No Crew, No Problem: How to Shoot a Film by Yourself
Here are some things to think about when shooting a film all by your lonesome.
Maybe you live in a small town, maybe you don't live in a film hub, or maybe you are just a little antisocial—whatever the case, you might find it difficult to find a crew to work on your projects with you. This is a problem plenty of filmmakers encounter at some point in their life, but instead of slinking home to spend another night binge-watching something on Netflix, you can actually spend your time figuring out how to make films all by yourself.
In this video, Darious Britt of D4Darious explains his approach to one-man-band projects and shares a bunch of tips that will come in handy when you're making films without a crew. Check it out below:
Now, you may not be able to get away with shooting a complicated feature film stuffed with car chases and explosions without a crew, but shooting a short film about something simple is absolutely doable.
And even though there are a few things you have to do differently when making a film by yourself, like setting up your monitors differently and using stand-ins for focusing, much of what Britt does is what you'd normally do for a low-budget film you'd shoot with a crew. Things like storyboarding, shooting with natural light, and recording good audio are integral to every production, but they become far more important and/or challenging when shooting solo.
Some advice on one-man-banding it from someone who spent five years doing exactly that: invest in plenty of mic stands, because without a crew to hold stuff for you, you're gonna need 'em.
What are some things someone should know when shooting a film without a crew? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: D4Darious
