This site is aimed at people like me a few years ago, when I had decided that I wanted to try to make my first short film without any serious experience or knowledge in either photography or film-making just for the fun of it. I found that there’s tons of information on the internet but it’s hard to get a good understanding of what you really need to know to get going and what is completely over the top, much too detailed/academic and what is plain nonsense or not applicable to my case (e.g. I read reviews/posts that claimed that the camera I finally decided to buy to get started was no good for video more than once and in hindsight I’m so happy with that decision).
At some point I decided to start yet another website containing articles for beginning filmmakers (or people checking out if they want to be) to share some of the things that I have learned that I think can make your first steps in filmmaking more enjoyable, less painful and less expensive (much of the content of this site deals with making good decisions regarding value for money) and I’ll attempt to do that in a simple hands-on style for people who don’t want to study a lot before they get their feet wet (and maybe study later). This is partly for documenting stuff for myself and for friends, partly because it is fun and at some point I may also use it to also promote products that my company makes in that area but I will be very open about that when it happens.
This site assumes no previous knowledge other than being interested in films. I will also assume you start doing everything yourself as a one-person crew, i.e. writing, directing, camera, special effects, production, editing because that’s typically the start but of course you can just skip the parts that are irrelevant to you if you don’t do all of that.
Disclaimer
I am not a film-making expert. See the site’s content as what I would tell an interested friend if they asked me about all these things. So don’t troll me because you think something is wrong or you disagree with my opinions. Of course, constructive criticism is welcome.
I am not covering or discussing film vs. digital. For me the choice is clear. This site covers (wherever it makes a difference) the digital workflow and equipment only.
All products I mention or recommend are chosen because I like them. So far, no company is paying me for anything I do here.
Use any information you find on this site at your own risk. I do not guarantee the accuracy of anything. Especially regarding the legal aspects of certain things, I expect everyone to be responsible for not breaking the laws of their country by doing anything that has to do with making their films. If there is something on this site that someone considers illegal or inappropriate, let me know.
Unless otherwise noted the material on this site is mine and no permission is granted to use it anywhere else unless explicitly given by me. Exceptions are images from Wikimedia commons.
This site is still considered heavily under construction …
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