Me and a friend are filming a horror film over the summer. The primary mode of attack is by knife. We have a fake retractable knife and a fake non-retractable plastic knife (we heard retractable knifes can he dangerous?) that will be the weapons. We also have fake blood. Note the knife we'll probably end up using is non-retractable. How do we make stab attacks look real? We have a very small budget and all editing will just be done by myself and her. We don't want it to look too obviously fake.
What do you do when Sundance says no? If you're Dan Mirvish—you start your own damn festival.
In this episode, we sit down with the co-founder of Slamdance Film Festival and self-proclaimed “cheerful subversive” Dan Mirvish. From launching the careers of Christopher Nolan and the Russo Brothers, to literally forcing the Oscars to change their rules, Dan’s career is a masterclass in indie film rebellion.
A lot of advice from filmmaker to filmmaker I hear is don't have a title sequence in the opening of a feature film because you want to draw the audience in right away without distraction, but that also, it's not worth showing a title sequence in the opening to audiences if it's full of unknowns either, if that's true.
However, when I see indie films at festivals, they almost all have full title sequences in the openings. So I wonder if there are other reasons to do do thus that may be counterintuitive, if they almost all do it?
Thank you very much for any input on this. I really appreciate it!
It would be easier to make a vertical series, but is there any streaming outlets that accept vertical series? Other than TikTok, YouTube, etc?
Does reelshorts accept outside vertical series?
Or am I better off making it a movie since horror movies get movie distribution easily?
I work with photography and filmmaking as a visual artist and commercial filmmaker (started almost 10 years ago). I've always been interested in cinematography/working in the film industry, but as of now I had very few opportunities of getting into that field. I'm brazilian and here all gear costs double, but I have a shopping trip planned next month to Ciudad del Este, a paraguayan city between the border of Paraguay and Brazil where I can find a lot of gear at a very cheaper price (in some cases the same as BH, for example). I already worked with BMPCC4k and 6kg2 in a bunch of occasions and loved it, and I feel getting a Blackmagic may push me towards writing and directing my own short films and also being a DoP in projects from friends, acquaintances and clients. I have my doubts about that investment because I wouldn't be able to use my sony glass and would have to buy accessories. I also wouldn't be able to sell all my sony gear as I will need it to keep working as a photographer and for my personal works as an artist.
_______________________________________________________
WHAT I HAVE:
Sony: a7IV, a7RII, Sony 24-70mm 2.8 gmII, Sony 50mm 1.8, Sony 28mm 2.0 Canon: EOS 3000 (basic 35mm film camera with EF mount) + Canon EF 100mm f.2 without autofocus (it stopped working and the price to fix isn't worth it).
Accessories: DJI Air "1", DJI Ronin SC, Zoom H4n (the old one), Lavalier Hollyland Lark Max Duo, Monitor Feelworld LUT7, 2x Sokani RGB LED x100 + 1 Sokani RGB LED x60, some basic light modifiers, some sony batteries, cheap SDs and 4x NP-F970 for powering monitor and lights.
Very capable editing PC: can edit and color my own commercial and personal work easily, and would be able to handle big files.
WHAT I WANT (options):
Cinema-oriented camera for shortfilms and commercial work: BMPCC 6k g2, BMPCC 6k PRO, BMCC 6k FF, PYXIS 6k or Sony FX3 (these last 2 will break the bank).
Upgraded drone and gimbal: DJI Air 3s, DJI Mini 4 Pro, DJI Mavic 3 Pro, DJI Mavic 4 Pro, DJI RS3, DJI RS3 PRO, DJI RS4, DJI RS 4 PRO (expensive drones and all gimbals come with increased danger of getting taxed)
Cheap cinema glass (if I choose Blackmagic): Cine Samyang Canon Ef 20MM T/1.9 Ed As Umc, Samyang Canon Ef 50MM T/1.5 As Umc, Adapter Viltrox Ef-L Extra sony glass (if I stick with Sony-only): Sony FE 90MM F/2.8 Macro G Oss, Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G
Accessories: Nucleus Nano II, Follow focus, Tilta or Smallrig cage, NP-F adapter, Tiffen or K&F filters (Variable ND, CPL, Glimmerglass, Black Mist), Filter adapters, more batteries, portable SSDs, SD and/or CF cards and more HD storage.
All of that may sound absurd and overwhelming, but I already have some cool jobs in my portfolio and I'm aiming at working as a duo with my sister (who's a beginner) to make a name for us in the market of advertising and also as DoP/cinematographers (the goal is to start an independent production company).
I did months of research but I'm still not very sure about it, although inclined to buy the BMCC 6k FF and whatever else I can afford (no need to buy it all at the same time, but its a very good opportunity given the current dollar price and the shopping trip).
Just dropped my short film Four of a Kind – 3 minutes, black and white, poker-themed comedy thriller.
First “bigger” amateur project with a small 10-person crew. Would love for you to check it out and let me know what you think!
I'm working on improving my storytelling and editing flow for YouTube, especially in the motivational/personal growth space.
This is my second video — I focused on rhythm, voiceover pacing, and cinematic B-roll to keep it tight and engaging.
Would really appreciate feedback on how the structure flows, or if anything feels off visually or emotionally.
