1. Come up with an idea
You may have a million ideas of movies you want to make. You may have one. You may have none and need to search for inspiration to find one. In the end, this idea is the seed for a beautiful movie to bloom.
2. Write a Script
Every great idea must be able to be fleshed out into a full story. What would be the medium of this kind of story? A script. Be mindful to create dialogue that flows well, as well as a series of events that can be connected and understood by the viewer.
3. Gather Equipment
After you have your script and you decide you want to film, you can’t jump into it unprepared. You will need to have equipment pertaining to sight and sound. Cameras are the most staple product in creating any film. A film is meant to be visualized after all. Microphones can help reduce any static noise produced while recording scenes. Lighting fixtures/equipment can help set the mood for the scene. For example, cool tones produced through lighting create a grittier, somber mood, while warm tones are most particularly used with romantic or lighthearted moods.
4. Gather People to Act in the Movie
Though as the scriptwriter and director of the film, knowing the ins and outs of your characters, you can not successfully capture an audience with a one man show unless it was meant to be one. You can ask your friends or post on social media that you are trying to make a movie. Ask those around you if they could be a part of your movie. If the script is good, people will be interested.
5. Schedule Filming
After you've gathered people willing to be in your movie, it is time to set up a schedule for filming. Each day should have a goal, whether it be to simply finish a scene or to rehearse your lines well enough to do well in the final cut. At this point, some people may find themselves unavailable and need to back out. These things happen so don't dwell on it.
6. Follow through
Now that you’ve made a schedule, you have to follow through. It’s time to use the equipment you gathered and to work with the individuals in your film to create a great movie.
7. Edit
Once everything that needed to be filmed is filmed and everything that needed to be recorded is recorded, it is time to move on to one final time consuming task: Editing. Editing can range from splicing and trimming scenes together to create a unified film. This is where sight meets sound and music is added in to further deepen the feelings within the movie. If there were any visual or audio mistakes, this is where they would be fixed or altered in order to better suit the film.
8. Publish
Finally, after a long journey, your movie making process comes to a close. After coming up with an idea, writing a script, gathering equipment, recruiting individuals, managing a schedule, filming and editing, it is time to publish your finalized version of the film. Show it to the world or show it only to a select few. Either way, the experience of movie making is a tiring, but rewarding journey.
