Shooting on film is a wonderful thing when you can afford it. For the low budget filmmaker the money for shooting on film is usually better used elsewhere. It is indisputable that film will make a better looking movie, but there are...

As a film goes from beginning to end there are things a filmmaker can do to augment or negate changes in story and character. Depending on how the filmmaker feels about how the story progresses they will alter the production ...

Movies are made up of individual shots stitched together to convey something. In stories they convey what happens and in what order. In film things do not just happen, there is also the way these things are seen. The camera can be put in any number of positions and pointed in countless ways. This has become a language of its own, film grammar, but its nature is not like that...

Cinematography can be a confusing subject for a non-technical director. There are f-stops, shutter speeds, ISO ratings, and foot candles involved, so it can get overwhelming. Often a director has a trusted cinematographer that handles this part of the filmmaking...

The prices of decent camcorders for filmmaking have dropped so low that no aspiring film director can use that as an excuse for not making movies. Though you can shoot a movie with a consumer-grade camcorder, there are things on it...

Film directors are often gear heads. They love gadgets in general and the newest cameras in particular. If they aren't gear heads then they're probably film purists that insist on 35mm for anything they shoot. The newest...

Lighting for movies is filled with so many options for a film director that is can be overwhelming. There is no single way to best light any particular shot, it will vary depending on many factors. Does the director want the movie...

Everybody raves about the advantages of filmmaking using video. It's lighter, easier, cheaper but there are also lots of downsides. Aside from the obvious differences of resolution there are many other things you have to contend...

It's easy for movie directors to get wrapped up in the techie obsession with camcorder resolution, number of chips, scan lines and color depth. These directors can find themselves worrying more about the way to capture images...

As much as I preach going with your existing skill set and doing the best you can, there are still some basic principles that are good to ingrain into your working style. It can be hard to unlearn once you've established a...

Film directors don't always shoot footage in the same format from one project to the next. Movie directors don't always have access to the equipment they would like to. Often the requirements of the story necessitate a certain...

Video has revolutionized filmmaking, we've all read this. What is it exactly that makes video better than film in so many ways? What is it that video will do to make your film making experience better? More than anything it's what a ...

This would never be clear to a film goer, but the differences between working with film and video are plenty. The operation during production and in post-production need to be considered when making a decision on which to use...

Most independent directors can't afford to shoot on film, though they would rather do so. But many don't even know the actual difference between them. If you knew the differences, you could compensate...