Filmmaking (or, in an academic context, film production) is the process of making a film, generally in the sense of films intended for extensive theatrical exhibition. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages including an initial story, idea, or commission, through screenwriting, casting, shooting, sound recording and pre-production, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a film release and an exhibition. Filmmaking takes place in many places around the world in a range of economic, social, and political contexts, and using a variety of technologies and cinematic techniques.
Manual Focus vs Autofocus: Which to Use for Video I was three hours into shooting Beta Tested when the autofocus betrayed me. We’d set up this gorgeous crane-style shot—talent walking into frame at f/2.8, background falling into that buttery bokeh everyone loves. Except the autofocus kept jerking between the ground and the talent’s face like … Read more
Why Your Documentary Looks Like Everyone Else’s I screwed up the audio on my first three documentaries. Not “a little rough around the edges” screwed up. I’m talking unusable dialogue, wind noise that sounded like a jet engine, and room tone that made viewers think we filmed inside a washing machine. The problem? I thought … Read more
When My iPhone Replaced My $5,000 Camera Rig I was shooting pickups for “Closing Walls” last year when my main camera battery died. No backup. Crew waiting. Talent losing patience. I grabbed my iPhone 12 Pro, rigged it to a cheap stabilizer, and kept rolling. Nobody could tell the difference in the edit. That moment … Read more
How to Make Videos Look Professional – 10 Expert Tips I was halfway through shooting Noelle’s Package when I realized the footage looked…off. Not terrible, but definitely not what I’d imagined. The framing felt flat, the colors looked washed out, and something about the whole thing screamed “amateur hour.” Sound familiar? That gap between what … Read more
Shutter Speed, Shutter Angle, and the Film Look That Actually Works Three years ago, I screwed up a crucial scene on “Married & Isolated.” Shot it on an iPhone 12 Pro with Filmic Pro—tight close-ups, natural window light, the works. Everything looked beautiful on the monitor. Then I got to the edit suite and realized … Read more
What is a Key Grip in the Movie Industry? The grip truck showed up two hours late to our location shoot in the Vancouver rain. I was directing “Going Home,” and we had maybe three hours of usable light left. Our key grip, a quiet veteran named Doug, stepped out, assessed the muddy hillside where … Read more
Why Video Sound Quality Matters More Than You Think I learned this the hard way on “Going Home.” We’d spent three days shooting this short film. The lighting looked cinematic. The camera work was smooth. The performances? Incredible. But when I sat down to edit, I heard it—that low hum underneath everything. The refrigerator. We … Read more
How to film an interview like a pro Last month, I wrapped a six-hour interview shoot for a short film called “Silence in the Spotlight.” The subject—a 72-year-old woman sharing her experience with early-onset dementia—sat under our lights for what felt like forever. Halfway through, I realized we were losing her. Not because she was … Read more
My First Film Was Unwatchable (Here’s What I Learned) I still remember the first short film I tried to make after film school. It was called “Wasted Lives,” and it was a disaster. The audio sounded like it was recorded inside a tin can. Half my shots were out of focus because I didn’t understand … Read more
Hook: The 2 AM Problem We were shooting Return of the Raven in a parking garage at 2 AM. No permits, no lights—just me, my DP, and whatever ambient glow the fluorescent overheads gave us. I had a rented camera that claimed “exceptional low-light performance.” The footage looked like someone smeared Vaseline on the lens and … Read more