Making Film magic: 5 Tips for your next film

If you look at the films that move you. I don’t mean physically, i mean emotionally, you know the ones that can even make you cry, you’ll find that after you truly analyse them in detail as to why, you can start to connect the dots . For certain elements or aspects of the movies that you like there is a strong reason why some movies resonate with you better. You can take advantage of these filmmaking techniques too.

What do i mean by this?

When you first look at films that you relate to for one way or another it becomes easy to see why the movies you like just work. Every filmmaker knows that in order to produce the best quality work you have to narrow it down to the simplest of details and they aren’t always blaring you back in the face either. You can even get some awesome tips from these 5 Great Film making books.This article will aim to go into 5 proven filmmaking techniques for success that can help you on your way to master the art of filmmaking.

1. Start with the script

If we are going to talk about film making you have to start with the script. As the saying goes script is king. or in some others eyes the actors! However in order to choose the best cast for the screenplay, you have to start with not a screenplay a GREAT screenplay. If there is one hugely important thing to get right, it is and must be the script. Check out these 10 bite-sized tips for screenwriters.

If you don’t have the screenplay on point you can quite literally forget everything else. Why? Because without a great screenplay, as in an awesome story to tell, you are swimming up stream from the very beginning.

Ensure that your script has a solid beginning, middle and end. That the characters take the viewer on an emotional journey from start to finish. The audience should be able to take something away from watching your film that that may or may not have experienced otherwise. Take the audience on a journey that only your film can convey.

2. Work with great and experienced crew members

Life’s better with friends and your team is invaluable. Work with great team members in every aspect of your film from preproduction, right through to editing and post production. Filmmaking has and always will be a team game. Help the crew in their respective field as much as possibly viable and look for great crew members who are reliable, skilled and have a strong work ethic. Having an experienced director of photography and sound recordist who has been on numerous sets can make a massive difference when you get to postproduction as well as making the whole filmmaking process a lot smoother. You can have a look at their previous portfolios to get a sense for their particular style.

3. Professional Cast

This one for new film makers gets regularly overlooked but at the very least make sure your leading roles are professionally cast. Host regular casting sessions and collect demo reels to see how the actors would respond to certain situations. For other roles you can literally hire real life professionals at work. What do i mean by this? Say you know an electrician or friend is a plumber. You can hire them to do what they do best, their everyday jobs. It’s hard not to be a good actor when that’s what you actually do on a regular basis.

By holding regular casting sessions the cast have a thorough understanding of the characters they are playing. Hold story run throughs, that way you can see how they engage not only with the role they have been cast to play but how they interact with other members of the cast. You can even do run throughs with some of the crew whilst you do this.

4. Shoot for story

If there is one thing to take away from some of the biggest filmmakers of today, it is that they always seem to emphasise time and time again the importance of story. You can have the best cinematography, the best lighting, the best sound, even the best editing but if there is no story, there really is no film. No Story, no film, no film, no audience. What more can you say. Aim to get the coverage you need whether that’s wide shots, or getting the close ups you need, just make sure that the shots drive the story forward always. That the shots you get convey the story in the best possible way. That excite your audience and keep them glued to their chair waiting for what is to come.

5. Don’t forget lighting

Lighting correctly is another one of the filmmaking techniques that can make all the difference for setting the mood for the whole film. It truly is amazing how much value one can get from having strong lighting techniques. Upping your game with lighting will make for a great viewer experience. You can direct viewer attention to key props, to key actions, or you can even draw your viewer away from certain things in your shot that maybe you don’t want to highlight.

How and where you place the light can impact how your viewers perceive the characters. Strong harsh lighting can convey evil, or anger. Soft warm light can convey happy or safe. As light and colour go hand in hand you can combine these two to express even stronger emotions. For instance a dark cool light could potentially show mystery or intrigue such as seen in may science fiction films. So remember what emotion you are trying to convey when lighting a scene.

What are some of the filmmaking techniques that you try to focus in on when producing your film? If you know any specifics share in the comments below would be great to see.