🎨 Create a short film
Make a small first film with a phone, a short shot list, manageable sound and a finished edit you can share.
creative
Saves privately on this device. No account needed.
Plan the experience
Planning estimates, not a price quote or a deadline. Your version may vary.
- Time
- A planning session, a filming session and an editing session; a weekend is a workable starting window.
- Cost
- Can use a phone and an editor you already own. Props, travel and paid software are optional.
- Where
- One location where you have permission to film.
Before you start
Write a story you can tell in one to three minutes at one location. Keep the cast and props small. Ask everyone involved whether they agree to recording and to the way you plan to share the result.
How you would actually start
Write a shot list
Describe the beginning, change and ending in a few sentences. List the shots that make those moments understandable. Include a close-up and a wider view, and decide whether you need dialogue or can tell the story visually.
Test sound, then film
Record and play back a short test before filming everything. Move away from distracting noise or use a simpler scene if the dialogue is hard to hear. Record a few extra seconds at the start and end of each shot for editing.
Finish a short cut
Put the shots in order and remove anything the story does not need. Use music and other material you have rights to use. Export a file, watch it all the way through, and ask one viewer what they understood before revising.
What counts as done
A complete film has a beginning and an ending, plays correctly as an exported file, and has been watched by someone besides its maker.
A tiny finished film teaches the whole process. Save a larger cast and several locations for a project after this one.
When you finish, mark it fulfilled in My list. You can remember it in your weekly journal.