Becoming a filmmaker is a big dream of mine. I've gotten some experience in my life such as filming a few events, editing montages, and doing multiple film projects for school. But I've never really dedicated more than a few weeks to a single film project. That was until the Fall of 2023 for my Graduate Film Production class. That entire semester, plus a little time in the summer, I had to produce my own short film. And boy was it an experience. Here's all that I had to do to create my first short film.
I knew it was coming. I knew the Fall of 2023 was the time I would be creating an entire short film for class. Little did I know, my professor would email me that summer before the semester even started to hear what ideas I had for the film. I honestly didn't have anything in mind that soon, but being a mental health advocate and fan of psychological thrillers/horrors, I sort of knew the direction I wanted to take, so I thought of something quick. And so the process began...
Pitching Ideas
Right after the 4th of July holiday, it was time to get to work. I met with my professor and some classmates over Zoom to discuss ideas. I heard my classmates' ideas and started to second-guess mine. I was the only one whose idea was kind of dark. But there was no going back now, I had to present something and so I revealed my idea. My professor seemed to like where I was going which calmed me down a bit because I was starting to think I was aiming for something too dark for school. However, the experience taught me to believe in the stories I want to tell and tell them, they just happen to be dark.
Writing the Script
Once I got the okay to start the screenplay, I sat down in front of my laptop and started writing. I wrote around two pages of the screenplay before I realized I had to be real with myself. I had to film this! Could I really get access to the type of locations I wanted for free and film everything within a weekend? I couldn't, so I revised my idea and aimed for everything to be set at my university hoping they would be nice since I am a student. After thinking ahead and feeling more confident about the future filming process, I started a new script and made it to my mandatory 10 pages.
Revising the Script
We hit the ground running once the semester started. We met as a class and read each other's scripts! I didn't think mine was terrible but I was very anxious revealing a world I created to even a few people. Mind you, I had never even learned anything about screenwriting yet. So aside from what I thought, the script actually wasn't great. The dialogue wasn't realistic, there was no showing but a lot of telling, scene headings weren't correct. It was bad y'all. That same semester, I took a Screenwriting class so I learned as time went on and I kept making revisions. By mid-September, my professor and classmates said my script was much improved so I was ready to start other parts of the pre-production process.
Location Scouting
After changing the location of my initial idea, I sort of knew the areas on campus where I wanted to film: an office, a stairwell, the hall, a theater, and outside on campus at night. So I found some areas in buildings that I am pretty familiar with. I also walked around campus to find some areas not too far for my outside scenes. Things were looking up! Until it was time to find a theater on campus that I could film in. I contacted different theaters and auditoriums on campus with no luck. Then I started to contact theaters outside of the university which I knew I had to pay for but I was getting desperate. Fortunately, one of the university's auditoriums allowed me to film there for free after much-needed communication. I also had to have some location agreements signed, so after finding the appropriate people to sign them, I was good to go.
Creating the Storyboard and Shot List
When it was time for the storyboard and shot list, I created the storyboard first. I actually didn't draw the storyboard like I've done in the past. I created it on Canva which was actually so fun! I found a storyboard template and some graphics that worked with what I wanted and BAM! I had a storyboard. After visualizing the shots with the storyboard, the shot list was pretty easy. I had some wide, medium, and close-up shots. I planned some pan shots and even a dolly zoom shot. It was really fun seeing exactly what I wanted in my mind for this story and putting it on "paper."
Casting the Characters
Time was passing and it was time to start casting. I decided to reach out to local actors in my community to be a part of my short film. I understand what it's like to just want a shot at something, so I thought this could help someone in the local acting community. I created a casting notice on Canva and found a Facebook community in my area for actors. I published my casting notice and was surprised by the amount of people who responded to me. I ended up finding some great people to cast. The extras weren't filled right away but I had my stars!
Creating the Schedule and Stripboard
My weekend to film was already set thanks to my professor (all students had weekends assigned). So I just had to set the hours for what days. Two nights involved the evening and night filming. On the final date, I scheduled us to film a little earlier at noon. After making sure the times worked with everyone, I started the stripboard. It's a document that organizes scenes in the order of shooting using color-coded strips. That was my first time learning about a stripboard and it's very helpful when it comes to finalizing the schedule. StudioBinder has a really good article on stripeboards here.
Presenting a Greenlight Presentation
All the work I had done for pre-production had led to this: the greenlight presentation. For this presentation, I created a PowerPoint including the cast, locations, budget, stunts, storyboard, shot list, and stripboard. I can be a really anxious person sometimes especially with presenting something like this for others to judge, but it needed to be done not to mention it was also worth a lot of my grade. But it was a good experience putting myself and my ideas out there which needs to happen if I really want to chase this dream. My greenlight presentation was overall well received by my classmates and my professor said I had an amazing storyboard!
Filming for 3 Days
The time had finally come to film by mid-October! My crew was already assigned because they were my classmates and I was the director. Every day before filming, I sent out a call sheet to everyone involved with details of the locations, call times, and more. My crew and I met an hour before the actors so we could prepare the equipment and even then, we didn't always start on time. I was also responsible for feeding my actors and crew. It was the least I could do to show my appreciation. They were helping me without being paid! On the second day of filming, my initial plan for a scene didn't work out so I had to make changes on the fly. On the last day of filming, music from another room was being heard when I needed it to be quiet on the set. Despite the challenges, I actually really enjoyed directing. It was cool to experience the making of my vision coming to life. We worked around three to four hours on the first and second day. The third day was the longest but we made it! We wrapped and made lasting connections.
Editing the Project
The part I was most looking forward to — post-production. I've always enjoyed editing so I was ready. Boy oh boy, did I have a time. Syncing the audio with the video had me thankful for clapboards! The sun had set during one of my scenes and it was so clear with the video. Color correction saved that. Despite making fast cuts for a chase scene, it didn't have the scary feel that I wanted. Music added more tension to that scene. For some of my footage without audio, I found sound effects and even reproduced my own for the story. With all the footage I had to go through, the hours spent finding music and sounds, adding foley sounds, and learning how to color correct, it was a lot. And through it all, I understood 100% why some filmmakers fix mistakes in post.
Making Revisions to the Edit
I just knew I had something good with my first cut. It was good, but it could always be better. We met as a class again and after watching the first cut, everyone chimed in with their thoughts. As much as I loved what I did, it's amazing to see all the things I didn't catch and hear other filmmakers' input to help. I learned that some things just aren't needed for a story to still relay its message. And after taking notes and making revisions to the edit, I felt very confident with the final cut.
Screening the Film
Last but not least, we screened the final film. I felt good, a bit anxious but still good. It was nice to watch everyone's short films and see that I wasn't alone when experiencing challenges throughout the process. It was probably 20 people at the screening, a few that I invited, but I hope my film left some type of positive impression on someone in the audience.
And that was the journey of creating my first short film! Now that I think about it, I probably never dedicated the time to do something like this before because it was once a dream that felt impossible for someone like me so why would I even try? Thanks to this class, I'm happy that I tried. Because of this experience, I will try to create short films again and again. Eventually trying for a feature-length film. Let the journey to becoming a filmmaker begin!
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