5 Tips To Improve Your Filmmaking Without A Camera

INTRO

Part of the trick to succeeding in the film industry means always being proactive, always looking for ways to get work and improve your skills. For those starting out it can be a bit demoralising to just sit at home waiting for the phone to ring with that next job. 

So in today's video I'll look at five things that aspiring cinematographers and filmmakers can do to be proactive and build up their skill set when you don't have access to a camera or a set. 

1. EDUCATE YOURSELF

Since we're living in a time with the easiest access to information ever it's a no brainer to use this to your advantage to develop your filmmaking skills. 

When it comes to learning I'd say around 70% of it can be picked up from actively shooting and working on sets while around 30% of filmmaking can be learnt through education. Whether you agree with this percentage or not, it still makes sense for aspiring filmmakers, and even established ones, to expand the bounds of their theoretical knowledge. 

This doesn't mean that you have to attend a film school. There are many free avenues for education which I'd recommend.

YouTube is a great resource when it comes to expanding your knowledge - if you look in the right places. I'd recommend balancing watching videos which are more technical such as camera setup videos, or cinematography workshops with interviews from some of your favourite filmmakers or behind the scenes videos.

Watching reviews of the newest or latest camera gear on the market is less important than educating yourself on core filmmaking concepts like lighting, focal lengths and blocking scenes.

Reading cinematography articles is another great way of learning. Again, looking at both technical articles such as American Cinematographer along with interview articles of cinematographers or directors that go over the philosophical decision making behind those technical choices. 

If you're just starting out in film and are looking for physical reading material on filmmaking and cinematography some books I’ve found useful are: Painting With Light by John Alton and Film Art by Bordwell and Thompson.

There are also many people on social media posting their lighting diagrams these days. This can certainly be useful when you're starting out to get a sense of lighting concepts but I would caution people checking out these posts to use them as inspiration for their own lighting rather than trying to directly copy these setups. 

2. OBSERVE

Your filmmaking skill set will come from physical application and practice along with the theoretical side. 

I find a great way of working on a more tangible appreciation for lighting - without using any gear - comes from observing light in the real world. When lighting a scene, almost every DP begins by first being aware of what the natural light on a set is already doing and then building on that. 

Actively observing natural light sounds simple but is a great way of building up a subconscious visual database in your mind of what kind of light you like and what kind of light you don't. 

See what happens when you turn off lights in your house, close a curtain or open a door and stand in different positions relative to the light. Observe the nuances. 

For example, if you like the look of light coming through a single window in a dark room then use that the next time you shoot by adding a light outside a window and turning off all the house lights. The more aware you become of how light naturally acts, the better you will be able to manipulate it when you are on set. 

Observing life is also a great way of getting inspiration for your visual storytelling. The best filmmakers tend to draw from their own experiences when they produce art, so being conscious of your surroundings is always going to be helpful.

3. WATCH MOVIES

Watch movies. 

No seriously. Watch movies, series, music videos, commercials, any filmed content. And I don’t mean just zoning out and binging on Netflix. Watch films with a critically aware eye.

Identify what you like about them and what you don't. If you have a favourite movie go back and watch it analytically and identify why you like it. You may find it's the framing, the writing, the editing, the camera movement, the lighting, the production design, or all of the above. 

Whatever it is, store it in the back of your memory, in your subconscious visual database, which you can then pull out as a reference if a suitable project comes along.

Also having a deeper knowledge of film allows you to more easily communicate with your collaborators and crew by referencing a particular movie, shot or director. 

4. NETWORK

You may be the most talented cinematographer in the world, but the reality is that if you don’t have a network of directors to work with you won’t be able to shoot anything.

As film production work is done on a freelance basis, you need to build up a network of contacts willing to employ you or collaborate with you.

This can be done in many ways such as: displaying your work online through a website or social media, attending film festivals and making contacts there, joining a crew agency who will put you forward with new contacts, communicating or reaching out to potential collaborators and production companies directly or making shorts with classmates at a film school.

It takes time and won’t happen overnight but establishing a range of relationships in the industry is the only way to ensure you get consistent freelance work.  

5. PERSONAL SKILLS

To maintain your network of relationships in the industry you need a good level of social skills. It may seem obvious but, like in any occupation, having good personal skills goes a long way.

Plus, who wants to go through life being unnecessarily unpleasant to people.

Back in the day, at least in the industry I work in, there was almost an army-like mentality to crew. Where experienced, upper rank crew members trained apprentices or assistants starting out through, how do I phrase this, verbal and emotional abuse.

This was meant to both toughen up newcomers and scare away those who wouldn’t last in what is a tough industry.  

As this approach is definitely getting phased out of the industry now with newer generations rising up the ranks, these kinds of ‘social skills’ are no longer tolerated as they once were.

Yes, it’s an extremely stressful job and yes, you are often running on minimal sleep and working very long hours. So finding a way to deal with these factors and still maintain a cool, calm, confident and likeable persona on set is a must. Again, there are many ways I’ve found to go about this from meditating or taking a deep breath, to forcing yourself to slow down for a minute and think about each decision you make on set rationally.

However you want to better your personal skills and ability to deal with stress is up to you, but is definitely a crucial part of your filmmaking that you need to develop.

CONCLUSION

Working on all of these facets unrelated to the technical side of making movies is just as, if not more important. 

It’ll put you in the best possible position so that when an opportunity to shoot a project does arise you feel confident to shoot it to the best of your ability.

If you also want to look your best on set, you can check out the new merch that I’ve launched by clicking the link in the description, which has amazing original illustrations specially for people who love film. Otherwise until next time, thanks for watching and goodbye.