r/filmmaking

Hi guys, about to go into my 3rd year of film school and we need a DOP for my final year grad film. Groups are starting to form and whilst we have a very good crew, I gotta find a DOP still.

What’s the best way of going about this?

I've spent my career working in technology, currently a Product Manager in Boston.

I'm 43. I still have the same fire burning in me and I'm ready to start over.

While I'm well versed in a lot of aspects of film making I have zero hours on set. How do I get started? How do I get even a meager paying job that results in dipping into savings to live.

I can afford to take courses or whatever, I just need to change every thing and be working as much as possible on movie/television sets as much as possible.

Any advice or suggestions on how to do this? Bonus if you have any ideas in Boston/Cambridge.

Appreciate it.

I need advice with both my teams and my ex who's my editor ? I don't know what to do.

I'm in a situation where I feel stuck.

To keep it short, in Feb 2025, I (F27) shot my first short film. I saved a lot of money and put about 10k out of my pocket to film it. Everyone (M and F, 20-30) accepted as a benevole since it was a film student and the money was used for renting costumes, places, cameras, etc. It adds up pretty fast.

Thing is, just after it was short (beginning of March 25), I gave everything to my ex (M26) I had been dating for 10 years at the time. That was an abusing relationship involving rape and coercion, but I was so in love I couldn't see it. He started editing pretty fast in the beginning, having done 70% of the work in the two first months. Then, he started dragging it, saying he had no time with work but will do it and still be happy to finish it.

In July 25, I shot my second movie. He cheated on me and dumped me just after that 5k short, leaving me with little to live for groceries, etc. I shot this second movie thinking our relationship was stable and I could take a risk financially.

I had to ask me for months 'please, finish editing the first movie, you're 80% done'. No one else had the files anymore. I was sent to the hospital for weeks after I tried to kms because of everything that had happened and the loss of the person I thought was my soulmate trying to kms, going into reanimation. That's where I realized about the multiples rapes that my brain was blocking.

I gave my second project to someone I don't know for editing (still benevole).

After months and months and months (April 26), he told me he was done with it. I gathered my courage to text him to send me something by wetransfert, but the file wasn't working. I have to see him irl if I want that stupid movie and I'm terrified as hell. I don't have friends that could go for or with me. Again, he's the only one with either the original files or a copy of the movie. And my cameraman wants the original DaVinci file to work on the colors.

I feel like I'm stuck. I have to see him, but physically I can't. It's been more than a year and a half, I don't know what to do, especially towards my team, who worked with me on both projects. I don't know if it's because I'm autistic, but I like things to be done in order: I feel like it would be disrespectful to launch the second move if the first one isn't finished, especially since 80% of the team on the 1st project worked on the second project.

They are asking me a lot of questions as well. I'm not an open book, I don't wanna tell them about my situation with my ex. But they're annoyed as hell at me, and rightfully so. They see me as this bad person who just won't release something they worked on as benevoles. And they sure as well won't do another film with me.

Even if I got the original files back and not the finale edit, I don't have an editor, and can't hire one. The ending of our relationship put me in a really tough spot financially (hospital debts, one movie debt, etc). And I sure as hell don't have any more money to send them to festivals, where they can exist as movies.

I feel like my dream of being a filmaker is dead and burried. I feel so ashamed.

Edit: TLDR: was in a relationship with an ex who raped me, now terrified of seeing him ever again. Only way to get my short film back on which he was an editor is to see him. My crews are upset with me.

I don’t have a camera, I always rent for work, but I’m thinking of buying an fx3 or panasonic s5iix and using vintage lenses at first to save money. Which lenses for any brand is a good choice? I need a 35mm, maybe a 24mm, and some 135mm or something? A lot of good vintage glass has character but it doesn’t always work with typical event or wedding work.

https://preview.redd.it/uqmpuhnclmjh1.png?width=807&format=png&auto=webp&s=0faead3fe84f965fe7e37c36932374f3e2a45748

Hey there guys! I am a film student looking to buy some equipment to start making things in my free time for fun and for my portfolio and im trying to start by accumulating some beginning equipment, one of the main things im in need of right now is lighting, ive come across this listing, its going for 100 dollars NZD, I was wondering if you reckon its worth buying? It comes with 2 bulbs, and the stands are adjustable, any insight would be appreciated!

So I’m in a film group chat and there was an open call for crew on an unpaid short student film set. They’re hoping to submit this film into a festival. Anyways, I offered my help, and there was a list of crew they needed, one of them being an AD. I said I would happily do AD (or script supervisor) as I have a car (and have some small experience as AD and script supervisor).

The producer said she would get back to me on that, but never did. Fast forward and I get added to the crew gc which is how I find out I have been accepted onto the set. No clue what my role is as of yet - then we get sent out callsheets for Monday (it’s currently Friday) and I see that I’m down as AC.

I have never worked with a camera before. There could potentially be a designated focus puller - no DOP as of yet, and the director is also camera op. I can do 2nd AC jobs no problem but as there is only one AC - me - I’m assuming I’ll have to do the work for 1st AC as well. I can change lenses, keep track of equipment, set up a tripod (very slowly, only done it twice), mark, do clapper, keep track of shots/logistics. But actual camerawork is not my area.

Am I screwed? Should I text the producer and ask to change my role, or is this something I can learn over 2 days/wing on the day. Help!!!

TL;DR: I’m assistant camera on a film set and have never worked with a camera, am i screwed?

UPDATE: I’ve gotten in touch with the producer and it turns out it was all just a typo on their end. I was supposed to be put down as AD, they just mixed up the letters 😅 Anyways thank you all for encouraging me to communicate the mistake to them. All is well!

TL;DR: I start a new Production job next week but I’m already hearing that the production may be extremely chaotic. I’ve done enough intense gigs to know I don’t want to burn myself out unnecessarily. Meanwhile, I may have another opportunity coming up on an established returning series with a team I already know. Nothing is confirmed and I won’t leave for a maybe, but if I receive an actual offer shortly after starting, how bad is it professionally to leave the first production and take the better opportunity? They would both run for the same amount of time and the new offer may be paying more.

I’m 28 and still relatively early in my film/TV career, trying to establish myself properly within the Production Department.

I’ve just signed onto a production and start next week. At first I was happy to have something locked in, especially after a few other opportunities fell through.

Since accepting, though, I’ve started hearing some fairly concerning things from people who know the production. Apparently it’s quite chaotic behind the scenes, there are questions around how experienced some of the Production team are, and generally it sounds like it could be a pretty messy job.

Obviously I’m taking second-hand information with a grain of salt and I’m going to form my own opinion once I actually start.

The bigger issue is that I’ve done enough productions now to recognise what burnout feels like, and I don’t particularly want to destroy myself just because I feel obligated to finish every job I accept. I’ve worked some pretty intense gigs before, and I’m increasingly conscious that not every credit or paycheque is worth running yourself into the ground for.

At the same time, another opportunity may be developing.

It’s with a team I already know on an established series going into its second season. Nothing is confirmed yet, so I’m absolutely not planning on leaving my current job based on a “maybe.” But if it turns into a genuine offer, I’d have a decision to make potentially very soon after starting this new job.

Career-wise, I’m trying to move further into Production and eventually progress through the Production Office rather than staying at runner level indefinitely. So I’m also thinking about which environment would actually give me the best opportunity to learn, build relationships and progress.

My concern is the etiquette of leaving a production shortly after starting.

I understand that accepting a job and then leaving a week or two later isn’t ideal and could potentially burn a bridge. At the same time, if I start and discover that the warnings were accurate, the production is extremely chaotic and I can already see myself heading towards burnout, am I really supposed to stay purely because I said yes first?

Part of me thinks that as freelancers we’re expected to accept the uncertainty of this industry when productions cancel jobs, change dates, replace people or suddenly don’t need us anymore. So there has to be some point where we’re also allowed to make decisions based on what’s best for our own careers and wellbeing.

But I also don’t want to develop a reputation for jumping ship whenever something better appears.

For those who have been in the industry longer, where do you draw the line?

Would you leave a production shortly after starting if a better opportunity came up with a team you already knew and trusted?

And how bad would the current production actually need to be before you’d consider leaving early rather than just sticking it out?

I’m 28 and still relatively early in my film/TV career. I’m currently working at runner level and trying to establish myself properly within the Production Department.

Something I’ve noticed about myself is how badly I want to land one of the “big” jobs. Big-budget feature, major studio, established production company, huge crew, recognisable project, all of that.

This year I’ve had 3 or 4 opportunities like that come frustratingly close. I’ve had referrals, conversations with UPMs/coordinators and potential interviews, but each one has fallen through for one reason or another.

Most recently, I was speaking to someone about potentially joining the Production Department on a larger project shooting out of a major studio. It sounded like exactly the environment I wanted to get into, but the position ended up being filled before we could even meet.

Meanwhile, I’ve now landed another Production job. I should be happy that I’m working and actually getting Production Department experience, but part of me is still disappointed that it isn’t the bigger project.

It’s made me wonder when that feeling eventually disappears.

Do you eventually work on enough productions that you realise a job is a job? Does the excitement of the big studio, recognisable title and huge budget eventually stop meaning much, and you start caring more about the crew, conditions, your actual role and whether you’re progressing?

There is also a practical reason I’m drawn towards bigger-budget features.

At my level, the bigger the production and the more departmental infrastructure there is, the more likely I am to actually be positioned in and around the Production Office. On smaller TV productions, there often isn't the budget or infrastructure for a substantial Transport Department, so runners can end up doing a lot of cast driving.

I hate cast driving.

I want to be in the Production Office. I want to be around Production Secretaries, APOCs, Coordinators, UPMs, etc., learning how the department actually operates and gradually taking on more responsibility. That's ultimately where I want my career to develop.

So I think my obsession with getting onto a big-budget movie is partly about genuine career development, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn't also some prestige attached to it in my head. There's something exciting about being able to say, “I’m working on that.”

For those who have been in the industry for a long time, when did that feeling wear off for you?

Did you eventually realise that the glamorous projects are ultimately just another workplace?

And particularly when you're starting out, is it better to chase the biggest productions you can get onto, or take the less exciting jobs where you might actually get more responsibility and have a better opportunity to move up?

Hello everyone!

As many of you surely know, short films are often made that never see the light of day. I worked on two short films that required a soundtrack, and I created custom soundtracks. Everything was great, everything was accepted, but in the end, the film/short was never released. I'll start by saying that I don't work for money. I know full well that the budgets are really low, but I would have liked it more for portfolio reasons, so I find myself with background music that will probably never be released.

They're sad songs, mostly featuring music boxes, choirs, out-of-tune pianos, anxiety-inducing atmospheres, and disturbing circus music.

I think they're suitable for something that brings back childhood memories. I'd like to donate them for a project. I'm not looking for money; the name in the titles and track recognition are enough. The tracks, all together, run 12-13 minutes.

If you have any projects where you think they might be useful, send them to me and I'll send you the music. If we're both happy, you can use them.

Again, I'm just annoyed by having to work hard to keep the stuff on my hard drive. I'm not looking for money, but at least something public and real (not stuff made just for YouTube).

I hope I can be of use to someone!

In order to get released in Canada, a film needs French subtitles and an alternate poster in French. I got the poster handled and thought the subtitles would be easy since I already have the files in English. Turns out, it's not as simple as just having the company translate them. They need to start from scratch and have a translator work on the film which I discovered is 5x the rate of English subtitles which puts it out of my price range.

Wanted to see if anyone else encountered this issue and found a workaround with a Canadian or French company for the subtitles that wouldn't charge an insane fee for a foreign language subtitles. Thanks in advance.

Hey i'm planning to make a scary short movie (no prior experience) where the script relies on lots of isolated sounds (clicking of a door lock, isolated breathing etc). I'm planning to use my iPhone 15 plus as a camera. What sound equipment should I use? Optimally nothing that costs a fortune

Thanks in advance.

So I was making an analog horror webseries and after that I'm planning to make a film. I know how to make one since I used to make short films back then but what do I do AFTER finishing the film? (Genuine question)