Introduction
Over the course of my spring break, I made eight films. The runtime for each one is wildly different as are the shots, styles, content, and well everything. The few constants I had were the crew (myself), a deadline (by the end of each day), and problems (aka learning opportunities). This was a wonderful experiment and I want to share my insights as a novice in filmmaking.
What I Made and Why I Won’t Share It
Over the eight days, I made eight comedy sketches. Each run from less than a minute to close to ten. I planned, directed, shot, and acted in all of them.
I won’t share any of the films because I don’t believe it is necessary. I don’t need to prove anything to anyone except myself. These films are the result of my work, my learning, and my love for the craft of filmmaking. The value is not in the result but the act of producing these films is. These are not something I want to show anyone because I know I can do better. When the day comes to share them, they will be dusted off and revealed.
What I Learned
I learned how to storyboard (plan the story), act (tell the story), shoot (capture the story), and edit (build the story).
Storyboarding got me to plan out what I wanted to do and get it from my head into a more concrete form. “Does the joke work as well in my head as I thought?” I would set these storyboards away for a bit then come back and make changes. This gave me time to look at an idea with fresher eyes and let things churn in my mind as I went on with my day.
Acting gave me the opportunity to express myself and my ideas through my words, actions, and their absence. Though I have no formal experience, it was still very fun becoming characters. My imagination became my world. The former person I was disappeared for a few moments and a caricature took his place. Unlike being told how to act, I had the problem of what to act, which was both freeing and concerning. Overthinking things became the biggest obstacle and simplicity became the key.
Shooting allowed me to experience the power of framing: telling stories through perspective. Capturing the tale despite bad weather, bad lighting, bad focus. Every problem was an opportunity to tell the story differently. Problem solving became the name of the game and it was a frustrating yet fun game at that.
Editing made me cut the parts I loved to better serve the story and to put the mass of story, footage, and sound into something coherent. The story is king and the story is built from the editing. There were parts I didn’t like. CHOP! There were parts I thought were good but don’t fit. CHOP! There is this weird gap here. STITCH! The audio is bad. ADR! If things were bad, the only goal was to make something that at least made sense. I’m not avant-garde enough to make something out of nothing. I needed something simple and editing made things (though timing consuming) make sense in some way.
Gear = fear to start. Do I have a good enough camera? Do I need those fancy new lights? I need more actors and a writer. If only I had more money.
Bottom line: If you are reading this, you can make a film. My gear is old and/or free: slightly damaged Nikon Coolpix, a cheap tripod I bought ten years ago, a cheap lavalier mic, a cheap dynamic mic, Davinci Resolve 16. Everything I had I already owned except for a cheap converter I needed because I couldn’t connect my lavalier mic to my phone (most of my videos used crappy in-camera audio).
What I Loved
I made something and finished a project! I didn’t tell anyone about my project until it was done: no progress report, no updates, no complaints. Just feedback from myself. The reason why I didn’t get any help was that it would make me dependent on someone else. This in turn could become an excuse. I made this for myself to learn. It doesn’t have to be good. It needs to be made.
Credits and Appreciation
In no small part, Joel Haver inspired me to make this project a reality. I have watched so many filmmakers explain the importance of just making stuff, but seeing Joel clicked something in my mind. His story of where he came from to now blows me away. I appreciate all the other filmmakers from the guys at Film Riot to Casey Neistat to Corridor Digital. All these folks gave me a foundation of understanding and Joel lit the fuse to make this happen. It was actually the guys on Corridor Digital’s podcast that introduced me to Joel that made me go on this brief but enlightening journey into filmmaking. Thank you all!
What I’ll Do Next
I don’t really know but I have plenty of projects to keep me occupied. Whatever it is, I want to have fun making it (even if there are parts that are grueling). So go and make your first film and have fun!
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