Learn filmmaking how to make a movie—how to shoot and direct a film and edit your footage with software like Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, and After
Directing an Ensemble: A Symphony of Collaboration We were three weeks into shooting “Blood Buddies” when I realized I’d screwed up. I had twelve actors in a single living room scene. The blocking looked clean on paper. Everyone knew their lines. But when we started rolling, it felt like watching bumper cars—actors waiting for their … Read more
Elevate Your Audio I remember unboxing my first $300 studio microphone, convinced I was about to sound like a late-night jazz DJ. I plugged it in, hit record in my hardwood-floored living room, and… I sounded like I was broadcasting from inside a giant tin can. The mic was so “good” that it captured every … Read more
When Legends Don’t Need Your Line Readings I was 27 when I first directed someone whose IMDb credits were longer than my CV. We were shooting a confrontation scene for “In The End,” and I’d spent three nights blocking every moment, every beat. I had it all mapped out. The actor—let’s call him Eve—listened to … Read more
Low Light Video: How to Shoot Great Footage in the Dark The rental house screwed us. We were forty-five minutes from call time on “Closing Walls,” shooting a critical night exterior, and the light kit we’d reserved? Gone. Rented to someone else. “System error,” they said. So there we were: three actors waiting in the … Read more
When Good Actors Sound Like Robots I was on set for Blood Buddies when I watched a talented actor completely butcher a pivotal scene. Not because she didn’t know her lines. She knew them cold. The problem? She sounded like Siri reading a grocery list. Take after take, the director kept saying “more emotion,” and … Read more
Lights, Camera, Balance! It’s 2 AM on a Tuesday. I’m hunched over my laptop in a dark editing suite, mainlining cold brew and pretending the bags under my eyes add character. My phone buzzes. It’s my partner: “You coming home tonight?” This was during post on “Blood Buddies.” We were three weeks behind schedule, the … Read more
The Hook I was sitting in a parking lot at 2 AM during the shoot for “Blood Buddies” when I realized something: the script I’d written three weeks earlier was garbage. Not the concept. The concept was fine—two estranged brothers forced to confront their past during a tense dinner. The problem was I’d written it … Read more
Gift Guide for Young Filmmakers: Gear That Actually Matters I’ll never forget watching my nephew try to edit his first short film on a five-year-old laptop that crashed every fifteen minutes. He’d spent three weeks shooting this thing—a zombie comedy about high school drama—and now he was one corrupted file away from losing it all. … Read more
Mental Health in the Film Industry: What Nobody Tells You Before Your First Big Production It was day 14 of a 16-day shoot on Closing Walls. We were running on four hours of sleep, craft services had run out of everything except black coffee and optimism, and one of my most experienced crew members — … Read more
First Assistant Director: How to Become a 1st AD (The Real Story) I’ll never forget my first day as a production assistant on “Blood Buddies.” We were three hours behind schedule. The lead actor’s wig wasn’t ready. Rain was forecast for noon, and we had two critical exterior scenes left. Everyone was losing their minds. … Read more