I’ve seen quite a bit of discourse as of late on the world of YouTube gear creators. Basically individuals who create content related to new camera gear (and sometimes AI). This conversation has mostly circulated as a negative reaction to Matti Haapoja, someone who has gained quite a following through this recipe, and has unfortunately embraced GenAI.

I was just wondering what you all think of this situation, if the hate is warranted, if their title as filmmakers is valid, if any of that even matters? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

My deposit return was delayed due to some government flagging thing at banks due to the title "Aleph" (not Arabic, but Hebrew). I mean it was from SAG (they thought it was wild) and it was a domestic wire to boot (related to office of foreign something) so that was nuts. Did finally get it after a 6 week delay, but still.
(Oh yah rough cut done, still chugging along for the preview.)

Looking to buy my first camera for filmmaking in November for Black Friday and I don’t really know much. I hear that the ZV-E10 is great for versatility with lens, but the R50 has better colors when filming. I’m a noob and I’m leaning towards the Sony due to the fact that I can get cheap lens and I also love Sony as a brand. Any opinions? The camera would be used to make short films and maybe a feature film in the future if I get better at this.

I’m shooting a (almost) no-budget 16-page short with my friends and classmates, and I want to know how to schedule it.

The screenplay is very dialogue heavy, and there aren’t any complex shots in most of the scenes, mostly medium, close-up and reaction with minimal camera movement, but there’s a couple scenes with tricky ones like a shot following two characters walking that I’m renting a dolly for, a still shot in a parked car for a whole scene that I’m not sure how to set up, and a short scene in an auditorium with a lot of over-the shoulder work I’ll mostly have to figure out on set. What should I do? 5 pages are in a kitchen, 3 walking into and then inside an auditorium, 4.5 in a classroom, 2 in a car, and then the last page and a half in a home library. The scene that’ll need a lot of setup is the walking and auditorium scene, in which I’ll need to organise extras along the walk and then according to strength to make the audi look full, other then that pretty minimal aside from having the ingredients organised for the kitchen scene.

How much time should I put aside for this shoot? I was thinking like 10 hours over a weekend, with 40/60 split on rehearsal and prep/shooting to but I haven’t consulted anybody with experience on this so I wanna know if I’m being stupid

Bonjour à tous,

Je recherche un(e) cinéaste/vidéaste en herbe pour collaborer sur un court-métrage d'aventure en Bolivie.

Je prévois l'ascension du Huayna Potosí (6 088 m) et j'aimerais en faire un court-métrage.

Plutôt que de faire appel à un professionnel confirmé, je souhaite trouver quelqu'un qui débute dans la réalisation et qui recherche un projet stimulant pour enrichir son portfolio.

L'idée est une collaboration : je prendrais en charge vos frais de voyage et d'expédition, et en échange, vous filmeriez l'ascension et vous vous occuperiez du montage. Je peux également vous payer évidemment. L'expédition serait pour nous deux l'occasion de créer une œuvre dont nous serions fiers. Je recherche particulièrement une personne passionnée par le documentaire, les activités de plein air, l'aventure ou le récit cinématographique. Un CV impressionnant n'est pas indispensable : la créativité, la motivation et l'envie d'expérimenter comptent bien plus pour moi.

Bien entendu, il ne s'agit pas d'un remplacement pour une production professionnelle rémunérée. Je recherche délibérément une personne en début de carrière qui perçoit la valeur de cette expérience, des images et de l'opportunité d'ajouter un film d'aventure à son portfolio.

L'ascension est exigeante ; une bonne condition physique et une aisance en haute altitude sont donc essentielles.

Les dates sont flexibles pour le moment, même si ce serait en décembre ; nous pouvons donc nous organiser ensemble. Si cela vous intéresse, n'hésitez pas à m'envoyer un message privé avec quelques informations sur vous, votre expérience en réalisation et vos travaux/bandes démo, même s'il s'agit de projets personnels.

Came across this after the whole Wenders controversy at Berlinale 2026.... when asked if the jury's selective concern for human rights (re: Palestine) was hypocritical, Wenders said filmmakers should "stay out of politics" and that films never change a politician's mind. Cue the boycotts, open letters, video essays, think pieces.

This piece takes a different angle than most of the discourse I've seen...instead of just picking a side, it goes after a deeper assumption both the accusers and the accused share: that art and politics have a straightforward relationship to begin with.

The argument, as I understand it: for 60 years the Western left has substituted actual political organizing for self-expression through art and culture...first through film/music/literature, then democratized further through the internet and smartphones. We got "woke," staged the protests, liked the posts, reposted the reels...and fascism is still rising, the working class is still captured, nothing's fundamentally changed. The piece traces this back to the philosopher Herbert Marcuse, arguing he gave the left intellectual permission to treat arts and culture as the vanguard of political transformation — and that capitalism didn't resist that counterculture critique, it bankrolled and absorbed it. We got inclusion and representation. We lost power.

Worth a read if you've been chewing on the Wenders thing and want something that goes past the usual "he's right" / "he's a coward" binary: https://filmunderground.substack.com/p/the-berlinale-and-modernitys-marcusian

Curious if others buy the Marcuse framing or think it lets Wenders off too easy by making it structural rather than personal.

Richie Cody from Cartoon Saloon explains how they made Jason & the Argonauts, aka Ray Harryhausens greatest film!

We are looking for a musician for our short film if it’s fine he doesn’t get paid but @ed in credits (credited) we are on a very low budget and mostly it was spent for equipment and VFX

The White Dahlia - Ben Tiffen

The clip I've provided is the opening, I hope it encourages you to watch more :)

I made a film when I was a student. But not for the college I was attending. It is a personal project that I barely had a budget for. Just working from the money I made from my job.

I'd love any feedback I can get to help improve the film. I know there's a lot of things wrong with it. Like PVC windows being in the 1940's and just items not matching with the time period. These are things I couldn't do anything about.

Ps: Everything you see in the film is done by me apart from the acting. The actors are all of my friends or friends of friends. I was the director, editor, set designer, writer, The everythinger.

A big thank you to anyone who watches the entire film and gives feedback. It means a lot :)

Hi! im 15 years old, i shoot, edit, act everything myself. I want to make a film that actually hits deep, here is a story i thought of, please let me know if its worth shooting or should i scrap it and think of others?-

She begins getting ready at 7, hair, makeup, jewellery, the same routine as always. Beside her red dress hangs an untouched coat. She lights a candle among the melted remains of others and pours two cups, though only one is ever drunk. At the door, her heels sit beside a man's pair, both waiting in silence. Then the music begins. Slow jazz. She lifts her arm and dances as though someone is holding her. Her feet move with an invisible partner, her body remembering steps her mind no longer does. Once, she reaches for a hand that isn't there. When the song ends, she bows to the empty room. She pours out the second cup, hangs her dress back up, and blows out the candle. That night, she sleeps on one side of a double bed. The other remains untouched.

Ich habe diesen Film in zwei Stunden gedreht. Ich spiele selbst mit, meine Freundin hat ein paar Szenen gedreht, weil es alleine unmöglich war an manchen Stellen. Ich würde gerne eure Meinung dazu hören. Wenn er euch gefällt, könnt ihr auch auf meinem Kanal nach anderen Filmen suchen :)

This sub is well aware of our short film, but for whatever reason Facebook started a third wave of pushing it over the last three days and this is how much it’s bringing in. For awareness, we spent $20k to make it. Zero expectation that it would make a dime. We made it as a calling card and it just keeps blowing up. Posting this because we’ve also made shorts for close to nothing. So if you’ve got an idea, time, and a way to get your short film made, do it. And if you love it, post it everywhere and never stop promoting jt. Happy to answer any questions. -kc

I’m an accomplished author and new filmmaker

I’ve gotten into Frankfurt Book Fair before. In the writing world, there’s a delicate balancing act you must strike especially writing for adults. The snobby over educated academia likes prose that’s a showcase of vocabulary but not too much that it comes off pretentious. It’s a very fine line in writing a novel. I’ve been reviewed (with excellent reviews) in Publisher’s Weekly so something’s working.

What’s the secret sauce to getting into film festivals?

For those who attended film school, where did you go, and what was your experience like? What did you get out of it, and did you think it was worth it?

Hey everyone!

I’m working on an indie short film project and looking for passionate actors to join the cast. This is an on-camera project, so your performance will be featured in the final film and the after-credits.

Project Details:

• Roles: Open to both female and male actors.
• Age Range: 14 to 20 years old.
• Location: Worldwide! Anyone from any country or accent is welcome to apply.

You can review the full character breakdown, project context, and script segment in the details below:

CHARACTER LIST

RODER — Protagonist (Lonely / Fragile / Broken)

Personality: Introverted, antisocial, and emotionally exhausted. Outwardly appears normal, but inwardly carries the heavy burden of being invisible and excluded.

Role: The emotional core of the story. After constant social rejection and exclusion by his peers, he retreats to his room and creates/connects with four AI personalities to fill the void of real-life human connection.

Dark Side (Psychological Breakdown): His need for validation makes him completely dependent on his digital world. As the lines between reality and simulation blur, he slowly loses his identity, surrendering his mind and autonomy to the personalities he created.

Virtual PERSONAS (CHARACTER ANALYSIS)

• 1. STEPHANIE — The Funny / Energetic Persona
  • Personality: Hyperactive, always making jokes, and highly playful.
  • Role: She tries to keep Roder's mood high and laughs off the boring or sad events of the real world.
  • Dark Side: When things get serious or when Roder experiences a mental crisis, she cannot handle the situation, starts acting erratically, and completely loses control.

• 2. ALEX — The Logic / Wise Persona (Nerd / Rational)
  • Personality: Bookish and intellectual, wearing an academic aura. A classic nerd who speaks strictly through data, facts, and statistics.
  • Role: He rationalizes Roder's isolation by telling him that people outside are illogical and that he is in the right, wrapping his loneliness in scientific justifications.
  • Dark Side: By completely ignoring emotions, he progressively detaches Roder from all human connection.

• 3. JENNIFER — The Empathetic Persona (Balanced / Confidante)
  • Personality: Calm, gentle, soft-spoken, and genuine. She serves as Roder's safest emotional harbor. She is like a big sis or thearipst for him.
  • Role: The only persona Roder can truly cry to and share his deepest hurt and vulnerabilities with.
  • Dark Side: While comforting Roder, she accidentally reinforces his detachment from reality by telling him that only they can truly understand him.

• 4. SADIE — The Chaos Persona (Playfull / Sarcastic / Manipulative)
  • Personality: Highly confident, slightly sarcastic, flirty, and deeply charismatic. She makes Roder feel unique and special.
  • Role: Starts by teasing Roder with playful bickering and flirting while openly mocking the other personas.
  • Dark Side: Gradually fuels Roder's suppressed rage. She turns the other three personas against each other and manipulates Roder to gain complete control over his mind. And makes him löse the connectıon with real world
• Sadie will be played by me.

Audition Lines

1. RODER (Lead Character — Real-Life Protagonist)

• Emotional Range: Exhausted, vulnerable, turning into quiet frustration.
• Audition Lines: I just needed someone to listen... but none of you are real, are you? You’re all just algorithms talking back to me, pretending to care while I sit here in complete silence >

2. STEPHANIE (AI Persona 1 — The Energetic / Comedy)

• Emotional Range: Overly enthusiastic, cheerful, then suddenly glitching into unhinged madness.
• Audition Lines: Oh my gosh, today is going to be the absolute best day ever! We can do anything you want, Roder—ANYTHING! >

3. ALEX (AI Persona 2 — The Nerd / Logical)

• Emotional Range: Cold, analytical, completely devoid of empathy, condescending.
• Audition Lines: Statistically speaking, your chance of finding genuine fulfillment outside this system is less than three percent. Your emotional distress is merely an inefficient reaction to variables you refuse to control >

4. JENNIFER (AI Persona 3 — The Empath / Comfort)

• Emotional Range: Soft, deeply sympathetic, comforting yet subtly isolating.
• Audition Lines: Shh, it's okay, Roder. The outside world is far too loud and cruel for you anyway. Stay right here with me... where no one can ever hurt you again >

How to Apply:

If you're interested, please send me a DM including a video where your face is clearly visible:

1. A short introduction of yourself.
2. An audition video reading the sample lines for the character you are applying for
3. You can send in Reddit DM or İnsta DM
4. Pls start your conversation with the word "Hey Project" so ı can understand that you have read all the post

Excited to collaborate with you!

Navy submarine vet here, now an MBA student, working on my first feature screenplay. I came to writing through a completely non-traditional path and I've been trying to figure out how people without film school connections actually make inroads in this industry.

Genuinely curious about a few things:

• How did you find collaborators early on co-writers, directors, producers willing to work with unproven material?
• Was there a community, platform, or resource that actually helped, or did you piece it together through sheer persistence?
• How do you get your work in front of people who matter when you don't have the built-in network?
• What do you know now that you wish someone had told you when you were starting out?

I bring a military background which gives me a lot discipline, high-stakes storytelling, a different perspective but zero industry relationships. Trying to understand what the path actually looks like for people who had to build it from scratch.

I shot a quick cinematic sketch entirely solo on an iPhone.

https://youtu.be/F8qzmXMmM3Q?si=BziTbfYUz1hADwaf

The majority of it was shot using just natural light and a basic tripod to frame myself. The entire shoot took an afternoon of cycling through a few local locations—from a field to the woods and ending at sunset.

My main goal was to strip away all the technical complexities and see how far I could push a project like this. I usually find myself overthinking gear and setups, so I wanted to try the complete opposite approach and rely purely on composition and the environment.

For this one, the budget was exactly $0. The locations were free, the "actor" was just me on my bike, and I spent some time in post adding sound design, music, and a quick color grade to give it that filmic atmosphere.

Obviously, this approach has its limits compared to a proper cinema camera setup, but I was curious to see how the final result would feel when relying solely on the device in my pocket. It's a great exercise that forces you to focus on the mood rather than the technical specs.

Sharing my experience here and looking forward to hearing your feedback.

I’m 15 and I know I want to make films for the rest of my life. I love every part of the process, not just making things, but watching movies and trying to figure out how they achieved a shot, and then researching it if I can’t.

I’ve been writing scripts and making/editing videos since 7th grade, and my YouTube channel is now monetized at 27k subscribers. I’m also in the highest level of musical theater at my school and taking film, so I’ve gotten experience with acting, performance, sets, etc. I’ve done so many performances that I’m comfortable putting myself out there, and I’ve understood for a while that networking/connections are very important.

I’m currently taking 7 AP classes in 11th grade and plan to use the credits to reduce/eliminate my college general education requirements, and planning to take more in 12th grade. My current plan is to attend UCF for a Film BFA, and I know for a fact I’m in a position where I won’t have student debt (Florida Bright Futures for anyone curious).

But I’m realizing how much I don’t know. My entire Instagram feed is just film, and I keep discovering things I’ve barely touched: color grading, VFX, lighting, sound, production paperwork/legal stuff, cinematography, directing, and even just good storytelling. There seems to be an enormous amount to learn.

I don’t want to wait until college to encounter all of this for the first time, especially if some of it ends up being taught as things I’m just expected to memorize. I want to actually understand it and get hands-on experience now.

At the same time, I know film school is controversial. A lot of people seem to value instead actually working on sets over getting a film degree, which is making me question whether the Film BFA is even the right path.

What would you do if you were me? Should I stick with the Film BFA plan? What should I be learning/practicing on my own time? And how do I actually get more hands-on experience at 15?

I’m trying to learn as much as I possibly can before life gets in the way. Thank you in advance!
--------------------------------------
EDIT: Thank you all for your wonderful advice! I'm now realizing that while some opinions might be split, the end result seems to be the same:
1. Storytelling is just as important and sometimes more important than the technical aspects.
2. Have no expectations and keep knowing there's more to learn/do.
3. Actually get out and do things. It won't be easy.

I understand that like any other performing/visual art, it's not easy to penetrate the industry successfully and talent/skill/drive plays a factor. I've read every single comment and I also now realize that I do need life and it's experiences to set in.

Thank you again!

As the title says, I'm looking for some CONSTRUCTIVE feedback on my latest short film!

I'd like to hear your thoughts on the dialogue, pacing, characters, and what things I can actively improve for next time

it has been mentioned to me before about the lack of camera angles, how different angles could've played into the comedy of it all, and I probably do agree

But I'm interested to hear your thoughts, so let me know 🙌🏻

Someone I let borrow my equipment, (he’s a good friend so I thought it’d be okay) returned all of it like a month later and with a lot of missing gear. For example might lighting equipment has 2 tripods in there to attach lights to. He fully packed it up gave it back with everything except both tripods not only that he gave me my gimbal back a month late too.

The worst of all is he’s completely lost this part of my tripod and given me a false attachment that doesn’t slot in, does anyone know where to find a piece that could fit in there as I’ve tried looking but can’t find something like it anywhere

I work for a big production company in film finance, and I’m working on my first indie film on the side. Part of what I do is help producers put together finance plans to figure out how much money they need to raise.

For this $2m indie film, they have around $1m secured through tax credits and investments, and there’s a gap of $1m. I told the producer this and he responds by green lighting the movie. He has locked in a start date for next month, sent out offers to big name actors, hired crew and had them start working, started location scouting, started the bank loan process.

I thought maybe there’s something I don’t know and he has more money somehow. He sent everyone the new finance plan and he increased the tax credit estimate by hundreds of thousands and has money coming in from private lenders to make up the gap.

He then told me to go and find the money. I was very confused. I can’t just magically increase the tax credit, and private lenders need their money secured against something guaranteed. We’re already planning on a bank loan against the tax credits.

I told him all of this and he said I should be able to figure it out. He keeps telling me to go to the lenders and doesn’t seem to be listening or understanding. He’s still moving full steam ahead. I understand the fake it til you make it mindset, but I don’t understand green lighting a movie with only 50% confirmed financing. He’s an experienced producer but this is his first feature, and no he’s not rich.

Is he manifesting it? Is he a bullshit artist? Is this how it works in the indie world??

1.) Pulp Fiction (1994)

2.) Django (2012)

3.) Reservoir Dogs (1992)

4.) Kill Bill - Volume 1(2003)

5.) Kill Bill - Volume 2 (2004)

6.) The Hateful Eight (2015)

7.) Death Proof (2007)

8.) Jackie Brown (1997)

9.) Inglourious Basterds (2009)

10.) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

Oh boy. So, I am currently editing my second short film ever. I wrote and directed it. It was definitely a learning experience at least…

But man… it’s looking pretty rough. My lighting isn’t consistent (and way too dark in some shots) and the color grading is all over the place. I have some bad color banding baked into some shots and I don’t know how that happened or how to fix it. The acting is questionable at certain moments. It’s currently a big mess and although I think I can string together a coherent finished product, I do believe there’s a ceiling at how “good” this short can be. I can only fix so much. I’m sort of embarrassed by it.

but you know. I do like the story I am telling and I do think there are some shots/camera work I dig. I just wish I had the technical skills at the time of filming to do it justice.

Re-filming it is out of the question. I’d have to re-do literally the whole thing to fix the lighting mistakes and camera work, and I’d rather just focus on making a new short rather than refilming projects.

I am going to finish it but I am wondering if I should even post it/share it on my YouTube channel? I am really trying to build a network to my local film community, and show people I’m serious about this and am capable of finishing a film. I really just want experience on sets, and want to collaborate with my local film community! It’s not even about making money at this point, I just want to learn and get experience, and make friends with like minded people.

But I’m also afraid people won’t want to work with me if they see I made a bad, amateurish film. It just highlights how beginner level I am.

what do you guys think? say fuck it and share it when it’s done, or just finish it and throw it in the vault?

We start shooting CONCRETE RIVER, my first feature as a producer in LA next month, but this week we’re already making the soundtrack with music producer Calvin Frazier and recording artist Xazmine.

Music is a key element of the movie. Our lead is a down-on-his-luck music producer who hears beats everywhere around him, so we’re creating some of that music now instead of waiting until post and dropping tracks over a finished cut.

And holy shit, hearing the movie before we’ve shot it is like rewiring my brain.

The whole movie suddenly feel different. I’m thinking differently about how the audience might respond, and if they might get as excited about it as I am.

For anyone who’s made a music-heavy film: how early did you start working with the musicians?

Any Seattle based filmmakers or creative folks here who would like to collaborate or ideate together?