Movie Making For Kids For Dummies E-Book

Nick Willoughby

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 345

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2026

Beschreibung

Discover what it takes to be a movie maker!

Do you have a smartphone and a bit of spare time? Feel like making a movie? Movie Making For Kids For Dummies, by experienced director and filmmaking teacher Nick Willoughby, walks you through the basics of creating a movie. Explore the process from start to finish, from pulling together the necessary equipment (which is cheaper and more available than ever!) to shooting and editing.

Willoughby shows you how to film with just your smartphone or your tablet and how to use app-based tools for both filming and editing. You'll learn how to capture sound, light your scenes, and stabilize your shots with widely available accessories. You'll also discover:

• How to share your movie with family and friends
• Step-by-step guides at the end of each chapter to create your own content
• Complimentary access to interactive content and downloadable resources

Great for kids at filmmaking camps, classes, and courses, Movie Making For Kids For Dummies is also a fantastic book for parents and teachers of kids who want to get into filmmaking.

Leseprobe

Movie Making For Kids For Dummies®

To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Movie Making For Kids For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.

Table of Contents

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Beyond the Book

Where to Go from Here

Mission 1: Understanding the Basic Movie Making Process

Project 0: Getting Started Making Movies

The Movie Making Process

Lights, Camera, What?

What Every Movie Maker Needs

Life as a Filmmaker

Project 1: Getting to Know Your Camera

How Does Your Camera Work?

Deciding on a Camera to Use

Choosing a Video Camera App

Recording and Importing Footage

Try It Out Yourself

Project 2: Framing a Great Shot

Learning the Rule of Thirds

Choosing the Right Shot

Choosing between a Fixed-Camera Position and a Moving Camera

Try It Out Yourself

Project 3: Making Your Movie Sound Good

Using the Built-In Microphone

Recording with External Microphones

Recording Sound Separately

Try It Out Yourself

Project 4: Getting the Best Lighting

Using Natural Light

Using Extra Lights

Lighting Your Movie

Try It Out Yourself

Project 5: Adding Magic by Editing

Choosing an Editing Tool

Creating a New Project

Importing Your Footage

Creating a New Timeline

Adding Selected Footage to a Timeline

Adding Transitions

Exporting Your Video

Mission 2: Making a 60-Second Movie Trailer

Project 6: Planning Your Movie Trailer

Coming Up with an Idea

Structuring Your Trailer

Listing the Shots You Want to Shoot

Try It Yourself

Project 7: Shooting Your Trailer

Essentials before Shooting

Directing Your Movie

Shooting Tips

Checking Your Shots

Try It Out Yourself

Project 8: Setting the Pace and Mood with Editing

Arranging Your Footage on the Timeline

Adding Music

Adjusting Brightness and Contrast

Adding Titles

Mission 3: Making a Documentary

Project 9: What Makes a Good Documentary?

What Is a Documentary?

Considering Documentary Film Styles

Picking a Topic for Your Documentary

Structuring Your Documentary

Try It Out Yourself

Project 10: Shooting Your Documentary

Creating a Short Summary to Introduce Your Topic

Trying Some Interviewing Techniques

Recording Clean Sound

Filming Cutaways

Creating the Perfect Ending

Try It Out Yourself

Project 11: Overlaying and Underlaying in Editing

Preparing Your Documentary in the Timeline

Recording a Voiceover

Adding a Voiceover Under Your Footage

Adding Footage Over Your Interviews

Adding Credits

Mission 4: Creating Your First Short Narrative Movie

Project 12: Assembling Your Movie Crew

Who Can Help?

Roles in a Team

Understanding Your Role

Building a Team

Try It Out Yourself

Project 13: Telling Your Story

What Makes a Good Story?

Creating Your Characters

Writing Your Story on One Page

Creating a Scene Selection

Writing the Script

Writing Dialogue

Project 14: Location Hunting and Props

Finding the Right Locations for Your Movie

Do You Have Permission?

Choosing Props and Costumes

Try It Out Yourself

Project 15: Choosing Actors for Your Movie

Running Auditions

Rehearsing Your Scenes

Getting the Best from Your Actors

Try It Out Yourself

Project 16: Planning Your Shots with a Storyboard

Creating a Storyboard

What to Include in Your Storyboard

Try It Out Yourself

Project 17: Enhancing Your Shots

Viewing the Same Scene from Different Angles

Adding Levels to Your Movie

Crossing the Line

Try It Out Yourself

Project 18: Making It Sound Even Better

Adopting Microphone Techniques for Dialogue

Dealing with Wind

Checking Sound Levels as You Record

Try It Out Yourself

Project 19: Adding Mood with Lighting

Using Shadows and Lighting Effects

Using Colored Gels and Filters

Getting the Best from Daylight

Try It Out Yourself

Project 20: Time to Film

Directing Your Movie

Logging Your Shots

Checking Your Shots

Try It Out Yourself

Mission 5: Making Magic After Filming

Project 21: Getting the Movie Look with Editing

Editing Angles and Shots Together

Editing Dialogue and Inserting Reaction Shots

Creating the Movie Look with Color and Effects

Enhancing the Sound

Try It Out Yourself

Project 22: Getting a Movie Review

Reviewing Your Work

Getting Feedback from Others

Try It Out Yourself

Index

About the Author

Dedication

Author’s Acknowledgments

Connect with Dummies

End User License Agreement

List of Tables

Chapter 5

Table 5-1 Playback Controls

Table 5-2 Keyboard Shortcuts

List of Illustrations

Chapter 1

Figure 1-1

Figure 1-2

Figure 1-3

Figure 1-4

Figure 1-5

Figure 1-6

Figure 1-7

Figure 1-8

Figure 1-9

Figure 1-10

Figure 1-11

Figure 1-12

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Figure 1-16

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Figure 1-20

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Chapter 2

Figure 2-1

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Chapter 3

Figure 3-1

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Chapter 4

Figure 4-1

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Chapter 5

Figure 5-1

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Chapter 6

Figure 6-1

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Chapter 7

Figure 7-1

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Chapter 8

Figure 8-1

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Figure 8-23

Chapter 9

Figure 9-1

Chapter 10

Figure 10-1

Figure 10-2

Figure 10-3

Chapter 11

Figure 11-1

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Figure 11-16

Figure 11-17

Figure 11-18

Figure 11-19

Figure 11-20

Figure 11-21

Figure 11-22

Chapter 13

Figure 13-1

Figure 13-2

Figure 13-3

Chapter 14

Figure 14-1

Chapter 15

Figure 15-1

Chapter 16

Figure 16-1

Figure 16-2

Figure 16-3

Chapter 17

Figure 17-1

Figure 17-2

Figure 17-3

Figure 17-4

Figure 17-5

Figure 17-6

Figure 17-7

Figure 17-8

Figure 17-9

Figure 17-10

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Chapter 18

Figure 18-1

Figure 18-2

Figure 18-3

Figure 18-4

Figure 18-5

Figure 18-6

Chapter 19

Figure 19-1

Figure 19-2

Figure 19-3

Figure 19-4

Figure 19-5

Figure 19-6

Figure 19-7

Chapter 20

Figure 20-1

Chapter 21

Figure 21-1

Figure 21-2

Figure 21-3

Figure 21-4

Figure 21-5

Figure 21-6

Figure 21-7

Figure 21-8

Figure 21-9

Figure 21-10

Figure 21-11

Figure 21-12

Figure 21-13

Figure 21-14

Figure 21-15

Figure 21-16

Figure 21-17

Figure 21-18

Figure 21-19

Figure 21-20

Figure 21-21

Figure 21-22

Figure 21-23

Figure 21-24

Figure 21-25

Figure 21-26

Figure 21-27

Chapter 22

Figure 22-1

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Begin Reading

Index

About the Author

Dedication

Author’s Acknowledgments

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Movie Making For Kids For Dummies®

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

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Introduction

So you want to be a movie maker? Have you ever watched a movie or a TV show and wondered how they made it and what it would be like to make your own? Well, you picked up the right book — this is where your movie making journey starts.

Digital movie making is the process of creating and telling a story or presenting information through the art of film using digital video cameras and smartphones. Basically, it’s a way creative people like you can turn the ideas in your heads into movies audiences can watch on movie screens, TVs, or computers. The movie making process can take weeks, months, and even years, depending on the length and complexity of the movie being made. It involves taking an idea, turning it into a story and a script, storyboarding the script into a series of images, recording the actors performing the script using video cameras, smartphones, and microphones, transferring the video clips from the camera to a computer, and editing the footage into the final movie for the audience to enjoy. It may sound like a complicated process, but it’s not, really — it’s fun, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy every moment.

There are thousands of movie makers in the world, living their dreams of making movies and documentaries every day. You could be one of them! Movie Making For Kids For Dummies introduces you to the magical world of movie making and guides you through the process of making your own movies to share with your family and friends.

About This Book

There aren’t many places where you can discover and develop movie making knowledge and skills and then practically apply them to your own movie projects. In Movie Making For Kids For Dummies, I give you all the knowledge and skills you need and guide you through the movie making process step by step.

They say a wise person learns from their mistakes and a clever person learns from other people’s mistakes. I’ve learned everything I know from working in different roles within the film industry, and the mistakes I made along the way helped me develop my skills and made me better at what I do. The great thing about this book is that I share with you the tips and techniques that I learned, which saves you having to make the same mistakes I did.

In this book, you:

Discover the different camera apps available to shoot your movies on a smartphone.

Explore the different types of camera shots and angles you can use in your movies.

Discover how to record sound using onboard and external microphones.

Find out about how to light your scenes and add mood using natural light and extra lights.

Edit your own movies together using the editing tool on your computer.

Create, film, and edit your own 60-second movie trailer.

Create, film, and edit your own documentary.

Audition people to play the characters in your movie.

Create a story, write a script, create a storyboard, and then film and edit your own short movie.

It’s better to understand the process and techniques of movie making before you go out and make your first movie. This book helps you gain this understanding, as well as the following:

Inspiration:

I help you think of ideas and stories to tell through film and find ways of making your camera shots look great.

Knowledge:

I give you the information you need to get the best from your ideas and stories and turn them into amazing movies.

Skills:

I show you ways to enhance and improve the look and sound of your movies through camera and microphone techniques.

Results:

I explain how to edit everything you’ve filmed together and bring it to life in the editing tool to make a movie you are proud to share with your family and friends.

Foolish Assumptions

You may know a little bit about me (especially if you’ve read the “About the Author” section at the back of this book), but I know nothing about you. Still, to write this book I had to make a few guesses and assumptions about the things you already know about movie making and about the experience you may have had before reading this book. These foolish assumptions helped me to decide what to include in this book.

I assume that you’re interested in making movies, which is not a difficult assumption since otherwise you wouldn’t have picked this book up in the first place. Maybe you’ve been involved in movie making before reading this book, or maybe you never used a video camera before. Either way, this book can help you.

Also, I assume you have access to a digital video camera, whether it be a camcorder you own, a video camera on your smartphone, or someone else’s camera you can borrow. Even if you don’t have access to a digital video camera right now, don’t worry — you’ll still find this book useful. For the editing sections, I also assume you have access to a PC or Mac and have the free version of DaVinci Resolve installed.

Finally, I assume you’re new to movie making and that you want to learn the whole process of making a movie from start to finish. Of course, even if you’re a professional or have made movies before, I’m sure you’ll find this book useful, even if only to refresh your knowledge and skills.

Icons Used in This Book

As you read through the projects in this book, you will notice a few icons:

The Remember icon gives you a little reminder about important things to keep in mind when you make your movies.

This icon appears when I am explaining technical information and techniques. You can skip this technical stuff if you want to.

I use the Tip icon when I have information or advice that can help you with your movie project.

If there is something that could be dangerous or should be avoided, the Warning icon appears.

Beyond the Book

I have made available a lot of extra content that you won’t find in this book. This book has a companion website, which you can access at www.dummies.com/go/moviemakingforkidsfd. Go online to find the following:

Project videos:

In the aptly named

Videos

folder, you’ll find videos where I demonstrate some of the ideas discussed in this book and give you some tips to help you make your movies. You can also access these videos using the QR codes sprinkled throughout the book.

An online Cheat Sheet for digital movie making:

Here you can find a list of notes that you can quickly read to help you make your movie.

Example movies, trailers, and clips:

Becoming a movie maker is a very visual experience, which means that sometimes you need to see examples of what I am explaining. In the

Movies

folder, you'll find the movies that our crew made while I was writing this book.

Downloadable forms that can ease your planning process:

In the

Download Forms

folder, you’ll find blank versions of the variety of forms shown throughout this book to help you plan, shoot and edit your movies, including a blank storyboard, a movie trailer structure sheet, an audience review form, a shot log sheet, and more.

Updates to this book, if there are any.

Where to Go from Here

Movie Making For Kids For Dummies will help launch you into the movie making world and give you the confidence you need to get out there and turn your ideas into movies. After you have read this book, you may want to study this topic further in college or look into any film courses near you. Whatever you decide to do next, I encourage you to keep watching movies to get inspiration and techniques from, and to keep making your own movies as that is the best way to develop as a filmmaker.

This book is made up of missions (like parts) and projects (like chapters), which are designed for you to be able to jump to different stages of the movie making process. If you already understand how your camera works, the different types of camera shots, the best way to record sound, and how to edit a movie, then you can jump to Missions 2, 3, 4, or 5, as you like. You can always come back to Mission 1 later.

Even if you’re an experienced filmmaker, however, I recommend starting at Project 0 and working your way through all the projects in order. If you jump ahead, you may miss something really important. In Mission 1, for example, I share some great ways to enhance the look and sound of your movie, which you will find this information very useful in Missions 2, 3, 4, and 5.

It’s now time to start your movie making journey. I’m really excited to be able to introduce you to the movie making world and to guide you through making your own movies!

Mission 1

Understanding the Basic Movie Making Process

During this mission you’ll …

Getting Started Making Movies

Getting to Know Your Camera

Framing a Great Shot

Making Your Movie Sound Good

Getting the Best Lighting

Adding Magic by Editing

For Dummies can help you get started with lots of subjects. Visit www.dummies.com to learn more.

Project 0

Getting Started Making Movies

Welcome toMovie Making For Kids For Dummies. Making movies is easier and less expensive than ever! Many years ago, perhaps before you were born, movies were captured using cameras that recorded a series of still images on to a reel of film or tape that ran through the camera. These reels were then cut together by hand, which was a very long and complicated process. Back then, fewer people were able to make high-quality films due to the cost of the equipment and production.

Now we have digital video cameras and smartphones. They capture images digitally through electronic chips, which send the images to media cards or hard drives and not to reels of film, which are expensive to buy and can’t be reused. The importing and editing process is also simpler because each section or clip of recorded video is imported and edited as a separate file, making the editing process quicker and more efficient. You can even edit your movie directly on your phone or tablet!

Some filmmakers still prefer traditional movie making to digital movie making because they prefer the look of the images captured with old, traditional film cameras. That “traditional film camera” look used to be hard to replicate with digital cameras, but things are changing. Some of the latest digital cinema cameras produce unbelievably beautiful footage. Some filmmakers are using smartphones to shoot high-budget films, as they can capture shots and angles that big old cinema cameras can’t.

The introduction of digital cameras has opened up opportunities for future filmmakers like you to get your movies made and seen. It’s never been easier or cheaper to turn ideas and stories into movies. Just look at the number of short films on YouTube — we live in an excitingly creative world!

With the skills and tips you learn in this book, and a smartphone or tablet in your hands, you can turn your ideas and stories into movies that you can share with your family and friends.

The Movie Making Process

The movie making process can be divided into five main stages:

Development

Pre-production

Production

Post-production

Distribution

If you imagine the movie making process as a journey, these five main stages are stops on the way. You can’t get to your final destination unless you stop at each of these places. Each of these stages is discussed in the next few sections.

Development

This is one of the most important areas of the movie making process, and it can be one of the hardest too. I find myself sitting in a coffee shop many times, staring into space, trying to think of ideas. This process is usually the longest part of making a movie, because it’s important to get the concept and the story right before moving into the production phase. Development can be rushed, however, and it is sometimes skipped altogether, although this leaves the story undeveloped, which can cause problems for the filmmaker later in the pre-production stage. The development stage involves creating ideas, developing character profiles, and building the story so that it’s ready to take into pre-production.

In the development stage, the filmmaker comes up with themes and ideas in order to create a story with a good beginning, middle, and end. This story is then used to create a script for the actors to work from and a storyboard for the director and crew to work from.

Pre-production

This stage uses the idea, story, script, and storyboard created in the development stage to prepare for the production stage. In pre-production, everything is planned as much as possible. If this stage is rushed or skipped, something may go wrong during the production stage, and it could take longer to film.

In the pre-production stage, actors are auditioned and cast for the characters in the film, locations are found, and sets are built for each scene, each filming day is planned and scheduled, and rehearsals for the actors are organized. The time and attention spent at this stage saves time in the production and post-production stages.

Production

The production stage is where the story and characters come to life through film. This stage relies heavily on the previous stages: If the story and script aren’t finalized or if no actors have been cast or no locations chosen, filming can’t begin.

The production stage starts with running rehearsals for the actors to help learn their lines and to develop their characters. During production, camera equipment is set up on location, and the planned scenes are filmed. The final stage of production is to review the filmed footage to make sure all scenes and necessary shots have been captured, and that the footage looks good enough to pass on to the post-production stage.

Post-production

The post-production stage is where the footage captured during production is pieced together to tell the story through editing. This stage is so exciting: The filmmaker gets to see the results of all the hard work put into the previous stages and to watch the film come together in the editing tool.

The post-production stage starts with importing and editing the footage captured during filming in an editing program on a computer, such as iMovie, or — my favorite —Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve. When all footage is imported and edited together, music and sound effects can be added and the footage can be enhanced with color and effects ready to be distributed.

Traditional forms of film editing are linear, meaning that they involve searching through reels of tape to edit film in sequence. Video-editing programs, such as iMovie, Windows Clipchamp, Final Cut, Adobe Premiere, and DaVinci Resolve, are known as non-linear editors (NLEs) because they are freer. You can view and edit video footage in a timeline in any order you like.

Distribution

Distribution is the final stage in the movie making journey. At this point, the film has been produced and edited, and it’s ready for the audience to enjoy. This can be a worrying time for the filmmaker because the movie will be viewed by an audience who will supply comments and reviews. This is the first point at which the filmmaker sees an audience’s response to the film.

Most mainstream films are first distributed to cinemas and then released on DVD and online streaming services, and television later. Low-budget films, on the other hand, don’t always get a cinema release. Instead, they first appear at film festivals and are then released to online video-hosting sites (and sometimes DVD) later.

Lights, Camera, What?

As you read through this book, there will be some words that are new to you. Here I’ve created a list of movie making-related terms and their meanings. If you’re ever unclear about a word I’ve used in this book, you can refer to this list:

Action:

A term called by the director during the filming of a scene to let cast and crew that a take has started.

Angle:

The position of the camera with respect to the subject.

Blockbuster:

A large-scale film with a high production budget usually released globally into cinemas.

Boom:

A long pole with a microphone attached. Booms are usually held above the actors to record sound in a scene.

Camcorder:

A video camera, which is a device used to record video footage.

Camera phone:

A cellphone device that can capture still images and record video footage.

Cast:

The group of actors appearing in a film or video.

Character:

A person within a story, usually fictional.

Clapperboard:

A board on which details of the film shoot are written, which is held in front of the camera to introduce a scene during filming. Traditionally chalk was used to write the details on the clapperboard but now marker pens are used. A clapperboard is sometimes referred to as a

slate.

Costume:

Clothes worn by the actors during filming.

Crew:

A group of people behind the scenes or behind the camera who are involved in the making of a film or video.

Cut:

A term is called by the director during filming to let the cast and crew know that a take is over.

Development:

The process of building and creating the film.

Dialogue:

The words spoken among the characters in a film or video.

Director:

The person who works with actors and crew when filming to help tell the story through their performance and the shots captured.

Editing:

The process of putting the film footage and clips together after filming.

Editing tool:

The software on a computer used to edit video.

Effect:

A visual or audio technique used to enhance or change the look or sound of a video clip. Effects can be added during filming or when editing.

Establishing shot:

This is the first shot to appear in a new scene, which “establishes” for the viewer the setting of the scene.

Filmmaker:

The person who creates a film or movie.

Fictional film:

A film based on a story that is imagined by the writer and not normally based on fact.

FireWire cable:

A way of transferring data and video footage from a camera to a computer. FireWire connections can also be referred to as IEEE 1394.

Focus:

The sharpness of an image.

Foley:

The audio recording of everyday sound effects to be added to a movie during the editing process.

Frame:

A still image taken from the many images captured within a video clip or film footage.

Gaffer:

The person who works closely with the director of photography to create a lighting plan for the movie.

Lens:

A device attached to the camera that uses glass to focus on a subject.

Lighting:

Devices that provide light to a scene.

Lighting technician:

The person who sets up and operates the lighting equipment on a movie.

Lines:

Character dialogue or words in the script performed by the actors.

Location:

A place or area used to film a scene.

Media card:

A storage device that captures and holds the information or video being recorded by the camera.

Microphone:

A device used to record sound when filming.

Monitor:

A mini TV screen used to view what the camera captures as it films or to review what already has been recorded.

Nonfictional film:

A documentary film created using factual information or real events starring real people involved in the events.

Post-production:

The work put into a movie after filming.

Prop:

Any item used by an actor in a scene or that is otherwise involved in the film.

Reel:

A length of filmstrip wrapped around a metal wheel so as to be more easily viewed on a projector. Film was the medium used to record motion pictures before the age of digital video (and is still used in increasingly rare cases).

Scene:

A series of shots filmed at one location to tell a section of the main story.

Schedule:

A plan of the day’s filming that shows the times and details of shots to be filmed.

Script:

A document showing the details of a story that is to be filmed, including the scenes and dialogue to be performed by the actors.

Set:

An area built and constructed where a scene can be filmed.

Shoot:

To film or record video footage.

Shot:

One section of footage recorded by the camera from start to finish.

Shot list:

A list used by the crew showing the shots to be filmed within a scene.

Sound effects:

Sounds added to a film when editing.

Storyboard:

A series of images created before filming to plan the shots to be filmed.

Subject:

The person or object being filmed.

Take:

One recorded performance of a scene during filming. A filmmaker could expect to shoot tens or hundreds of takes per scene (depending on the length of a scene).

USB cable:

A way of transferring data or video footage from a camera to a computer.

Voiceover:

A recorded voice used in a film or documentary. The speaker is not shown.

Wildtrack:

The audio recording of ambient sounds on location. Added to a movie during editing to create an atmosphere.

Zoom:

The magnification of an object or subject when filming that makes the subject appear to be closer or farther away.

What Every Movie Maker Needs

A filmmaker can spend a fortune on all the different tools available to make films. However, to get started, a filmmaker needs only a few basic tools, most of which are relatively inexpensive:

Video camera or smartphone:

Without a video camera or smartphone, there is no film. A video camera or smartphone captures the picture and audio and stores them on a media card, hard drive, or tape, ready to be imported and edited later.

Microphone:

The microphone picks up sound waves and converts them into signals that can be understood by the camera, which are then recorded along with the picture onto a media card, hard drive, or tape. Smartphones and camcorders have built-in microphones. You can also connect external microphones to help increase the audio quality.

Light source:

Your subjects need to be seen by your audience, so a light source is quite important. The light source could be a natural one, like the sun, or an artificial one, like the light from a lamp.

Editing tool:

An editing tool is a computer program or smartphone application into which you import your video footage, slice it up, and arrange into an order suitable for viewing by your audience.

Tripod:

A tripod is a great tool for keeping the camera or smartphone steady in a fixed position. It can be used to smoothly film moving subjects from left to right or up and down.

Media card/tape:

Means of storing video footage captured by the camera.

Headphones:

A device that can be plugged into a video camera or external sound recorder to monitor the quality of the audio being recorded.

Life as a Filmmaker

Ever since I was a young boy I’ve enjoyed being creative. I used to write my own plays and sketches and perform them in front of my family and friends. My sister and I would record our own radio shows. I even turned the act of making cheese on toast into a TV show. Later, when it came to deciding what I would choose as a career, I was unsure which path to take, and because it seemed sensible to try to fit in, I decided to work with computers. Back then, I thought that being an actor or filmmaker wasn’t a real job.

In the first five years of my career, however, I changed jobs more than ten times — something was wrong! Those so-called “sensible and normal” jobs didn’t make me happy. It occurred to me that I wouldn’t be happy until I was using the creative brain I was born with. I then made the decision to follow my dream to be involved in the TV and film industry. Now filmmaking is my life, my job, and my hobby — I love it!

Of course, like every job, filmmaking can be stressful. You can work long hours. There’s often too much to do and too little time or money to do it. Even so, the good aspects of working in the film industry outnumber the negative ones. No one day is the same as the next; that’s one of the things I love about the filmmaking industry. The majority of the work I get is for corporate clients. This is great, but it’s perhaps less exciting than working on dramatic or story-based films. Corporate filmmaking usually includes filming talking heads — often just a mid shot of someone talking to the camera delivering a message or conveying information about a subject. My other work includes promotional videos, charity films, training videos, product videos, filmed events, and short films.