Behind the scenes of our latest 48 film 'Possession'

Recently directed a 48 hour film project in Cleveland using the ARRI Mini and a Ronin 4D! Always amazing what our team can accomplish in such a short time.

If the mods allow, I'll be happy to post the final film after it premieres on the 28th 😁

As a film director what was the worst thing your actor said to you that still hurts you to this very day?

I’ve always been fascinated by the production side of film—how locations are found, how a crew transforms a space, and all the behind-the-scenes details. I’ve used Peerspace and had one commercial filmed at my home, and I loved getting a little peek into that process. I was told “we were looking for a home with a variety of looks, especially the exterior- and your home has it!”. Needless to say I geeked out at seeing a little of the process.
I live in a 1923 Tudor in Montgomery’s Garden District, with a slate roof, massive chimneys, etc. I’ve always thought it would be fun to see the house in a film someday.
For those who scout locations or work in production: what makes a home catch your eye, and how do you usually discover places in smaller markets like Montgomery? I’d love to hear how it works.

I was DP/shooting a short film shoot in a restaurant and no meal break was scheduled or accounted for. All I could think of was getting some food in me after 9 hours of working my ass off for a friend's project. I guess prod assumed we would eat once wrapped, but we went long.

It was the first time I had filled 2 cards on a shoot with my Pyxis 12k, and wasn't paying close attention after I hit record to realize . My AC was also burned out and hadn't eaten in over 10 hours, since he had to travel.

By the time the shoot ended, the kitchen was closed, so dir/producer said sorry and gave us each extra 20 to buy our own food once we were wrapped.

Obviously I should have been paying closer attention,and learned a lesson, but at the time all I could think about was getting some food in me. I barely took time to even drink during the day.

Production saw the footage and emailed to ask where the missing insert setup was and I defended my mistake by saying we hadn't been fed and didn't realize the cards filled.

Obviously it was my error, one I won't make again, but should I feel bad about loosing an important insert shot?

I believe the restaurant will let us shoot it again, since it's a closeup on an object, or can be shot in another location. Should I still charge something for the pickup, or do it for free since it was my mistake? I provided all my camera, lighting and sound, for a rate that I would charge with no gear.

After one year, it's finally out. I directed this music video August of last year to DRKMTS' track Promises. A class little song that's been sitting awaiting a label to release it. The video is starring scottish actor Doug Russell (Adolescence, The Batman, Knights of the Seven Kingdom).

I knew immediately I didn't want somone who was young or slick to be in the video, but an unusual protagonist. So I reached out to Doug who was nearing 60 and had no previous dance experience. When I approached him, he was super down to give it a shot, depsite never danced or been in a vide like this in his life.

We had half a day with choreographer Hannah Collins to work out the dance, then 2 shoot days on location. The intention was to make the movement feel personal to him, and to the story of his character, with room for it to be imperfect. He’s playing a man caught up in memories and repeating a ritual beneath the city, so the performance needed to feel like something he was doing for himself

We shot in an underpass in Glasgow. I prioritised one location so we could concentrate on the performance, choreography and how the camera moved around him - Shoutout to DoP Alan C Mclaughlin

Glad to finally be able to share it. Would be interested to hear what you make of the casting and how the performance comes across. Happy to talk through the shoot as well.

Cheers!

I organized an AMA/Q&A with Dave Koz and Mickey Duzyj, subject and director of the new doc SMOOTH WORLD, about the world of Jazz. Dave is a 9-time Grammy nominated saxophonist.

It's live here now in r/movies for anyone interested in asking a question:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1x8cgzk/hi_reddit_im_saxophonist_dave_koz_9_grammy/

They will be back at 4:30 PM ET on Tuesday 10/20 to answer questions. I recommend asking in advance. Please ask there, not here. All questions are much appreciated!

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1225286270

Synopsis: Exiled from radio for being lame, the world of smooth jazz has secretly thrived as an underground paradise for senior citizens. Now, as the last smoothies face extinction, they band together to find a new leader who can save their beloved Smooth World.

Thank you :)

Hi,

I have a question that has been bugging me, before DCPs and digital post production, how did films reuse shots?

I’m watching an old miniseries called Centennial, it’s very good, I usually watch it alongside Deadwood. The series was made in the 70s, so shot and presumably edited on film, but often the same footage is repeated. Each episode begins with a recap and then some episodes have extended flashbacks.

My understanding is, editors would work on a copy of the negative, cut it, then once all of the decisions were made, the negative would be cut in a clean room.
However if a shot is repeated, there is still only one physical occurrence of it on the negative. So how was that duplicated?

I’d know a copy can be made at the lab, but that causes generational loss, I’m not noticing that here.

I know some of the Star Trek films reused the same shots. Mostly special effects, so probably a larger neg like vista vision and they’d just go back to the source, but I think a few stunts were reused also so there would only be the 35mm copy that was used previously.

Also, how did TV show openings handle this? I remember the opening credits of MASH always looked rather worn (and once I’m sure I saw writing as if someone had used a chinagraph pencil on the film), but other shows don’t seem to have this (Star Trek for example).

How was this sort of thing managed?

As of now all of the books that I own on filmmaking are:

Film Directing Shot by Shot (Steven D. Katz)
The Filmmaker's Eye: Rules of Cinematic Composition (Gustavo Mercado)
The Visual Story (Bruce Block)
Story (Robert Mckee)
The Complete Guide to Photorealism (Erin Dinur)
Setting Up Your Shots: Great Camera Moves Every Filmmaker Should Know
The Fucked Up Art of Filmmaking in a Third World country without failing (Juan Manuel Mendez)

but I would love more recommendations because I know that especially with directing a lot of hats have to be worn. It doesn't matter if the books are about something general or they focus on some aspect in particular like lighting or editing. I am still a beginner at all of these even if I am starting to learn theory from these reads.

I posted on here about 3 years ago when I was previously "about to make a feature". As many here probably know, things happen, money didn't happen, and that project fell apart.

Well, I'm back, and this time it's ACTUALLY happening. We start shooting in 1 week!

I got tired of trying to convince investors to fund a project, so I pooled a micro budget from my savings along with support from my wife and a close friend to make my first feature film, which stars Whitney Moore and Laura Bailey of Critical Role! I am directing it from an original script that I wrote.

It's a contained horror film called "The Devil Downstairs". Logline: A struggling artist rents out her basement to an elderly tenant for quick cash—but after the tenant’s sudden death, she starts to believe something else has moved in.

Follow the link(s) to find our film's Instagram page and follow us to stay up to date with our journey to create this cool, creepy movie!

This is a completely independent film. It is self-funded and crewed by my friends and colleagues whom I've worked with over the past 20 years. We've built a profit-sharing system within the project's layout so that if it's a success, everyone involved wins. We start filming in Los Angeles at the end of the month and will be wrapped by Thanksgiving (15 days total in that stretch). We'll be submitting to festivals next year and, from there, figuring out how to get this project out for the world to see!

I'll come back to post on here as often as I can, but for the quickest updates, please follow our Instagram Page.

Hit me with any questions or comments along the way!

I'm thrilled to finally be doing this. I have an incredible support system in my crew and cast, and we're all psyched to be putting something awesome out into the world. Can't wait to share it with you all!

I’m trying to find an old YouTube creator and a series of vlogs I used to follow around 2010-2014. Can’t seem to find any trace of these videos.

He was a guy who was trying to get an independent animated Christmas/holiday movie made. I think his nickname or channel name was something like Independent Movie Guy, but I’m not positive about the exact name.
Here’s what I remember:

He made regular video updates documenting his journey to get the movie made over a period of years.

He had written the script while in film school, and I remember his professors being encouraging about it.

He went through a lot of ups and downs trying to get funding and a studio attached to the project.
He attended film festivals and industry events to meet people and pitch the project, and he built up a following through his updates.

His videos often ended with an echoed audio clip of him saying something like “I’m just trying to make my movie, man.”

Years later, he uploaded what I remember as a very short (possibly under two minutes) digital 3D animated test for the movie.

The weirdest part is that I remember following this guy for years, but now I can’t find his channel, his name, or even much evidence that the series existed.

Does anyone remember this creator, his channel name, the movie’s title, or any articles/videos that mentioned him? Even a partial lead would be hugely appreciated!

I had a genre short screen at a festival last week that wasn’t genre-centric and we ended up in a totally chaotic screening block that was a mix of experimental, drama, horror and comedy.

There was absolutely no flow from one film to the next - it went from a drama about grief to a splatter film and I was just sat there laughing at the continual mood whiplash.

It was an interesting experience as I’m programmed in genre blocks 99% of the time, but from a curation perspective I found it totally baffling. Would love to hear others’ experiences like this.

I'm an Italian writer-director based in California, and I recently released my latest psychological horror short, THE WAKING CALL.

The idea was to create something unsettling without relying on traditional jump scares or constantly showing the audience what to be afraid of.

Instead, I focused on atmosphere, performance, sound, and the tension of a late-night radio show slowly turning into something much darker.

One of the biggest challenges was figuring out how much to reveal, how long to let certain moments breathe, and when to break the tension.

I'm curious how other filmmakers would have approached it.

Would you have pushed the horror further? Cut certain moments? Revealed more? Or even less?

Here's the film :
https://youtu.be/pPr3PhQVaI0

Interested to hear what you'd have done differently, particularly with the pacing and suspense.

Hey y'all, I'm a new filmmaker, I just got into my city's local film communities and just started directing stuff this year, but I want to turn it into a career. One thing I can see helping with that is if I increase my online presence, so I want to build a portfolio website.

But, I kinda want my website to look different. Anybody my age (late 20s) remembers how old websites used to look back in the early days of internet accessibility. I think it would be really funny and on-brand if I make my portfolio look like a 10-year-old kid made it 25 years ago. It'll make me stand out, y'know.

But I have no idea how to get into this really. I don't want my website to look super cookie-cutter like it was obviously made in wix or something, so that would require some knowledge of coding beyond my days as a wiki editor lol. And so this is an open inquiry to the world. If you know how to code websites and you're a funny & cool guy who would get my humor, then DM me let's talk

Hi all,

I've been an actor, comedian, writer for 21 years (I've written on a few shows and acted in dozens), so I have a good overall understanding of the industry. I've written and directed quite a few short films and the hardest part is always getting a crew together...

So I wrote a short film with one location, 3 actors, and I want to just shoot it myself on my iPhone. I'd like to point out that I have a deep respect for the craft of DPing, but due to not having much income and wanting to create more content, the idea of just saying screw it and shooting it myself has gone from a half joke to "why not?". I don't plan on making this short film my masterpiece or expecting to win an academy award...

With all of this said, I have no knowledge of the technical part of cinematography. Does anyone have a resource for beginners? Like a youtube channel, an online course, etc. where I can learn the basics from aperture settings, to f/stops, and beyond?

I plan on using whatever budget I have on paying for audio, post, location, and meals.

Any other tips or pitfalls you can help me avoid would also be welcomed!

Thank you in advance.

Submission statement: Work in progress from our medieval fantasy project BLADES of BAVARIA - filmed a while ago in the forest with a really skilled sword master. Now, experimenting with foley fx and some temp-music. Using the BMPCC4K and some vintage lenses... yadda yadda.

The bigger issue with this sequence that I quite like: It will most likely not fit into the final cut - whenever that will be done.

I thought I'd share a first look at a feature we made (still in post). It's about some 1800s mathematicians, featuring Georg Cantor. It was my first SAG pic and our budget was $60,000 (total, from dev to distro) - I had the idea almost 10 years ago, and we shot it this year in 10 days, in Texas.
https://youtu.be/LEZtKKkpoVw

If anyone has a five minute short they want graded, I’d love to practice grading this weekend. I just need the files online and I’ll do some grading work for free. Hit me up!

Hi! Originally earlier this year (reuploaded since) I made a tutorial on how to modify the way dissolves work in DaVinci Resolve so they interact with the colour timeline, and are also linear so they look more like a photographic effect. But I made this under the assumption that it's common practice to apply the conversion into Rec. 709 and such on the timeline level, and then apply and titles and such on top of that. Since then I realised that timeline level operations are usually stayed away from, instead being done per clip or per group, so I made a follow-up video on how you can still achieve the same effect using adjustment clips, and do no grading work at all on the timeline level

Here's the first video for those interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zDrN4Z9NxI

Yo so I'm planning to make a Mafia Series, Crime is kinda my playground when it comes to filmmaking and it's the genre I love the most. I plan to do a twist where the main character loses a loved one and eventually meets a guy, becoming good friends with him. The guy tells the main character to enact revenge on the murder and take what's rightfully is, and eventually it's revealed this guy is a figment of his imagination trying to cope with the loved ones murder [I guess kinda like Fight Club but not really]. So I wanna put a song over the reveal at the end of an episode and I'd love to hear some suggestions on what would go along with it well lyrically and musically. I think Lithium by Nirvana would be a very cool pick myself but I'm curious

Camera images:

https://imgur.com/gallery/sony-venice-1-dvf-el200-viewfinder-tilta-carrying-case-axs-a1ts48-1-tb-memory-card-axsm-sxs-memory-card-reader-james-wesellsaas-com-aLxbhno

Timestamp:

https://imgur.com/a/ONvfrhL

Includes:

Sony Venice 6K + hard carrying case

DVF-EL200 viewfinder

Tilta Cage

Tilta Battery Plate

AXS-A1TS48 1 TB memory card

AXS-AR1 memory card reader + soft carrying case

--

Price: $25k via PayPal F&F, Venmo, etc.

I'm curious to get some feedback from fellow videographers, editors, and production company owners on what you'd realistically charge for a project like this in the Miami/South Florida market.

The client is a large, established, well-funded nonprofit organization, not a small grassroots operation. They're looking to produce a polished, interview-driven brand storytelling video with multiple deliverables and a pretty tight turnaround.

Here's the scope:

Pre-production

• Creative development, story planning, and coordination with the client
• Scheduling and coordinating 4–6 interview subjects
• Developing interview questions, reviewing existing materials, and planning B-roll coverage

Production

• Two full production days
• Two-person crew: producer/director and videographer
• 4–6 sit-down interviews using a two-camera setup
• Professional lighting and audio
• B-roll capture at up to two locations (same day/location as interviews)
• Approximately 1–2 hours of equipment setup before interviews, plus breakdown afterward (roughly 8–10 hour days)

Post-production and deliverables

• One polished 3-minute documentary-style brand video (16:9)
• A separate captioned version of the main video
• One 30–60-second social media edit delivered in two formats: vertical (9:16) and square (1:1)
• Reviewing, organizing, and incorporating archival photos and video supplied by multiple organizations, with the total volume of material not fully known upfront
• Story development from interviews, footage selection, editing, color grading, audio mixing, and music sourcing
• Motion graphics, lower thirds, titles, and animated archival imagery
• Two rounds of revisions
• Delivery of all original, ungraded camera footage on a physical hard drive
• An EDL (Edit Decision List) for future editing
• Full work-for-hire copyright ownership of the commissioned production transferred to the client, excluding third-party licensed assets

Timeline

• Two production days scheduled within the same week
• First rough cut due approximately one week after filming
• Client feedback and revisions shortly afterward
• Final video delivery approximately two weeks after production
• Video scheduled for presentation at a large upcoming event

Why I'm asking

I recently submitted a proposal for this project but wasn't selected. After receiving some feedback from the client, I learned there was a significant difference between my quote and the winning proposal.

It got me wondering whether my pricing expectations are out of step with the current market or whether different production companies are approaching projects like this very differently.

My question: What would you realistically quote for this entire project in the South Florida market?

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who regularly handle corporate, nonprofit, documentary-style, or interview-driven productions.

Would you approach this with a two-person crew or handle it solo? How many hours would you realistically budget for post-production, especially considering the archival footage, motion graphics, revisions, and multiple deliverables?

I'm intentionally leaving out the actual bid amounts because I'd like to get unbiased feedback on what others would charge based on the scope alone.

Appreciate any insight!

I made a FREE False Color LUT for Sony Cameras!

Download it HERE:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LScILty5TmV_HVoJXroJ3KIpvrARRkIm?usp=sharing

Feel free to follow along with the video to learn how this can be added to your Sony camera and also help you get perfect exposure every time!

Note: This False Color LUT is made to be used with S-Gamut3.Cine/S-log3

Plase make sure to use to correct LUT for the device:

CAMERA LUT: Beta_False_Color_Slog3_Vini_ Lut.cube

DAVINCI LUT: Beta_False_Color_Rec709_Vini_Lut.cube

Thanks in advance for watching!

Hi everyone, I'm 25, a military veteran, and I'm determined to see my name in the end credits of a film one day.

I'm hardworking, ambitious, and coachable, and I'm ready to put in the effort. Right now I'm trying to break into the industry, but I don't have a portfolio yet, and I don't know anyone in film to create with. I've been learning from podcasts and interviews, but I know that can only take me so far.

I'm looking for:

• A mentor willing to guide me  
• A creative person or team who'd let me join and learn on set or on projects  
• Any advice on where to start

If you're open to taking on a mentee, or you know of groups, programs, or communities I should check out, please comment or message me. You're also welcome to share an email or other contact info.

I'm serious about this and respect your time as much as I hope you'll respect mine. Thank you, and God bless you all.

📍Atlanta, GA