As your career in filmmaking begins to develop, it’s important that your actions don’t end up derailing it during the beginning stages. Following are 5 common filmmaking mistakes you should avoid, giving you a much better chance of succeeding.
- Not Knowing Why You Want To Make Movies
Filmmakers make movies for several different reasons, be it passion about a subject, the potential of $$$ to be made, and/or a deep love for the craft. Before you jump into an attempted filmmaking career, it’s important to determine what it is that drives you. Realizing the real reason (s) you want to make movies will help you predetermine which the road you want to take and increase your chances of success.
- What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
The majority of filmmakers begin their careers because they’re really great at a specific thing. Some have a flair for motivating actors, others excel at directing action and others, the lucky ones, are great multi-taskers (there aren’t many of these because filmmaking is so time consuming). What a lot of filmmakers fail to recognize is that it’s a business that involves a wide variety of unique skill sets. They overlook the fact that the craft also requires business management skills, from sourcing new clients and hiring actors to publicity and marketing, to managing cash flow. It’s not likely that you’ll have the expertise, or the time, to do it all yourself so don’t try. Successful filmmakers recognize their own skill sets and fill the gaps appropriately.
- Working with the Wrong People
Filmmaking is a passionate, tiring and in many cases, spur of the moment business. Under these circumstances, it’s really tempting to hire people without thoroughly interviewing them and checking their references. Besides the interview process, its important to ask yourself if their experience and skills complimentary to yours and most important of all – will you feel comfortable working with them? Of course, make sure to have detailed written contracts in place, covering any and all creative collaboration.
- Been There, Done That
If you’re going to the effort, including all the blood, sweat and tears, in order to create a short film, try to come up with something new and original. Whether it’s a new story, style, effect, plot, or techniques used, create something that makes people take notice and distinguishes your film from the countless others out there. While this is easier said than done, with a great creative team, it can be achieved.
- Emotional Triggers
Instead of attempting to tackle a massive theme, especially if you’re new to the industry, concentrate on something smaller scale that both you and your audience have a personal connection with. Choose a dilemma or trending issued that most of us has experienced or felt, or an idea that most of us has had, and focus on that idea in your film, like no one has before. Taking this approach will help you come up with a film that’s genuine and sets off the right emotional triggers.
Putting music in your film has its importance; it can serve the emotional side of the movie and enhance the storytelling. It is essential for any film producer to keep the music in mind when shooting the movie.
Filmtv-tracks is a great source for premium Royalty Free Music where you can find the perfect music for your film at a very affordable price.
Needless to say, there are short films that have made some of these mistakes yet somehow turned out to be outstanding. That said, unless you’re already at the point in your career that you’re considered a world-class filmmaker, with the practical experience required to understand when, where and why to break the rules, you’ll want to avoid making the 5 common mistakes listed here.
