Planning

Article: Being Broke

Imagine the pressure.  You're sitting at a shabby desk on a hot afternoon in Los Angeles.  Phones are constantly ringing and people are rushing around with paper getting shouted at.  You've got $100 million to spend on a movie.  You can make any movie...

Article: Filmmaking on $2,000 or Less

Film making is a craft that requires a great amount of dedication as well as support. It is an expensive art form that demands funding for equipment, talent, skilled labor and post production as well. So the burning question remains: What do I do when...

Article: Finding Your Crew on Craigslist - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

It's fast, responses are almost immediate and it's free. It's Craigslist and it comes with a lot of category...

Article: Four Common Mistakes First-Time Filmmakers Make

Lots of things can go wrong during the production of an indie film, but by avoiding these common 'landmines,' an independent...

Article: Getting Shots in a Moving Car on an Indie Budget

Shooting scenes inside a moving vehicle are a staple of 'big budget' movies. Often such scenes are accomplished by simply...

Article: Lawyer? I don't Need no Stinkin' Lawyer!

Making a film can be a blast, but there are some legal aspects that you must take care of before you even make your film. Even after making your film, you have to ensure that none of your activities can result in you being sued. So you need to make...

Article: Legal Tips For Indie Filmmaking

It's time to get legal baby.  Really legal.  Indie filmmakers tend to be pretty carefree with the law.  Ma...

Article: Need Help but Have no Film Making Cash? Get an Intern!

There is no doubt that film making is expensive and requires a lot of man power and hours. This is why as film makers, we have to carefully budget ourselves and find plenty of talent willing to take on more than one job at below-industry rates....

Article: Planning Your Independent Movie Post Production

Filmmaking is all about careful planning. While it is possible for a small crew of people to create a lucky masterpiece of filmmaking genius by winging it, the odds of failure at some stage of production are high. In the end it is those who take the...

Article: Scheduling Your Indie Film

Scheduling the production of your indie film can be a bit tricky because you have a number of things working both for you and against you. Unfortunately, you have more things working against you, but there are ways for you to overcome those things....

Article: Set Ideas S-Z

For the last installation of hints, tips and creative ways to spice up your scenes without breaking the bank, we will explore letters S thru Z. As with the previous articles, you can lift these ideas wholesale, if you find them to be useful, or simply...

Article: Storyboarding Tips to Make Your Shots go Smoothly

Gather round people.  Get yourself a nice cup of hot chocolate and sit down by the warm fire.  It's story time.  Well, actually it's storyboarding time, but you can still keep the hot chocolate.  Storyboarding your film is a personal choice as it can...

Article: The Heart and Soul of Production: How to find a crew

You are the controlling power over your indie film, but your crew is its heart and soul. That isn’t saying y...

Article: You Are the Studio

Sheri Candler is a successful marketing and publicity specialist who is putting her skills and expertise into helping independent filmmakers gather an audience for their work. Recently she wrote on her site: "[Kim Adelman's] first point was ...