I could also transfer to a film school later because it would be much cheaper. I guess my problem is I am scared of taking the chance of dropping 200,000 + for a degree that has a low return rate. If that doesn't work out, I will be swimming in debt and have nothing to fall back on if I get a film degree. I have no experience with how film companies work in California, so I could be wrong. I just need advice from professionals in the industry on what a smart move is. I can answer any questions down below. But please, I need a little help! Thank you!

There's going to be a bit of backstory explaining in this post but it is something that I want to get off my chest. I would leave certain details vague so that I wouldn't be too identifiable.

Anyways, I'm a film student currently and just finished my first semester. We would all have to make a short 5 minute film for that semester and would have to present a pitch of the short film idea in front of the class before we all went off to make it. Now I would preface by saying that I've had experience on film sets prior to going to school and I'm usually pretty good with receiving feedback, even to such a degree that people describe me as being resilient and thick-skinned. But the initial short film idea I had was something that was truly personal and based on subjects that I was passionate in. The short film was centred on the topics of post-colonialism, the effects colonialism has on the self-image of colonised people, association that white supremacy has to class etc and I planned to try to make the film a little different by using a non-linear structure with a medium akin to a visual poem (if that makes sense), since that structure would allow for complex ideas to be explored in a short amount of time.

Nevertheless, as you could imagine, the pitch kinda fell apart in front of everyone in the class, with some of my classmates pointing holes on the pitch and all, and was harshly scruntised by my lecturer (who's known to be quite blunt), saying that the film feels more like a lecture than an actual narrative film, how it doesn't fit into the module of being a narrative short film, that it breaches the "show not tell" rule etc. In hindsight, there are some parts of that pitch that I could've done much better on (i.e having more visual references, going more in-depth with the synopsis, including a character bible) but I was still humiliated.

But with fairness to my lecturer, he did talk to me one-to-one afterwards to explain that he hoped that I wouldn't let the experience make me feel restricted with exploring different ideas and that he actually liked that I wanted to explore topics of post-colonialism etc (saying that it's not like the other student films he had seen.) And I eventually went on to make another short film that got a good reception amongst my classmates, which made me more relived than anything. Though time has past and I'm happy with the film I ended up making instead, I would still be lying if I were to say that I feel a bit bummed and even hurt, looking back on how I didn't end up making the film, about how it was the film that I truly felt was way more personal than the alternative I made but still ended up receiving pretty bad criticism for. Usually for other feedback on how I perform in filmmaking, I can take it quite nicely, disregard whatever negative feeling I may get from it and move on. But I still have a bit of attachment to this film that I hope to shake off in order to focus on other film projects.

I know this was a long post and was kind of a rant, but I sort want to get it out there for catharsis and to hear if any of you who have experienced something similar. What advice would you give for this situation and how to get over it? Sorry if it comes off as a little corny but it is something that's kinda new to me. Thanks for coming to my tedtalk and listening through.

Sound > Picture. 100% of the time.

Movies without sound don't exist. Even "silent" movies had backing music, and silent pictures didn't stick around long after sync sound.

Meanwhile audiobooks, podcasts, audio dramas, and music get along fine without picture. Yes, I know it's a different medium - point is we consume media all that time that's just audio.

Sound > Picture. 100% of the time.

Before you buy your next light package or get twisted over the newest, shiny camera, ask yourself "can I improve my audio?" Your movie will be 1000x better if you hold audio to the same standard you hold camera.

Two people sat at opposite sides of the table

Whip pan 180 degrees from person to person throughout conversation

I want to do it all in camera, in one take.

How do I ensure the frame lands accurately after each whip? Any little tricks people have?

Additionally, how would you go about attaching the camera to the table to ensure complete stability. I am able to screw into the table if need be

I want to put my VFX and editing skills to the test with something like movie footage or short film footage but I don’t have any camera gear? Is there a place I can find footage that was made for movies or shows etc?

Hi this might be obvious to some. But I was wondering how do you think shapes like this in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari were done???

Did they just put a cover with the shape on top the lens??

Thank you in advance!!

Hi there I actually have a Sony a7ii but I need something for 4k recording and a little bit more future-proof than a7ii. I shoot product content for business, real state and events.

I was thinking in getting a a6700 for 1500€+-, but I've heard it only has one and slot and overheating problems, and going back to APSC seems like a step backwards

I've also looked at the A7iii which is at 1250€ now and seems a attractive option, but a little bit old and also non folding screen, I'm not really updated on the market

do yo know any more options for this price tag? I mean 1300-1500 for body.

thanks

We finished filming in November of 2022 and the next year and a half was brutal as we learned the hard way about everything that happens after the film is shot. My brother did the editing and we got very lucky with the score, post production, music for the film and we submitted for a festival run.

I never believed in the festival run from the start, I am a doctor not a filmmaker and view everything very skeptic eye. In my opinion I felt film festivals are largely a waste of time if not a outright scam, nothing good came from it and we pulled it off film freeway and began self promotion.

First we built a website with the help of a friend where you can watch the film and read all about it and contact us, I think the website looks amazing but you can be the judge, it is downforthecountmovie.com

With that done I ran a ground game to see where I would get the best results and I'll break down each one below. With the key points being: 1. it is all pay to play, nothing is free and nothing is organic as you may like to think, almost everything you see in your feed is promoted. 2. All ad spending should be done on webpages and not on apps to avoid massive app store fees. 3. when running ads start with a very small spend over many days to let the AI learn who to serve it to and this will allow you to see what works best for engagement and click through.

Film Threat: I am a big fan of the show and I thought why not do this for myself as a fan. The interview was a lot of fun and we will put it on our YouTube. I think Alan reviewed it and Chris probably didn't watch it. They did a little write up as well which was fair. Overall l would not advise this to anyone unless they are a fan like me and are doing this for the experience as it is not a good use of ad spend otherwise due to limited reach and the interviews are not on the main page but a different account with very small following.

Tik Tok: overall not a good use of our time and money, it is rather difficult to advertise on and we got a strike almost immediately for "violence" and as were are promoting horror I quickly realized this was not the place for us. Very little engagement overall thus far. Big Tip: if you are going to promote a post or advertise you will need to have credits to do so, DO NOT buy them through the app store as Apple will take a huge cut.

X: also overall a waste of time on ad spending: reach is ok but engagement is trash, I do not think it was worth the value and would not advise spending your money here. Again do not use the app but promote via the website to avoid fees. I did post the full film on X as you can do that now and in a nice version, that will be interesting to watch over time, the movie went up one week ago.

Reddit: largely a waste of time, it is very difficult to design the ads and judge their utility. Overall I would say to avoid reddit but I have created sub reddit for the film in case engagement were to take off here one day.

Instagram: has been very useful and the best results and easiest format to track said results. In the time leading up to the release I was advertising by promoting posts, a failed t shirt give away to get subs and pushing the trailer. What we found was that the trailer works and we have been pushing that for a few months now as a reel that I can continue to promote. Far and away the best value for dollar spent thus far.

YouTube: in order to put the trailer on YouTube and have it run like a normal ad I had to register our site and open a adsense account, I've had 2 meetings with google staff and we have fine tuned the ad and will be letting it cook now for the next few months. It is probably too early to say what is the value here as I recently adjusted the locations where is ran, you need to watch closely where it runs as we were spending 70% on Canada which is not likely home to our target demo.

Happy to discuss in details but figured I'd give the broad outline of what we've done here, link to the movie hopefully is included in the post, if not you can watch on the website or YouTube ad free....that is the other thing, you need at least 500 subs on YouTube to monetize, that is harder than you think when you only have one video but we are working on that, so please sub if you want to support us.

need to make a short horror film for our finals and these are the only options. pretty sure that the black magic is the one to get but which is the second best option. huhu thanks.

Hello my fellow filmmakers.

I recently finished my first documentary film and I'm looking into translating it into english so I can send it to international film festivals.

A lot of newspaper archival shots I used contain headlines in dutch and I was wondering how to best go about this. Leave them in the original language and add the headline in subtitles or hire an AE wizard to swap the headline with an english version (my prefererence). If anyone knows of a good example , feel free to share :-).

We're making a horror short film in an Indian language, to be filmed in Northern California, which is to be extended into a webseries if well received. Naturally, the roles require South Asian talent, but somehow we've received overwhelming submissions only from Hispanic talent. This has prompted another team to work on a separate story featuring those talents, but we're still unable to cast Indians/South Asians in the vicinity.

If any casting directors here could help, I'd be happy to discuss over DM. Thank you!

Hi everyone! I'm a low budget filmmaker, and I was wondering if you have any recommendations for a cheap (€1 - 75) microphone that could work (decently, maybe not perfectly of course) in most scene types

I'm not very audio savvy so I'd appreciate, if you have any questions, being patient in my clueless replies

EDIT: Ideally plugged into a phone, which uses a 3.5mm jack, or a USB would work

So I have a short film that is only 2 characters and 1 setting but the budget is so tight I only have 1 day to film. Tips for pulling this off? Moreover, it would be helpful if you can give advice about shot listing, limiting set up, having an AD or directing actors. P/S: The film is basically about 2 people fighting.