r/Filmmakers Jun 09 '25

New Rules Regarding AI on /r/filmmakers!

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Thank you all for participating in the poll! Here are the results. To accurately gauge everyone's collective acceptance vs rejection for each, I've tallied the total votes among all choices as pro/anti for each category. So for example, a vote for 'no changes' would be a -1 to Gen AI, AI Tools, AI Comms, and AI Discussion. A vote for 'Ban GenAI + AI Tools' would be a +1 to GenAI and AI Tools, and a -1 to AI Comms and AI Discussion, etc. So here are the results for each category of AI. Keep in mind that a higher number indicates a stronger group decision to ban the content:

GenAI: +92 (+119/-27)

AI Tools: -20 (+63/-83)

AI Comms: -8 (+69/-77)

AI Discussion: -84 (+31/-115)

From the results it is clear that sub overwhelmingly approve a complete ban on all generative AI. However, people are more or less fine with allowing discussion of AI, and are fairly mixed on the topic of AI Tools and Communication. So here is the new rule for all things AI:

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Rule 6. You may not post work containing Generative AI elements (Midjourney, Neo, Dall-E, etc.). You may use and demonstrate the use of AI assisted tools (ie magic masking, upscalers, audio cleanup etc.) so long as they are used in service of human-generated artwork. AI Communication, like post bodies or comments composed using ChatGPT are allowed only in very reasonable cases, such as the need for someone to translate their thoughts into another language. Abuse of AI assisted communication will result in the removal of the offending post/comment.


r/Filmmakers Dec 03 '17

Official Sticky READ THIS BEFORE ASKING A QUESTION! Official Filmmaking FAQ and Information Post

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Welcome to the /r/Filmmakers Official Filmmaking FAQ And Information Post!

Below I have collected answers and guidance for some of the sub's most common topics and questions. This is all content I have personally written either specifically for this post or in comments to other posters in the past. This is however not a me-show! If anybody thinks a section should be added, edited, or otherwise revised then message the moderators! Specifically, I could use help in writing a section for audio gear, as I am a camera/lighting nerd.



Topics Covered In This Post:

1. Should I Pursue Filmmaking / Should I Go To Film School?

2. What Camera Should I Buy?

3. What Lens Should I Buy?

4. How Do I Learn Lighting?

5. What Editing Program Should I Use?



1. Should I Pursue Filmmaking / Should I Go To Film School?

This is a very complex topic, so it will rely heavily on you as a person. Find below a guide to help you identify what you need to think about and consider when making this decision.

Do you want to do it?

Alright, real talk. If you want to make movies, you'll at least have a few ideas kicking around in your head. Successful creatives like writers and directors have an internal compunction to create something. They get ideas that stick in the head and compel them to translate them into the real world. Do you want to make films, or do you want to be seen as a filmmaker? Those are two extremely different things, and you need to be honest with yourself about which category you fall into. If you like the idea of being called a filmmaker, but you don't actually have any interest in making films, then now is the time to jump ship. I have many friends from film school who were just into it because they didn't want "real jobs", and they liked the idea of working on flashy movies. They made some cool projects, but they didn't have that internal drive to create. They saw filmmaking as a task, not an opportunity. None of them have achieved anything of note and most of them are out of the industry now with college debt but no relevant degree. If, when you walk onto a set you are overwhelmed with excitement and anxiety, then you'll be fine. If you walk onto a set and feel foreboding and anxiety, it's probably not right for you. Filmmaking should be fun. If it isn't, you'll never make it.

School

Are you planning on a film production program, or a film studies program? A studies program isn't meant to give you the tools or experience necessary to actually make films from a craft-standpoint. It is meant to give you the analytical and critical skills necessary to dissect films and understand what works and what doesn't. A would-be director or DP will benefit from a program that mixes these two, with an emphasis on production.

Does your prospective school have a film club? The school I went to had a filmmakers' club where we would all go out and make movies every semester. If your school has a similar club then I highly recommend jumping into it. I made 4 films for my classes, and shot 8 films. In the filmmaker club at my school I was able to shoot 20 films. It vastly increased my experience and I was able to get a lot of the growing pains of learning a craft out of the way while still in school.

How are your classes? Are they challenging and insightful? Are you memorizing dates, names, and ideas, or are you talking about philosophies, formative experiences, cultural influences, and milestone achievements? You're paying a huge sum of money, more than you'll make for a decade or so after graduation, so you better be getting something out of it.

Film school is always a risky prospect. You have three decisive advantages from attending school:

  1. Foundation of theory (why we do what we do, how the masters did it, and how to do it ourselves)
  2. Building your first network
  3. Making mistakes in a sandbox

Those three items are the only advantages of film school. It doesn't matter if you get to use fancy cameras in class or anything like that, because I guarantee you that for the price of your tuition you could've rented that gear and made your own stuff. The downsides, as you may have guessed, are:

  1. Cost
  2. Risk of no value
  3. Cost again

Seriously. Film school is insanely expensive, especially for an industry where you really don't make any exceptional money until you get established (and that can take a decade or more).

So there's a few things you need to sort out:

  • How much debt will you incur if you pursue a film degree?
  • How much value will you get from the degree? (any notable alumni? Do they succeed or fail?)
  • Can you enhance your value with extracurricular activity?

Career Prospects

Don't worry about lacking experience or a degree. It is easy to break into the industry if you have two qualities:

  • The ability to listen and learn quickly
  • A great attitude

In LA we often bring unpaid interns onto set to get them experience and possibly hire them in the future. Those two categories are what they are judged on. If they have to be told twice how to do something, that's a bad sign. If they approach the work with disdain, that's also a bad sign. I can name a few people who walked in out of the blue, asked for a job, and became professional filmmakers within a year. One kid was 18 years old and had just driven to LA from his home to learn filmmaking because he couldn't afford college. Last I saw he has a successful YouTube channel with nature documentaries on it and knows his way around most camera and grip equipment. He succeeded because he smiled and joked with everyone he met, and because once you taught him something he was good to go. Those are the qualities that will take you far in life (and I'm not just talking about film).

So how do you break in?

  • Cold Calling
    • Find the production listings for your area (not sure about NY but in LA we use the BTL Listings) and go down the line of upcoming productions and call/email every single one asking for an intern or PA position. Include some humor and friendly jokes to humanize yourself and you'll be good. I did this when I first moved to LA and ended up camera interning for an ASC DP on movie within a couple months. It works!
  • Rental House
    • Working at a rental house gives you free access to gear and a revolving door of clients who work in the industry for you to meet.
  • Filmmaking Groups
    • Find some filmmaking groups in your area and meet up with them. If you can't find groups, don't sweat it! You have more options.
  • Film Festivals
    • Go to film festivals, meet filmmakers there, and befriend them. Show them that you're eager to learn how they do what they do, and you'd be happy to help them on set however you can. Eventually you'll form a fledgling network that you can work to expand using the other avenues above.

What you should do right now

Alright, enough talking! You need to decide now if you're still going to be a filmmaker or if you're going to instead major in something safer (like business). It's a tough decision, we get it, but you're an adult now and this is what that means. You're in command of your destiny, and you can't trust anyone but yourself to make that decision for you.

Once you decide, own it. If you choose film, then take everything I said above into consideration. There's one essential thing you need to do though: create. Go outside right fucking now and make a movie. Use your phone. That iphone or galaxy s7 or whatever has better video quality than the crap I used in film school. Don't sweat the gear or the mistakes. Don't compare yourself to others. Just make something, and watch it. See what you like and what you don't like, and adjust on your next project! Now is the time for you to do this, to learn what it feels like to make a movie.



2. What Camera Should I Buy?

The answer depends mostly on your budget and your intended use. You'll also want to become familiar with some basic camera terms because it will allow you to efficiently evaluate the merits of one option vs another. Find below a basic list of terms you should become familiar with when making your first (or second, or third!) camera purchase:

  1. Resolution - This is how many pixels your recorded image will have. If you're into filmmaking, you probably already know this. An HD camera will have a resolution of 1920x1080. A 4K camera will be either 4096x2160 or 3840x2160. The functional difference is that the former is a theatrical aspect ratio while the latter is a standard HDTV aspect ratio (1.89:1 vs 1.78:1 respectively).
  2. Framerates - The standard and popular framerate for filmmaking is called 24p, but most digital cameras will actually be shooting at 23.976 fps. The difference is negligible and should have no bearing on your purchasing choice. The technical reasons behind this are interesting but ultimately irrelevant. Something to look for is the camera's ability to shoot in high framerate, meaning anything above the 24p standard. This is useful because you can play back high framerate footage at 24p in your editor, and it will render the recorded motion in slow motion. This is obviously useful!
  3. Data Rate - This tells you how much data is being recorded on a per second basis. Generally speaking, the higher the data rate, the better your image quality. Make sure to pay attention to resolution as well! A 1080p camera with a 100 MB/s data rate is going to be recording higher quality imagery than a 4k camera at a 200 MB/s data rate because the 4k camera has 4x as many pixels to record but only double the data bandwidth with which to do it. Things like compression come into play here, but keep this in mind as a rule of thumb.
  4. Compression - Compression is important, because very few cameras will shoot without some form of compression. This is basically an algorithm that allows you to record high quality images without making large file sizes. This is intimately linked with your data rate. Popular cinema compressions for cameras include ProRes, REDCODE, XAVC, AVCHD. Compression schemes that you want to avoid include h.264, h.265, MPEG-4, and Generic 'MOV'. This is not an exhaustive list of compression types, but a decent starter guide.
  5. ISO - This is your camera sensor's sensitivity to light. The higher the ISO number, the more sensitive to light the camera will be. Higher ISOs tend to give noisier images though, so there is a tradeoff. All cameras will have something called a native iso. This is the ISO at which the camera is deemed to perform the best in terms of trading off noise vs sensitivity. A very common native ISO in the industry is 800. Sony cameras, including the A7S boast much higher ISO performance without significant noise increases, which can be useful if you're planning on running and gunning in the dark with no crew.
  6. Manual Shutter - Your shutter speed (or shutter angle, as it is called in the film industry) controls your motion blur by changing how long the sensor is exposed to light during a single frame of recording. Having manual control over this when shooting is important. The standard shutter speed when shooting 24p is 1/48 of a second (180° in shutter angle terms), so make sure your prospective camera can get here (1/50 is close enough).
  7. Lens Mount - Some starter cameras will have built in lenses, which is fine for learning! When you move up to higher quality cameras however, the standard will be interchangeable lens cameras. This means you'll need to decide on what lens mount you would like to use. The professional standard is called the PL Mount, but lenses and cameras that use this mount are very expensive. The most common and popular mount in the low level professional world is Canon's EF mount. Because of its design, EF mount lenses can easily be adapted to other common mounts like Sony's E-Mount or the MFT mounts found on many Panasonic cameras. EF is popular because Canon's lenses are generally preferred over Sony's, and so their mount has a higher utility.
  8. Color Subsampling - This is easier to understand if you think of it as 'Color Resolution'. Our eyes are more sensitive to luminance (bright vs dark) than to color, and so some cameras increase effective image quality by dedicating processing power and data rate bandwidth to the more important luminance values of individual pixels. This means that individual pixels often do not have their own color, but instead that groups of neighboring pixels will be given a single color value. The size of the groups and the pattern of their arrangement are referred to by 3 main color subsampling standards.
    • 4:4:4 means that each pixel has its own color value. This is the highest quality.
    • 4:2:2 means that color is set for horizontal pixels in pairs. The color of each two neighboring pixels is averaged and applied to both identically. This is the second best quality.
    • 4:2:0 means that color is set for both horizontal and vertical pixel 4-packs. Each square of 4 pixels receives a single color assignment that is an averaging of their original signals. This is generally low quality. For more info on color subsampling, check out this wikipedia entry
  9. Bit-Depth - This refers to how many colors the camera is capable of recognizing. An 8-bit camera can have 16,777,216 distinct colors, while a 10-bit camera can have 1,073,741,824 distinct colors. Note that this is primarily only of use when doing color grading, as nearly all TVs and computer monitors from the past few decades are 8-bit displays that won't benefit from a 10-bit signal.
  10. Sensor Size - The three main sensor sizes you'll encounter (in ascending order) are Micro Four-Thirds (M43), APS-C, and Full Frame. A larger sensor will generally have better noise and sensitivity than a smaller sensor. It will also effect the field of view you get from a given lens. Larger sensors will have wider fields of view for the same focal length lenses. For example, a 50mm lens on a FF sensor will look roughly twice as wide-angle as a 50mm lens on a M43 sensor. To get the same field of view as a 50mm on FF, you'd need to use a 25mm lens on your M43 camera. Theatrical 35mm (the cinema standard, so to speak) has an equivalent sensor size to APS-C, which is larger than M43 and smaller than Full Frame.

So Now What Camera Should I Buy?

This list will be changing as new models emerge, but for now here is a short list of the cameras to look at when getting started:

  1. Panasonic G7 (~$600) - This is hands down the best starter camera for someone looking to move up from shooting on their phones or consumer camcorders.
  2. Panasonic GH4 (~$1,500) - An older and cheaper version of the GH5, this camera is still a popular choice.
  3. Panasonic GH5 (~$2,000) - This is perhaps the most popular prosumer DSLR filmmaking camera.
  4. Sony A7S (~$2,700) - This is a very popular camera for shooting in low light settings. It also boasts a Full-Frame sensor (compared to the GH5's M4/3 sensor), allowing you to get shallower depth of field compared to other cameras using the same field of view and aperture.
  5. Canon C100 mkII (~$3,500) - This is one of the cheapest true digital cinema cameras. It offers several benefits over the above DSLR cameras, such as professional level XLR audio inputs, internal ND filters, and a better picture profile system.


3. What Lens Should I Buy?

Much like with deciding on a camera, lens choice is all about your budget and your needs. Below are the relevant specs to use as points of comparison for lenses.

  1. Focal Length - This number indicates the field of view your lens will supply. A higher focal length results in a narrow (or more 'telescopic') field of view. Here is a great visual depiction of focal length vs field of view.
  2. Speed - A 'fast lens' is one with a very wide maximum aperture. This means the lens can let more light through it than a comparatively slower lens. We read the aperture setting via something called F-Stops. They are a standard scale that goes in alternating doublings of previous values. The scale is: 1.0, 1.4, 2.0, 2.8, 4.0, 5.6, 8.0, 11, 16, 22, 32, 45, 64. Each increase is a doubling of the incoming light. A lens whose aperture is a 1.4 will allow in twice as much light than it would have at 2.0. Cheaper lenses tend to only open up to a 4.0, or even a 5.6. More expensive lenses can open as far 1.3, giving you 16x as much light. Wider apertures also cause your depth of field to contract, resulting in the 'cinematic' shallow focus you're likely familiar with. Here is a great visual depiction of f-stop vs depth of field
  3. Chromatic Aberration - Some lower quality glass will have this defect, in which imperfect lens elements cause a prism-style effect that separates colors on the edges of image details. Post software can sometimes help correct this, as in this example
  4. Sharpness - I'm sure you all know what sharpness is. Cheaper lenses will yield a softer in-focus image than more expensive lenses. However, some lenses are popularly considered to be 'over-sharp', such as the Zeiss CP2 series. The minutia of the sharpness debate is mostly irrelevant at starter levels though.
  5. Bokeh - This refers to the shape of an out of focus point of light as rendered by the lens. The bokeh of your image will always be in the shape of your aperture. For that reason, a perfectly round aperture will yield nice clean circle bokeh, while a rougher edged aperture will produce similarly rougher bokeh. Here's an example
  6. Lens Mount - Make sure the lens you're buying will either fit your camera's lens mount or allow for adapting to is using a popular adapter like the Metabones. The professional standard lens mount is the PL Mount, but lenses and cameras that use this mount are very expensive. The most common and popular mount in the low level professional world is Canon's EF mount. Because of its design, EF mount lenses can easily be adapter to other common mounts like Sony's E-Mount or the MFT mounts found on many Panasonic cameras. EF is popular because Canon's lenses are generally preferred over Sony's, and so their mount has a higher market share.

Zoom vs Prime

This is all about speed vs quality vs budget. A zoom lens is a lens whose *focal length can be changed by turning a ring on the lens barrel. A prime lens has a fixed focal length. Primes tend to be cheaper, faster, and sharper. However, buying a full set of primes can be more expensive than buying a zoom lens that would cover the same focal length range. Using primes on set in fast-paced environments can slow you down prohibitively. You'll often see news, documentary, and event cameras using zooms instead of primes. Some zoom lenses are as high-quality as prime lenses, and some people refer to them as 'variable prime' lenses. This is mostly a marketing tool and has no hard basis in science though. As you might expect, these high quality zooms tend to be very expensive.

So What Lenses Should I Look At?

Below are the most popular lenses for 'cinematic' filming at low budgets:

  1. Rokinon Cine 4 Lens Kit in EF Mount (~$1,700)
  2. Canon L Series 24-70mm Zoom in EF Mount (~1,700)
  3. Sigma Art 18-35mm Zoom in EF Mount (~$800)
  4. Sigma Art 50-100 Zoom in EF Mount (~$1,100)

Lenses below these average prices are mostly a crapshoot in terms of quality vs $, and you'll likely be best off using your camera's kit lens until you can afford to move up to one of the lenses or lens series listed above.



4. How Do I Learn Lighting?

Alright, so you're biting off a big chunk here if you've never done lighting before. But it is doable and (most importantly) fun!

First off, fuck three-point lighting. So many people misunderstand what that system is supposed to teach you, so let's just skip it entirely. Light has three properties. They are:

  • Color: Color of the light. This is both color temperature (on the Orange - Blue scale) and what you'd probably think of as regular color (is it RED!? GREEN!? AQUA!?) etc. Color. You know what color is.
  • Quantity: How bright the light is. You know, the quantity of photons smacking into your subject and, eventually, your retinas.
  • Quality: This is the good shit. The quality of a light source can vary quite a bit. Basically, this is how hard or soft the light is. Alright, you've got a guy standing near a wall. You shine a light on him. What's on the wall? His shadow, that's what. You know what shadows look like. A hard light makes his shadow super distinct with 'hard' edges to it. A soft light makes his shadow less distinct, with a 'soft' edge. When the sun is out, you get hard light. Distinct shadows. When it's cloudy, you get soft light. No shadows at all! So what makes a light hard or soft? Easy! The size of the source, relative to the subject. Think of it this way. You're the subject! Now look at your light source. How much of your field of vision is taken up by the light source? Is it a pinpoint? Or more like a giant box? The smaller the size of the source, the harder the light will be. You can take a hard light (i.e. a light bulb) and make it softer by putting diffusion in front of it. Here is a picture of that happening. You can also bounce the light off of something big and bouncy, like a bounce board or a wall. That's what sconces do. I fucking love sconces.

Alright, so there are your three properties of light. Now, how do you light a thing? Easy! Put light where you want it, and take it away from where you don't want it! Shut up! I know you just said "I don't know where I want it", so I'm going to stop you right there. Yes you do. I know you do because you can look at a picture and know if the lighting is good or not. You can recognize good lighting. Everybody can. The difference between knowing good lighting and making good lighting is simply in the execution.

Do an experiment. Get a lightbulb. Tungsten if you're oldschool, LED if you're new school, or CFL if you like mercury gas. plug it into something portable and movable, and have a friend, girlfriend, boyfriend, neighbor, creepy-but-realistic doll, etc. sit down in a chair. Turn off all the lights in the room and move that bare bulb around your victim subject's head. Note how the light falling on them changes as the light bulb moves around them. This is lighting, done live! Get yourself some diffusion. Either buy some overpriced or make some of your own (wax paper, regular paper, translucent shower curtains, white undershirts, etc.). Try softening the light, and see how that affects the subject's head. If you practice around with this enough you'll get an idea for how light looks when it comes from various directions. Three point lighting (well, all lighting) works on this fundamental basis, but so many 'how to light' tutorials skip over it. Start at the bottom and work your way up!

Ok, so cool. Now you know how light works, and sort of where to put it to make a person look a certain way. Now you can get creative by combining multiple lights. A very common look is to use soft light to primarily illuminate a person (the 'key) while using a harder (but sometimes still somewhat soft) light to do an edge or rim light. Here's a shot from a sweet movie that uses a soft key light, a good amount of ambient ('errywhere) light, and a hard backlight. Here they are lit ambiently, but still have an edge light coming from behind them and to the right. You can tell by the quality of the light that this edge was probably very soft. We can go on for hours, but if you just watch movies and look at shadows, bright spots, etc. you'll be able to pick out lighting locations and qualities fairly easily since you've been practicing with your light bulb!

How Do I Light A Greenscreen?

Honestly, your greenscreen will depend more on your technical abilities in After Effects (or whichever program) than it will on your lighting. I'm a DP and I'm admitting that. A good key-guy (Keyist? Keyer?) can pull something clean out of a mediocre-ly lit greenscreen (like the ones in your example) but a bad key-guy will still struggle with a perfectly lit one. I can't help you much here, as I am only a mediocre key-guy, but I can at least give you advice on how to light for it!

Here's what you're looking for when lighting a greenscreen:

  • Two Separate Lighting Setups: You should have a lighting setup for the green screen and a lighting setup for your actor. Of course, this isn't always possible. But we like to aspire to big things! The reason this is helpful is that it makes it easier for you to adjust the greenscreen light without affecting the actor's lighting, and vice versa.
  • Separate the subject from the greenscreen as much as possible! - Pretty much that. The closer your subject is to the screen, the harder it is to keep lights from interfering with things they're not meant for, and the greater the chance the actor has of getting his filthy shadow all over the screen. I normally try to keep my subjects at least 8' away from the screen at a minimum for anything wider than an MCU.
  • Light the Green Screen EVENLY: The green on the screen needs to be as close to the same intensity in all parts as possible, or you just multiply your work in post. For every different shade of green on that screen you'll need make a separate key effect to make clean edges, and then you'll need to matte and combine them all together. Huge headache that can be a tad overwhelming if you're not used it. For this reason, Get your shit even! "But how do I do that?" you ask! Well, first off, I actually prefer to use hard light. You see, hard light has the nice innate property of being able to throw itself a long distance without losing all its intensity. The farther away the light source is from the subject, the less its intensity will change from inch to inch. That's called the inverse square law, and it is cool as fuck. If you change the distance between the light and the subject, the intensity of the light will shift as an inverse to the square of the distance. Science! So if you double the distance between the light and the subject, the intensity is quartered (1 over 2 squared. 1/4). So, naturally, the farther away you are the more distance is required to reduce the intensity further. If you have the space, use it to your advantage and back your lights up! Now back to reality. You probably don't have a lot of space. You're probably in a garage. OK, fuck it, emergency mode! Now we use soft lights. Soft lights change their intensity quite inconveniently if they're at an oblique angle to the screen, but they kick ass if you can get them to shine more or less perpendicular on the screen. The problem there of course is that they'd then be sitting where your actor probably is. Sooo we move them off to the side, maybe put one on the ceiling, one on the ground too, and try to smudge everything together on the screen. Experiment with this for a while and you'll get the hang of it in no-time!
  • Have your background in mind BEFORE shooting: Even if your key is flawless, it will look like shit if the actor isn't lit in a convincing manner compared to the background. If, for example, this for some reason is your background, you'll know that your actor needs a hard backlight from above and to camera right since we see a light source there. Also, we can infer from the lighting on the barrels that his main source of illumination should be from above him and pointing down, slightly from the right. You can move the source around and accent it as needed to make the actor not-ugly, but your background has provided you with some significant constraints right off the bat. For that reason, pick your background before you shoot, if possible. If it is not possible to do so, well, good luck! Guess as best as you can and try to find a good background.

What Lights Should I Buy?

OK! So now you know sort of how to light a green screen and how to light a person. So now, what lights do you need? Well, really, you just need any lights. If you're on a budget, don't be afraid to get some work lights from home depot or picking up some off brand stuff on craigslist. By far the most important influence on the quality of your images will be where and how you use the lights rather than what types or brands of lights you are using. I cannot stress this enough. How you use it will blow what you use out of the water. Get as many different types of lights as you can for the money you have. That way you can do lots of sources, which can make for more intricate or nuanced lighting setups. I know you still want some hard recommendations, so I'll tell you this: Get china balls (china lanterns. Paper lanterns whatever the fuck we're supposed to call these now). They are wonderful soft lights, and if you need a hard light you can just take the lantern off and shine with the bare bulb! For bulbs, grab some 200W and 500W globes. You can check B&H, Barbizon, Amazon, and probably lots of other places for these. Make sure you grab some high quality socket-and-wire sets too. You can find them at the same places. For brighter lights, like I said home depot construction lights are nice. You can also by PAR lamps relatively cheap. Try grabbing a few Par Cans. They're super useful and stupidly cheap. Don't forget to budget for some light stands as well, and maybe C-clamps and the like for rigging to things. I don't know what on earth you're shooting so it is hard to give you a grip list, but I'm sure you can figure that kind of stuff out without too much of a hassle.



5. What Editing Program Should I Use?

Great question! There are several popular editing programs available for use.

Free Editing Programs

Your choices are essentially limited to Davinci Resolve (Non-Studio) and Hitfilm Express. My personal recommendation is Davinci Resolve. This is the industry standard color-grading software (and its editing features have been developed so well that its actually becoming the industry standard editing program as well), and you will have free access to many of its powerful tools. The Studio version costs a few hundred dollars and unlocks multiple features (like noise reduction) without forcing you to learn a new program.

Paid Editing Programs

  1. Avid Media Composer ($50/mo or $1,300 for life) - This is the high-level industry standard, but is not terribly popular unless you're working at a professional post-house for big budget movies.
  2. Adobe Premiere Pro ($20/mo) - This used to be the most popular industry standard editor for low to medium budget productions. It is still used quite often, so knowing Premiere is a handy skill to maintain.
  3. Davinci Resolve Studio ($300) - This is a solid editing program built into the long time industry-standard color grading suite. Since Resolve added editing, its feature set and reputation has been on the rise. It's eclipsing Premiere now and set to be the undisputed industry standard for video editing and color grading for all but the absolute highest level productions. This is the best overall choice if you're looking to find your first editing program.
  4. Final Cut Pro X ($300) - This is the old standard for low-high budget editing, replaced by Adobe Premiere and now again by Resolve. It is available on Mac platforms only, and is still a powerful editor.

r/Filmmakers 4h ago

Question How do film sets safely handle uncomfortable scenes involving teenage actors?

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I was watching the movie Face Off and noticed the scene where John travoltas character licks the cheek of his character's teenage daughter (the actress was like 15 or 16 at the time)

Seeing scenes like that always makes me wonder about the behind the scenes process. How do filmmakers handle scenes when an adult character crosses such a physical boundaries with a minor performer? I cringed so hard at that scene and of course that was the intended effect. It just freaks me out because you wouldn't be able to tell if he enjoys that deep down. Like how would a filmmaker ensure that the child is protected on set? And how are parents and young actors walked through these specific actions before filming?


r/Filmmakers 8h ago

Film After applying 6 times, I finally got into the Sundance Labs. They gave me a $25k grant and I used it to make a horror proof-of-concept. It just premiered on ALTER today!

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Commented below!


r/Filmmakers 3h ago

Looking for Work I am available to create posters and storyboards.

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I'm reposting this to provide an average pricing estimate; I'm creating between 350 and 450 posters, and I prefer to discuss storyboards in detail due to their complexity.


r/Filmmakers 23h ago

Discussion Got another brutal IMDb review. How do you deal with reviews like this as a filmmaker?

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So I got another IMDb review for one of my films today and this one absolutely went for it 😂 They criticised pretty much everything: the chemistry, dialogue, costumes, editing and the final act. Obviously nobody enjoys reading something like this, but I actually find reviews interesting once the initial sting wears off. Sometimes there’s useful criticism buried inside them, sometimes it’s just one viewer having a very strong reaction.

I’ve been making films for a while now, and one thing I’m learning is that once you release something publicly, the film doesn’t really belong to you anymore. People are going to interpret it however they want. Curious how other filmmakers here deal with genuinely brutal reviews. Do you read everything? Ignore reviews completely? Or try to separate useful criticism from somebody simply hating the film?

Screenshot attached because some of the wording made me laugh.

Anyway thanks for reading!


r/Filmmakers 11h ago

Question Do you guys like my movie?

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r/Filmmakers 13h ago

Discussion Know when to walk away. I can tell in about 10 minutes. What are your methods?

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So saw a post about people in the indie scene being liars. Some of the stories made me feel for these people all the while giving me a chuckle. In m local city, the filmmaking page is full of people posting "looking for 12 models, a D.P, and an editor to help produce a full length feature in the woods! We are shooting in spring on a mountainside."

I had a friend whom I worked with put me in touch with this very professional sounding woman. She explained she is in the process of raising the "rest" of the money for the feature she is writing and directing. I said "Cool, can I read the script?" and she replied with "Once its done".

Massive red flag, obviously. But hey, I can write pretty fast when I am motivated.

"When do you plan on shooting?" I asked to which she replies "two weeks".

Took me some willpower not to laugh. The thing that really pushed me over the line was when she said "Well- the plan is to, in two weeks, shoot the trailer. Get it edited and uploaded online to get funding".

I ended the call, respectfully, shortly after. Surprise, surprise she never made the feature or even the trailer. I don't rejoice in this. I actually kinda feel for her. She probably had the best of intentions and the reality of how challenging this process is probably slapped her directly in the face.

She's since moved away and seems to be living a good life.

Completely unrelated but looking for writing work I some random FB group for writers and posted about wanting to collaborate with someone. This guy's wife wanted me to write a "Jurassic Park, but with Emperor Penguins instead of dinosaurs." I thought it was dumb, silly, and that no one would watch it. So I wrote it anyway.

Never got made.

That being said. What are some of your funny pitch stories?


r/Filmmakers 1d ago

Image When you ask to borrow a clamp from camera dept

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r/Filmmakers 3h ago

Discussion Experienced Repped Actor / filmmaker in LA looking for creative partners to build a team & self produce shorts & eventually features / tv

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Whats good Ladies & gents?

I’m a very experienced, classically trained actor (SAG, couple costars on major shows, 330+ auditions via 135 major Casting Directors) in my mid 30s with great bicoastal management looking to expand more into filmmaking. Anything I make or am involved with, at this point, can get a ton of high level eyeballs on it.

Ive made one short thus far, a drama / thriller about police corruption. I have 3 more written & ready to go, a psychological thriller, a horror fable & a slow character study, all created with the parameters of very low budgets and limited locations where they will all look much more expensive then they actually are. And they are also cool & interesting, original ideas that showcase my point of view and who I am as an artist.

Once I have enough high quality self produced shorts created I will start soliciting producers for financing for larger projects.

I’m looking to take my game to the next level & meet like minded professionals with my level of experience that hustle their asses off and are resourceful, clever & determined like me.

I would love to help you with your projects too. Anything you are really passionate about and you just need another set of hands to help execute? If you’re cool, I’m down. I’d love to develop a group of creative partners where we all take turns working on each others projects and co-create stuff as well.

I’m based in NYC and traveling in Thailand for a couple months to take a break from America before getting an apartment in LA in November and doing the whole bicoastal thing, but as a poor person.

My biggest influences off the top of my head are Sopranos, Veep, David Fincher, Succession, Observe & Report, the Americans, Mad Men, Danny McBride, Jodie hill, I love Jane Schoenenbergs creativity & originality & balls to have their point of view even though I’m not trans, really love anything HBO, prestige drama, dark comedy, pretentious intellectual stuff, etc etc

If you’re interested, shoot me a link to your website / reel / IMDb, your inspirations / influences, & what your goals are & let’s make some cool shit!


r/Filmmakers 8h ago

Question Being prepared vs learning in the moment when shooting for the first time

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My partner wrote a script for a short film that he’d really like to make. He’s written a couple of feature length scripts and won a competition recently, and loves filmmaking and writing. That said we’ve never even been on a set. I’m saying “we” because I’m essentially acting as a co-producer (assistant director?) and helping plan/coordinate. He wants to hire a director of photography, actors, and really send it. We’ll be spending several thousands of dollars on this, which we’re both committed to and have the means to do.

Right now, we’re going through the process of creating a shot list, storyboarding, and testing practical effects and I’m of the opinion we should do test shots/lighting/sound as a part of pre-production so we 1.) have a better understanding going into production and 2.) we have some footage/audio we can play with and practice editing with before shooting. A couple hundred bucks on mics, lights, and a few hours of shooting on our phones seems necessary before getting other people involved imo, especially since we have unlimited access to where we are shooting.

My partner kind of feels like this is a waste of time since we’re doing storyboarding and shot lists and would really just like to jump into shooting (once we do auditions, reads, meetings with everyone of course).

Thoughts and perspectives on this? I understand there is lots we’ll be learning on the day of shooting regardless of how much we test ahead of time but I think some dummy shots and practice lighting could be so helpful. Or is it a waste of time? Especially if we have a director of photography.

I’m an accountant just being supportive of her creative partner- I tend to be very committed to practice and attention to detail while he’s more “in the moment”. I don’t want to waste our time but do want to be very prepared.


r/Filmmakers 1m ago

Question SSD for Videos 4k

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Hey everyone, new here! I'm looking for a reliable 1TB SSD to store all my 4K videos shot on my iPhone 17 Pro Max, don't want to drop €150+ without hearing from people who actually use one daily. Any brands you'd trust and recommend?


r/Filmmakers 38m ago

Looking for Work [FOR HIRE] Composer / Sound Designer for Film, Animation & Games

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Hey everyone!

I'm a Sound Designer & Composer with over a decade of experience working across games, animation and promotional media. Most of my work so far has been in game audio and animation, but I'd really love to start working in film scoring as well.

I particularly enjoy projects with a strong atmosphere and distinctive worlds, where music and sound can become part of the storytelling rather than just sit in the background.

Here's one of the animated projects I've worked on:

Daystone Episode 3 by Vanripper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHZ6E9xGwzk

You can find more of my work and portfolio here:

Portfolio
https://www.pkaudio.info/

If you're working on something and looking for someone to help shape its musical or sonic identity, feel free to DM me or write to [contact@pkaudio.info](mailto:contact@pkaudio.info)

Thanks!


r/Filmmakers 58m ago

Question European filmmaking university recommendations?

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I would like to hear some recommendations for European universities in filmmaking, preferably an English course.


r/Filmmakers 11h ago

Question Need tips for shooting my first short film

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Hi guys…Im about to shoot my first movie as part of my Masters Degree Diploma…Id like to have some tips!
Since im still a student i wrote my own screenplay so far found some other students to help with the set up and acting… Im a bit anxious about the lighting pr camera angles cause so far i can only afford one camera man. So anything you hve to suggest might really help


r/Filmmakers 15h ago

Film Just make the thing. Tiny 2-week handmade horror short that went far

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I made this film alone in two weeks using trash and old puppet parts. I went into a sweaty 10x15 shed in the middle of summer, with zero budget and a phone for a camera, and a hard two-week festival deadline approaching. It was nuts. When I emerged, the film went on to screen across the US and Canada, get on a “best of” compilation, etc.

I hope this helps encourage you to finish that thing you want to make. You already have what you need to make your next film…just start. It’s already hard enough for most people to finish something even as complex as a short, and gatekeeping yourself by waiting for the right time, gear, or knowledge will just kill your output. See my statement comment for more about the production.


r/Filmmakers 7h ago

Discussion Documentary Directors?

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Back in April of 2022, my wife and I took what we believed to be temporary custody of my older brother's three young children...
Their special needs older brother died 20 minutes after being taken to the hospital of both sepsis and malnutrition. He was 31 years old and roughly 40lbs at death. His death was ruled a homicide in the autopsy which carried a possible 10-12 year sentence. The parents were offered an Alford Plea and had their charges reduced to two counts each of "Failure to provide for a special needs individual" which only carried a five year maximum sentence. They then filed an appeal, and due to a technicality, they only did a year and a half for this murder and were released free and clear with no post release control.
We have so many questions behind how justice for my nephew was so horribly botched. The lack of outrage concerning his death is upsetting to us. I have filed for all the documents I can and have built a decent sized binder of police and medical reports.
We are wondering if there are any documentary directors who are willing to sit with us, hear our story, and to take this story of injustice on as a project?


r/Filmmakers 1h ago

Request [Paid trip to India, no fee] Looking for a documentary filmmaker for a real 12-year love story - not a typical wedding gig

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I know this is an unusual ask for this sub, so I'll be upfront: this is a wedding, but it's not really a wedding project. I think it's a short documentary that happens to end at one.

The short version: my partner and I have been together 12 years school friends, then a college relationship, then five years living under the weight of a family and social system where marrying outside the community wasn't just a disagreement. It could mean disappointing the people closest to her. Breaking with tradition. Crossing a boundary she was never supposed to cross. In her extended family, people who've done this before have been cut off entirely, and in the worst cases, some have been killed for it. So this was never "we don't care what anyone thinks." We cared enormously. That was the problem. There were years we genuinely didn't know if love would be enough.

Her family recently agreed to the marriage. We still don't know exactly where the wedding will happen or which relatives will actually show up that part of the story isn't finished yet.

We don't want a standard wedding video. We want something observational and honest twelve years of archive (photos, messages, old videos), both of us willing to be interviewed on camera, family members likely willing too, and a wedding (location/date still TBD, probably Rajasthan) as the final act rather than the whole film.

What we're offering: flights, accommodation, local transport, and full access no creative fee. In exchange, full usage rights for your portfolio/reel, and we'll help with festival submission if the film turns out the way we think it could. Honest tradeoff, said upfront: this is a real project but not a paid gig.

What we're looking for: someone whose default mode is observational, not staged if your reel has posed couple shots and choreographed reception moments, this isn't the right fit. If it has quiet, unscripted, patient camera work, it might be.


r/Filmmakers 14h ago

Film I need your opinion: Would you use a $20 VR tool to help with low-budget pre-visualization?

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r/Filmmakers 9h ago

Offer I want to edit one of your movies! The portofolio gods demand it!

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Hi guys!

I just finished editing a short movie for an American student and now I feel hollow cause I have nothing going on right now.

Like seriously, I just need an excuse to grab my laptop and edit something!

So, if any of you people need an editor I volunteer myself to help out!

Here's some movies I edited:

https://filmfreeway.com/IncompatiblePartners

https://filmfreeway.com/Statistic367

The password is "Francisco Amaral"

I don't care if you're portuguese, spanish, turkish, american, canadian, indian or alien.

Let's connect!( Nudge nudge, wink wink, please...I need this )


r/Filmmakers 4h ago

Question How to get not get copyrighted for a classical piece in my film?

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Im making an animated film and i am planning to use Handel’s Messiah “And He Shall Purify” in my film as the background score. The audio i found is one by the London Symphony Orchestra 6 years ago. Do you think it will be alright to use this in my film and not get copyrighted? If i do, are there any places i can get the piece? If that also is not the case, is there some alternative?


r/Filmmakers 15h ago

Film Shot a Dust Bowl short on the RED One MX — still love what this camera can do.

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Hi everyone,

I’m Marcus Guider, a cinematographer, and wanted to share some frames from Into Dust, a short film set during the Dust Bowl that we shot years ago on the RED One MX.

Looking back, I’m still impressed by how well the imagery has held up over time. The frames have received high praise from ASC members, including Roger Deakins, who reviewed some of the work on his original cinematography forum. I’d be curious to hear how you think the images hold up today, especially considering the camera and era in which they were shot.

The visual approach was built around a restrained, earthy color palette and using light and shadow to reflect the hardship of the period. We leaned into blown-out windows in certain scenes rather than trying to retain every bit of exterior detail. In the barn, we embraced harsh sunlight and deep shadows to create a more unforgiving quality of light. The kitchen called for the opposite approach—soft, cosmetic lighting on the talent that still felt motivated by the environment.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the color palette and lighting choices. Happy to answer any questions about the production, RED One MX, lighting approach or anything else.

Instagram: marcusguider_dp

Thanks for checking it out!


r/Filmmakers 9h ago

Question How do I format production/PA resume?

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Hi all! I'm wondering how I should format a resume for production work when you've had various roles. I've worked with a few different companies as a set PA and wardrobe assistant for commercials but also have produced and AD'd my own/independent projects. I'd love to see an example!


r/Filmmakers 19h ago

Discussion Impromptu AMA with a working narrative producer/line producer

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edit: 5:30pm cst | Gotta get back into more budget breakdowns and paperwork. You are welcome to necro-ask your questions here whenever since the reply will go to my inbox. Or reddit dm/chat me. Remember we don't do this because it's easy - we do this because we are fucking crazy. Best of luck!

It's labor day! What better way to spend today than to ask an internet stranger that you can't verify at all about their experience/expertise on narrative projects (more specifically in the US).

Credential - I've worked on a major tv show for multiple seasons from entry level to coordinator levels. I've worked in the industry for about 10 years now and have been lucky enough to be on multiple big budget projects to see how things are done at high level. I pivoted to producing a few years ago because i got tired of shitshows and waiting for people to call me. I now work full time as producer/line producer (and the occasional PM). I know how to talk to office people AND set people because I've done a lot of what they did. Even if it's a dept that I don't have experience with, I know most of the right questions to ask and can tell if people are really telling me about their logistical challenges or just bullshitting due to laziness/carelessness/ignorance. No I don't make enough $$ (Last year I made poverty level income) and the only reason I COULD/WANT to do this is because this is my second career and also my extremely high level of spite when it comes to shitshows. In the past two years I have produced+line produced (at the same time and that's always my preference) 2 indie features in the 500k-700k range and PMed a couple more. I've produced/budgeted multiple high budget short films (30-50k) and believe I can produce 1-3mil SAG feature as my next project. While I don't have the same experience as producers who know how to get funding for 10/20/30 mil projects and do that for a living, I REALLY KNOW how to put together a quality short / indie. I know where every dollar should go and I know where most waste typically happens. Ask me anything about narrative projects (shorts or features) and things about filmmaking in general and I'll answer to the best of my ability. I promise I can share some lessons that will help you save time and or money.

I've also worked with a pretty sizable film festival on the programming side and so I have some pretty unique insight to the indie filmmaking process / outcome / expectation whatever you want to call it.

Some common protips

  • Don't rush into your feature. rewrite, rewrite, and rewrite some more. Momentum is a real thing but once you get into preproduction it becomes a freight train and is MUCH harder to making drastic changes. Not impossible, but the associated price tag is gonna be way bigger. Same with shorts that you want to send to festivals. The directing exercise ones it's more important to follow a schedule that allows you to refine the script but also learn lessons in a timely manner.

  • Do not go into a shoot with someone that's not committed or is causing problem already. Especially for a feature. It's like staying married for the kids (the crew and cast). Trust me, they'll know and you'll end up having a worse product. FIND A PRODUCER THAT'S NOT DOING ANY OTHER JOB on your shoot. Past baseline level of competency, this person's commitment is the single most important criteria a producer can have.

  • If I can find ONE guaranteed competent person before production, it'll be a producer; during production, it'll be a 1AD. During post, re-recording mixer. (This is not to say they are THE most important during their respective phases because that's a different argument. This is my personal preference because they are usually VERY underrated to the point of production neglecting to spend proper time to find said person(s) which ends up being detrimental to production.)

  • Yes you can send me your script/screeners. Preferably short format. I can't promise when I'll have time to read/watch it, especially if it's feature length. I'll give honest feedback (and they will be constructive to the best of my ability.) No I am not gonna find money for your project. There are different types of producers (as it's a catch-all position) and majority of the produces don't have connections to funding. Even if they do, what makes you think they are willing to convert THEIR human capital for YOUR project and not theirs?

  • Why do I focus on narrative projects if it's not enough to make a living? Great question. I'm now focusing on stepping into the commercial side of the things because money can be exchanged for goods and services per Homer J Simpson. My ideal schedule on an yearly basis is 6-8 months on commercials and rest for narrative projects.

  • I love LOVE working with first time feature writer-director because (successfully) guiding them thru their first baby is such an incredible feeling. But please listen to me when I give my feedback. I don't need you to AGREE but I need you to really consider them based on merit and not some hidden personal attachment that you are too ashamed to tell me about regarding your story. I promise you that director-producer confidentiality is a sacred thing for me. Help me HELP YOU. (If the rest of my career is me working with 1st time writer-directors and I can make a good living like 100k a year I would consider my career a success. One can dream.) ((obviously would need to be adjusted for inflation.))

I promise to not bullshit you. In the words of Jen Barkley from Parks and Recreation - YOU CAN TRUST ME BECAUSE I DON'T CARE ENOUGH ABOUT YOU TO LIE.

mods if you guys want to verify, happy to make that happen.


r/Filmmakers 10h ago

Film The Forbidden Wish | Horror Short Film | Produced by BeRightBack Productions

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When Marie is confronted by her brother, she receives a One Wish Willow and makes a forbidden wish. But when her wish comes true, she discovers that it isn’t the wish she truly wanted.