WD Filmworks

5 Ways You Can Break Into The Film Industry

Gatekeepers Don’t Hold The Key To The Film Industry; They Hold The Lock. You Have The Key; You Just Don’t Know It Yet.
Unless nepotism buys you a first-class ticket to Hollywood, we all have to skunk our way from the bottom of the creative food chain. Maybe we go to film school, maybe we go straight to work on a no-budget indie flick.

Method #1: The Lottery Ticket
Going to film school is a major dream for a lot of aspiring filmmakers and for good reason; it can help you learn your craft and make valuable connections that may eventually help you get noticed or discovered. (I know…semi-ironic coming from us.)

Method #2: Be In The Building
If film school isn’t your cup of tea, you can always try getting a job working on a film set. Maybe you start out as a lowly PA delivering coffee or working in a department that you’re not particularly fond of. That’s okay.

Method #3: DIY
Are you a lone wolf? Don’t live in a filmmaking hub? Work a normal 9-5 and don’t want to wait for the go-ahead to make a film? Then the DIY approach to breaking into the industry is probably golden for you.

Method #4: Hey, Look What I Can Do!
Do you have a special skill, like VFX, animation, or timelapse photography? Do you have a weird artistic sensibility that people take notice of? Are you just a very…special individual that cannot be described with human words? Then you’d be wise to infuse those things into your work because originality gets people’s attention.

Method #5: Go Digital
The times, they are a-changin’, honey. If you want to get your work in front of the people who can take your career to the next level, online content is where it’s at right now. YouTube’s online influencers who are making digital short-form media are getting snatched up by agencies like they’re going out of style. (Please, don’t go out of style.)



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5 Things You Need To Start Vlogging

Filmmakers can add more value to their production content by starting a daily or weekly vlog. This video can give your audience not only a behind-the-scenes look at what you’re working on, but it also provides the opportunity to share your process.

1. Have Basic Camera Knowledge

Vlogging is a visual medium, and as such, you have to have an understanding of basic composition, lighting, and sound. But since you’re a filmmaker reading this, you already know all that. And for a vlog, that basic camera knowledge is just as important.

2. Be OK With Filming Yourself

For some filmmakers, this may be the hardest part of a vlog. Many find it easier to be behind the camera, whereas being in front of the camera is kinda like public speaking. It takes practice to get comfortable with it.

3. Have a Story to Tell

According to Haapoja, we tend to think our lives are too boring to share. Who cares what you do on a daily basis? But Haapoja thinks that everyone’s life is different, and as such, there are interesting things that can be found no matter where you are.

4. Know Why You’re Starting a Vlog

If your reason to start a vlog is to make money and become a YouTube star, Haapoja says you’re likely to fail.

Money and fame are by-products, not the ultimate destination. You have to have a more focused goal. To make people laugh.

5. Have a Good Work Ethic

Vlogging is consistently a crazy amount of work. It takes as much of a work ethic to consistently put out your vlog and keep your viewing numbers up, as it is to shoot a short film. The key, though, is consistency. Put out a video on a regular basis, whether it’s daily or weekly. Most will start off strong, but before you know it, it’s been a few months and your audience has moved onto som**hing else.



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Avoid These 8 Common Editing Mistakes

Editing Is One Of The Most Important Steps Of The Filmmaking Process, And You Want To Avoid These Mistakes.
Film editing is both technical and creative. It dictates how a film is arranged and whether it makes sense to the viewer. It influences tone, perspective, and pace. With so many cinematic elements depending on good editing, it’s clear that when it’s is bad, the entire project suffers.

Cutting Too Soon
This is a common editing mistake I tend to notice. A character might deliver an important line, and the scene will suddenly cut less than a second after the delivery, almost chopping into the performance. It’s jarring and annoying when scenes aren’t given “air” or time to breathe.

Not Understanding Frame Rate
Know the difference between frame rates before you ever get started. It will save a lot of time in the end.

Bad Workflow
Organization is a huge part of editing. Before you even start, you should organize, name, and tag all your footage. Don’t toss everything into your editing program first. Wallström suggests using templates and folders to keep everything neat and tidy.

Overusing Transitions
Flashy transitions might be cool and popular, but they can also be a problem.

Too Many Jump Cuts
Jump cuts are abrupt transitions which often take a character through time and sometimes to a different location.

Waiting Too Long To Build The Scene With Audio
“You should build scenes with the sound design as you edit,” Wallström says. Even if it’s just a rough version, it’s better to consider early.

Using Too Much Music
Music can help editors find the tempo of a scene, but Wallström says the scene shouldn’t be drowned in music. It can take away from the story, even in cinematic projects. Music should be used for impact, and not be distracting.

Technically Poor Editing
Editors should know basic cuts and where to put them. For instance, J- and L-cuts will create natural movement in a scene. Atmosphere and movement can be used to mask your cuts.



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How Do You Define The Premise Of A Movie Or TV Show?

Film and television are all about communication. You want the audience to understand the purpose and drive behind what you’re doing. Even before that, you want executives and buyers to believe in the premise enough to purchase it. But here’s the hard part: You can’t JUST communicate the premise.

Premise Definition
Super basics to start: the premise of a screenplay for a movie or TV show is the driving force behind why everything happens on screen. This refers to the motive or goal of the story.

When Would I Use A Screenplay Premise?
You use the premise in pitches or to write your loglines or even in treatments or other documents you’re sending out to sell. If you have an elevator pitch, you want to describe the premise as fast and alluring as you can to generate interest in the project.

Premise Examples In Movies And TV
Okay, first things first, we don’t have *official* premises for the following movies and TV shows, but I did my best to describe them for you so you can take notes. These will be pretty close to loglines. But the idea here is that you can get at understanding what makes these stories tick.

Breaking Bad:
A high school teacher stricken in cancer has to resort to cooking m**h to pay for his ongoing medical payments. But when he discovers being a drug kingpin might be his secret talent, he starts down a spiral that puts his life and the lives of his friends and family in grave danger, but at least it pays well.

Modern Family:
A mockumentary about the Dunphy and Pritchett family living in and around Los Angeles and all the drama laughs, and heart that goes into incorporating new people into your extended circle.

Moonlight:
An emotional drama following an African American man coming to grips with his homosexuality and falling in love with his childhood sweetheart. Told in three parts, we follow him as a boy, a teen, and finally, a man trying to define who he is on the inside and out.

Get Him To The Greek:
A music executive who recently broke up with his girlfriend has 48 hours to get a fading rock star from his home in London to Los Angeles where he has to convince him to put on a show that might save his life.

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