Essential DIY Filmmaking Tools 2011

Hey everyone - times change rapidly in the digital world - every day it gets easier and easier and cheaper and cheaper to make your indie movie! Here is a quick survey of products to help you get up and running without breaking the bank!

1) Cameras - As recently as a couple of years ago, the Flip was all the rage. A palm-sized camera that shoots in HD for under $200, it seemed like everybody was snapping them up. (I shot part of my movie The Great Intervention on a Kodak Zi8 - a similar camera. In this short span of time, both cameras are now discontinued. Why? Because, chances are you've already got an HD camera... in your smart phone! If you have an iPhone 4 (and why DON'T you?) you've got one right there. Same goes for most Androids. If you do have an iPhone, pick up the groovy 8mm app which will let you emulate a bunch of different film stocks, for fun and effect. Don't have/want a smart phone? Find a used Flip or Zi8 on eBay. Don't think the iPhone is good enough? Here are a few awesome films shot on it.

2) Tripod. If you go the iPhone route, you're going to need a special tripod adaptor, if you want to really frame your shots. The Thought Out Company makes several $25 models, which will attach to any standard tripod. If you want to be truly DIY - do a YouTube search for "make your own iPhone tripod mount" - like this one:



Sound: This is often the most neglected part of the DIY setup, but also the most critical. (It's called an AUDI-ence, right?) Crappy sound on your finished product is the dead giveaway of an amateur filmmaker. DAK audio makes several wireless packages at very reasonable prices. Add to that a special adaptor cables from KV microphone (make sure you get the right one for your setup) and now you can add high quality audio to your video quite easily. (Also available for Android)


Don't take my word for it - take the Gadget Guy

Editing Software. Mac users - YOU ARE IN LUCK!! Apple just announced Final Cut Pro X - a totally revamped version of their flagship professional editing software... and -- GET THIS -- it's now just $299! Final Cut Studio used to retail for THREE TIMES that amount. Now the barrier to professional-looking filmmaking is even lower!!!!! Advice to PC users: get a Mac!!! (Discounts galore on used-but-still-in-warranty Macs from Gainsaver.com!!!)

Well, that's about it for the latest gadgets on my radar. I'm sure, soon enough, we'll have chipsets embedded in our brains where we can just "think" our movies, but until then, this is probably as close as you can get!!

The Hollywood Collapse is Coming!!

Are you ready for The Reckoning?

No it's not yet ANOTHER Superhero franchise foisted upon us - just the opposite. It's the bursting of the Hollywood Bubble - and it's coming this summer to a theater near YOU!

For years, Hollywood has been courting the so-called "Fanboys" who seem to populate the San Diego Comic Convention and drool over anything in spandex.

Case in Point

This small-but-extremely-vocal subset has been guiding the Tent Pole machine for years, producing films loosely based on comic books from half-a-century ago, to bigger and bigger profits, and, of course, bigger and bigger budgets.

As in the Dot-Com, the Real Estate, and even the Dutch Tulip era, this is what's known as a Bubble.

And we all know what happens to Bubbles, don't we?

Wait - what DID happen to Bubbles?!

I'm not a mathemetician (but I once sang a song about it) but we can see the bell curve in effect this past weekend, when X-Men First Class opened to $56 Million dollars. Sounds like a good number to you and me, but note that this was the lowest opening of the series, which has been dragging on for years now.

On the horizon is The Green Lantern, Harry Potter, Captain America, Cowboys and Aliens, and even The Smurfs in 3D, no less.

Speaking of 3D, much to James Cameron's chagrin, that Bubble has already burst, as sub-par 3D movies like Green Hornet and Gulliver's Travels and extra ticket fees have turned off moviegoers in droves. Because of Kung Fu Panda 2's underwhelming 3D opening, stock in 3D production companies took a huge hit.

Uh-oh, aren't most of these upcoming Superhero movies in 3D?

And, aside from a different color of spandex and a random super power here and there, aren't all these movies the SAME?!

My prediction is that this summer is going to be a big "Wake Up Call" to Hollywood producers.

3D projection, the shiny "new" toy of 2009, will die a painful death. Half of these "Tent Pole" movies will underperform if not flat-out fail.

This Tent Pole Cost Us $300 Million Dollars!!

Studios will take a long, hard look at their bottom line and put the comic books back in a box in the attic where they belong.

This is good news for the Indie Filmmaker!

They will realize that they can create interesting, compelling films for a fraction of the budget and will fire up their low budget divisions. Just recently, Lionsgate announced their own microbudget division.

Movie theaters, reeling from being burned by Hollywood (yet again) with crappy 3D projection systems and the ever-diminishing theater-to-DVD window, will look elsewhere for content.

Already, they are screening operas, Broadway shows, and concerts, with great success.

In addition, indie arthouses are sprouting up in major cities and elsewhere, such as L.A.'s The Downtown Independent, and budding franchise Alamo Drafthouse, which cater to moviegoers that enjoy more brain than brawn.

Add into the mix, the continuous proliferation of smartphones, video sharing websites and video-on-demand services that cater exclusive to indie filmmakers, and you have the makings of a revolution in entertainment.

No spandex necessary!