So my question is being that they only had $1 million and were given only 10 days to work on not only the movie but the script too in the fact that as a somewhat new filmmaker, I have yet to work on a narrative film. Would you consider this as normal? Because I find this to be very crazy if I was giving this amount of days to work on a film, I would freak tf out although it’s cool to be given $1 million for the budget, but I would at least need prep time to work on the script and to set up the cameras and have my actors and actress to work on knowing my script by heart. So what that being said they must have either improv the entire way through the movie or worked on this film longer than 12 hours each day but at the same time I’m not considering that the entire cast of the movie are from this sketch show In Living Color including the co-Director aka they’re heavily trained professionals at that point. But 10 days is still bizarre to me. I could be wrong but I’m guessing they also had to prep and work on the script within those 10 days. If not please correct me if I’m wrong. I only wanna grow and learn.

Thanks!

Excited to share the new poster for our short film Centrefield that stars Will Forte. The poster was created by Matt Ryan Tobin with a completely original illustration based on the animation in the film. A huge thank you to Matt for his amazing work. Can't wait to share more of the film with everyone soon! I also included the longline below for people wondering what it is about. When a stray adult magazine is discovered in centre field during a church league baseball game, two rival teams of twelve-year-olds form a silent pact to keep the score tied, stretching the game into a fragile, funny and revealing portrait of childhood curiosity on the brink of adolescence.

In the filmmaking scene starting out, you end up doing a lot of favors for peers and friends. Sometimes they'll offer you something very nominal like 150 or 100 bucks, etc.

I'm here to say that in my experience, taking a low fee is often a worse precedent than doing it for free.

I think it's just human nature, we internalize a discount different than a favor, charity. With a favor, I think you maintain a relational power that a discount gives away. Because now you are getting paid something, and people feel a little more entitled to your time they are paying for than not.

I know it seems counter-intuitive, but I think setting the precedent that you will work for that low of a rate is different than setting a precedent that you can be charitable and could be owed a favor.

Hey everyone!

I'm getting back into photography after taking a break in 2023, and I'm now starting to explore cinematography. I'm trying to figure out what would be the most useful next investment for my setup.

My current gear:

• Canon 700D with an 18–50mm lens
• Neewer PT-176S light with two gels
• Two tripods (one for the camera, one for the light)
• A 5-in-1 reflector

I'm considering getting a second light, but I'm not sure what would make the most sense:

• A small RGB light for coloured accents, background lighting and creative effects
• A more powerful COB light to use with a softbox or diffusion
• Lighting modifiers, grip equipment, or something else entirely

I've also considered getting a fog/haze machine, but I'm not sure if it's worth investing in one at this stage.
Or a Microphone, I don't know

I'm completely lost

I'm currently studying lighting and working through exercises from "Cinematography.School", so I'd like to invest in equipment that helps me learn and experiment rather than just buy more gear for the sake of it.

I'd love to upgrade to a Sony a6700 eventually, but that's outside my budget for now, so I'll be sticking with my Canon for the time being.

If you were in my position, what would you invest in next, and why? Would you prioritise a second light, a more powerful key light, modifiers and grip equipment, or something else?

I'd really appreciate advice based on your own experience, especially from people who started with a similar setup. Thanks!

I've been a lurker on this sub and I'm interested in getting opinions on those working in the industry.

We've seen people talking about movies being lit too dark, having questionable sound mixing, etc.

I'm just curious to hear what everyone's thoughts are on some of these complaints when it comes to recent films.

Hi everyone! I’ve been fortunate enough to get a script of mine financed, but I don't have an agent or manager. I'm trying to figure out the smartest way to start attaching talent.

Is it worth getting an agent first so they can help reach actors and open doors? Or do people just go direct, like looking up reps on IMDbPro and sending offers to the actor's agent/manager themselves?

Has anyone had luck with this? Would love to hear what worked or what didn't. Thank you for taking the time to reply! :)

In my 20s I made 3 self-funded, no-crew features. It was my film school and beyond a few local screenings, I never released them. They have 3-act narratives but very arthouse, experimental and mixed-media in aesthetic.

Now I’m tempted to revisit them someday if I have the time: trim some beats, redesign clunky title sequences, update some VFX. Not to sell them, just to finish them properly and have them sit alongside my newer (hopefully more mature) work someday as a side dish in my portfolio...since I was never a shorts or music videos person.

Part of me thinks a finished work should stay a record of who you were, and going back is a rabbit hole of endless self-critique. Has anyone revisited early work like this? Was it worth it?

The trend is undeniable. Most viewers now watch with subtitles on permanently, even with perfect hearing. As someone who cares about the craft, it feels like something broke in the audio pipeline.

Poll on it: https://www.getqibble.com/poll-detail/do-you-watch-everything-with-subtitles-on-even-though-your-hearing-is-perfectly-fine

On their fifth date, a woman uncovers a dark secret about her seemingly perfect boyfriend.

This was made by a small crew of friends on a weekend and we had a blast bouncing ideas off of each other.

Would love to hear feedback or anything at all regarding the film.

I shoot photo and video, and on set I kept guessing white balance and getting caught by flickering LEDs. So I built LUX-0, a free Android app that uses the phone camera as a light sensor and translates the reading into the values you set manually on your camera.

How it works, in case it's useful:

- Color: the phone's auto white balance is turned off and its color processing is neutralized, so the reading comes from the sensor's own calibration data, not from the phone's "look". From that it computes the Kelvin and the green/magenta tint (Duv), then rounds them to your camera's steps (Canon/Sony/Nikon G-M, Fujifilm r/B, Blackmagic tint...).

- Flicker: it shoots at a very short shutter so a pulsing light shows up as bands across the frame. From the spacing of those bands it estimates the frequency (100/120 Hz) and tells you which shutter speeds are safe for your frame rate, e.g. "24p at 1/48 with 100 Hz light: risk, use 1/50 (172.8°)".

- Compare A|B: measures two lights and suggests the CTO/CTB and green/magenta gel to match them.

- Mixed-light map: shows which parts of the frame get warmer or cooler light.

- Exposure: scene EV and a suggested shutter/aperture/ISO (or ND) per camera.

Honest limits: with a white card and a quick calibration it's about ±150–300 K. Metering the scene with no reference is only an estimate. It's a beta tested only on a Galaxy S26 Ultra, needs Android 12+, has no internet permission, and keeps everything on the phone.

The feedback I'm looking for:

1. Under the same light, how does its Kelvin/tint compare with your camera's custom white balance or a dedicated meter?

2. Does the flicker check match what you see on your camera?

3. On set, what would make a tool like this actually useful to you?

Info (English): https://github.com/Ultramal13/lux-0/blob/main/README.en.md

Free APK: https://github.com/Ultramal13/lux-0/releases

(English isn't my first language, so I used an AI tool to help translate this post.)

Haley Reinhart (American Idol, Post Modern Jukebox) did an amazing cover of a song for our indie film, Sydney vs Sean. This is the story of how some amazing people made that happen (and happen in a way you might not suspect!). Hope this helps any one out there trying to up their indie film soundtrack game!

SYDNEY VS SEAN follows Sydney, a red-carpet host chasing perfection, and Sean, a in-home nurse clinging to independence. A hookup grows into a passionate but volatile romance. After a year apart, the turbulent day of their divorce signing ricochets between past and present. When their eccentric notary arrives, he witnesses two lovers confront a bond that can’t be sustained, yet refuses to fade.

Starring:
JANEL PARRISH (Pretty Little Liars, "To All The Boys" Trilogy)
RYAN POWERS (She-Hulk, The Mandalorian)
T.R. KNIGHT (Grey's Anatomy, The Flight Attendant)
ARDEN MYRIN (The Righteous Gemstones, Shameless)

Directed by: Gavin Michael Booth
Written by: Ryan Powers
Original Music by: Adrian Ellis

Produced by: Gavin Michael Booth, Ryan Powers, Janel Parrish, Ivana Kingston

Hey everyone! I'm currently editing a short film I directed, and I could use some help.
This is my first time cutting something this long, and I'm struggling most with the final air hockey match. We didn't get enough coverage, so I'm having trouble building a sequence that flows and makes sense.
I'd rather not ask friends, since I'm hoping for honest, unbiased notes. If anyone's willing to watch the rough cut, I'd really appreciate any constructive criticism, especially on pacing and that final match.
Thanks in advance!
Full film is 22 minutes. Please lmk if I can send you a link!

My boyfriend directed this film and I wanted to share it around now that it’s finally out!! I think it turned out so great.

If you liked Blue Velvet by David Lynch you may recognize some of the locations 👀

I would appreciate some feedback on what I should improve (besides camera and microphone)

I'm a non-film student who tried to make a short film. I'm not a great colorist so I feel like some shots are rather bland. What do you all think?

Last week, we posted here in r/Filmmakers about Letterboxd4All, a public bid to bring Letterboxd under community ownership. It became one of the top posts on the sub for the week, and the comments filled up with good, hard questions about whether a community bid can work: https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/comments/1x6jqkd/letterboxd_is_up_for_sale_and_a_group_of_film/

Those questions deserve answers from the person who can give them. Elizabeth Joyce, who is leading the bid, is doing an AMA on r/AMA.

When: Tuesday, October 20, 5 to 9 PM ET (2 to 6 PM PT)

If you already have a question, leave it in the comments and she’ll take it into the AMA. We’ll add the link here when it goes live.

Disclosure: I’m with The Reelist, a member-supported home for independent film. We’re not investors in the bid. We’re helping because the people who love films should have a say in the platforms built around them.

Update 1: Here is the link to the AMA starting in 10 minutes: https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1xb3oge/elizabeth_joyce_from_intrinsic_entertainment/

EDIT: Might be helpful clarification: I work in tech (no event/videography background), I’m not looking to switch careers, I’m mostly interested in being part of a filmmaking community, but feel self-conscious about it because wtf do I know about filmmaking? As far as why, it’s because it’s a craft I admire and I aspire to develop some amateur filmmaking skills for personal projects (family documentaries, vacation docs etc)

First off, I hope this post doesn’t come off as me trying to skip the line or not “pay my dues”.

I have almost a decade experience in the corporate world. Some skills I anticipate might be transferable to aspects of filmmaking:

* Anticipating logistical issues and formulating contingency plans
* Navigating politics in a corporate environment (differentiating between important work vs. visible work)
* Discovery - You’re talking to someone who’s working on something you have 0 background in and they need something from you. What questions do you ask to understand their background enough to make a recommendation?
* Thoroughness, organization, communication - I write playbooks and scripts meant to communicate complex technical info. I have to identify what’s vital and how to couch it in a way that’s easy for people to learn. Thoroughness is just a habit of mine. I can turn it off, wouldn’t say I’m Type-A, but if you ask me to go over something with a fine-tooth comb, I’ll catch almost everything.
* Business acumen - I kind of hate this term because it’s so vague, but to me it basically means understanding how an organization makes money and using that knowledge to deduce what’s gonna land with various audiences.

My technical knowledge is, of course, domain specific. These skills might be transferable, but I know there’s a minimum amount of exposure to new fields (like filmmaking) you need to actually apply said skills.

What I wanted to know is, as a filmmaker, if you met someone with these skills through a friend, and they said they’d love to volunteer and help you with something since they’re trying to learn about this industry, would you have a use for them? Or are these skills irrelevant?

For the sake of the hypothetical, assume in good faith that this person isn’t blowing smoke in your a**, they really do have these skills, and you also jived with them, you had a nice convo.

My thought was that these sorts of skills are production-y? I looked up paths to being a producer like PA, location coordinator, post-prod editing…

I’m moving to NYC soon and I’d love to get some exposure, I’d be down to volunteer so I could observe (even just as a film fan, it’d be cool to observe), but I don’t want someone to just do me a favor, it’d be great if I could actually be useful.

So what do you think? Generally, is corporate experience not gonna transfer at all and I’m basically asking the same question as a recent grad who majored in finance but wants to get into movies?

I’ve switched roles/domains in my corporate career, so I’m just wondering what the most “corporate-y” role on a set for a small production is. Thanks!!

Hi all, I would appreciate it if anyone could shed some light on how box office revenue is typically split between exhibitors and distributors in the US.

Are film rental percentages generally negotiated and agreed upon before a film opens, or is it common practice for the terms to be negotiated only after opening, based on actual box office performance?

We’ve seen both arrangements, but as this is our first time distributing in the US, we would appreciate any insights into standard industry practice. We want to ensure that the terms offered to us are commercially fair, as we feel that negotiating the terms only after the film opens is uncommon and less favourable to us, since we would have less leverage once the film is already in release.

Thanks in advance!

Hi all,

I just completed a short drama/comedy with a touch of magical realism. Any suggestions on the best film festivals to which to submit that are worth the submission fee?

FWIW, I’m working towards becoming a full-time writer/director, so I’m looking for festivals that, if I’m accepted, could provide visibility and access to industry folks. Bonus points if the festival is great for comedy.

Thank you!

A couple of years ago I posted some behind the scenes clips from this short film and a few asked when they could watch it. Well, now is your chance! It played a few great regional festivals, including Art of Brooklyn, Smodcastle Horror, Chicago Horror Fest, and more! Love it or hate it, I'd still love to talk about it and tell you some of the secrets of how I was able to make the film, and if not that, convince you to make anything you can to support human art!

In this Assassin League podcast I talk about my method of working, for making micro budget features. My feature "Clown N Out" cost $4k, and is on Tubi, Amazon Prime and Apple TV.

A part of my Halloween costume of Henry Spencer, I am attempting to create his baby as well. The images of peoples projects I've found in a search are less than realistic. I'm at the point of creating realistic greasy skin. Looking for your thoughts on how to achieve realistic skin. Thank you in advance