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
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
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
The Hook: My First Day as a “Director” Was a Disaster I showed up to the set of “Blood Buddies” thinking I knew everything. I’d watched every Nolan film twice, read Hitchcock interviews, and built shot lists in my head for weeks. Then my lead actor asked me a simple question: “What’s my motivation in … Read more
The Beach Laptop Lie I’m in a Bangkok hotel room at 2 AM, uploading 47GB of footage through an ethernet cable I bought at 7-Eleven because the WiFi died. Again. My Instagram story from six hours ago? Me editing poolside with a coconut. Both things happened. But only one tells the truth. Three years ago, … Read more
Overview: TL;DR Being a PA is the best (and hardest) way to break into film. You’ll fetch coffee, wrangle extras, and learn more than film school could ever teach you. Expect 12-16 hour days, physically demanding work, and being treated as invisible—but also getting paid to watch pros work. Essential gear: comfortable shoes (seriously), a … Read more
The Garden Hose Rain Scene Disaster Picture this: me, standing in my backyard at 11 PM, aiming a garden hose at my lead actress while my neighbor peeks through the fence looking genuinely concerned for my sanity. The vision? A dramatic rain scene that would make viewers weep. The reality? My actress shivering like a … Read more
Quick note: Some links in this article are affiliate links. If you buy something through them, I get a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I actually use. If something’s garbage, I’ll tell you—commission or not. The $3,000 Lens I Never Used Last year, I did something stupid. I … Read more
The $5,000 Portfolio Mistake Last year, I sat next to a production company creative director as they scrolled through my Vimeo page. They were hiring for a commercial shoot. Five thousand dollars for three days of work. My friend had recommended me specifically. I was the perfect fit—or so I thought. I watched their cursor … Read more