How to Make a Movie: A Guide to Independent Filmmaking. If you long to see your film on the big screen, from Sundance to Cannes, here’s how to get started on
The Day AI Saved My Shoot (And My Sanity) A few years ago, I was three days from shooting “Dead Space Between Us” when my location scout bailed. No notice. Just gone. I had a skeleton crew, a $2,000 budget, and exactly zero backup locations that matched the dystopian aesthetic we needed. Normally, this is … Read more
The Shot That Changed Everything Three years ago, I was shooting “Going Home” in a cramped Victoria apartment. The scene: our lead actress discovers the final letter from her high school friend’s mother. We’d planned a wide shot showing the entire room, the letter, her hands trembling. But something felt off. My DP looked at … Read more
The Moment I Knew Post-Production Was Going to Hurt March 2019. We’d just wrapped “Going Home” after 12 brutal days of shooting. The crew was celebrating, actors were hugging goodbye, and I was sitting in my car with five hard drives full of footage. 47 hours of raw material. For a 14-minute short film. I … Read more
How to Run a Film Festival: What Nobody Tells You About Running One The first year I became president of CineVic Society of Independent Filmmakers, I thought I understood film festivals. I’d submitted to dozens. My short “Going Home” played at SOHO International in New York. I’d attended screenings, networked at parties, watched other filmmakers … Read more
The $47 Light That Saved My Shoot Last month I was filming B-roll for a client project in this tiny coffee shop. Natural light? Gone by 3 PM. Budget for rentals? Also gone. I pulled out the Godox RGB Mini from my bag—cost me around $90—and stuck it behind a potted plant. Suddenly the whole … Read more
An iPhone Just Beat My $3,000 DSLR (And I’m Not Even Mad) I shot a back-alley scene last month. One practical bulb, no fill, just vibes and prayers. I used two cameras: my iPhone 16 Pro and a Canon EOS R5 Mark II that costs more than my first car. The iPhone won. Cleaner shadows. … Read more
Location managers keep film sets running I remember standing in a muddy field outside Victoria, camera crew waiting, talent shivering in costume, and absolutely zero permission to be there. We thought we’d just “shoot quick and leave.” Bad idea. A local farmer showed up, threatened to call the cops, and we scrambled. That disaster could’ve … Read more
When the Slider Shot Almost Cost Me the Location Picture this: 2 AM on the set of “Blood Buddies,” and we’re racing against a location permit that expires at sunrise. I needed one establishing slider shot to tie the entire opening sequence together. Simple dolly-in to reveal the abandoned hospital room where our characters wake … Read more
The Casting Session That Changed How I See Everything Twelve actors showed up for the lead role in “In The End.” Three of them were in their 50s. The rest were 20-somethings with theater degrees, headshots from expensive photographers, and agents who’d submitted them. The role? A daughter dealing with her mother’s death. Complex emotional … Read more
The 3 a.m. Wake-Up Call That Changed Everything Three years ago, I dragged myself out of bed at 3 a.m. for a sunrise shoot in Iceland. I’d just finished editing “Going Home” and was burnt out on close-ups and controlled lighting. I wanted something vast. Something cinematic. I mounted my 16mm lens, set up on … Read more