10 Creative Challenges to Take Your Filmmaking to the Next Level
Stop taking it easy on yourself.
'The Invite'
Last week I started a new spec. It was a genre that I haven't worked on since, like, 2017, and it was immediately hard.
There were days I felt like I was making stupid choices, and the pages didn't come easily.
But it has also been so fulfilling, because the wins have not come easily, but they make me feel like I am a genius.
This is a story I've always wanted to write, and even if it's a challenge to do it, it's making me a better writer every day.
Iron sharpens iron, and that's why I wanted ot challenge all of you to challenge yourselves as filmmakers.
I made a bucket list that you might want to copy or use to inspire your work. Stop making it easy on yourself, find out what you're capable of, and show the world your wins.
Let's dive in.
1. The Oner: Shoot a Scene in One Continuous Take
- YouTube www.youtube.com
The Goal
Block, light, and move without relying on a single edit.
Why Do It
This will force you to master actor blocking and camera movement simultaneously. It won't be easy, and you'll have to rehearse and shoot it many times, but if you get it all into one scene, you might have something people are really excited to watch. Every frame has to count, and there is nowhere to hide in post. But it will be on your reel!
2. Light Using Only Practical Sources
- YouTube www.youtube.com
The Goal
Light the entire scene using lamps, neon signs, monitors, or streetlights already in the space.
Why Do It
Can you control the atmosphere with stuff already plugged in? How good are you with a bounce card or reflector? Can you diffuse overhead? This will teach you exposure limits, color temperature mixing, and how to shape light using location design. It's not easy, but you can make it cinematic.
3. Edit a Dramatic Scene Without Audio First
- YouTube www.youtube.com
The Goal
Cut a scene together with the sound completely muted.
Why Do It
If your scene doesn't work visually, the sound won't fix it. You know the day; show, don't tell. So what are you showing us? Is there a way to get all the emotion from the scene just by trying different angles or even a different order of who you show, when? Editing silently forces you to focus on performance and rhythm.
4. Write and Shoot a Scene with Zero Dialogue
- YouTube www.youtube.com
The Goal
Tell a story purely through visual beats, props, and actor motivation.
Why Do It
This goes with the last challenge. Do this on the page! Write the scene out and don't use any dialogue. Let it all be action and looks or gestures. Maybe it's someone putting away dishes, and they get loud when they're angry. Dialogue is often used as a crutch. I demand you walk on your own.
5. Shoot an Entire Scene on One Focal Length
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The Goal
Pick one prime lens—like a 35mm or 50mm—and do not swap it out for the entire scene.
Why Do It
You can't rely on zooms or lens changes. Put yourself in a box visually and try to find a way to keep it creative. Move the camera itself. Bounce shots off mirrors or pan or dolly. Just do something except swap lenses.
6. Direct in a Constrained Location
- YouTube www.youtube.com
The Goal
Shoot an entire short or multi-page scene set in a closet, a car, or a bathroom.
Why Do It
I love this kind of challenge. Can you put all the emotion in one location? How can you use a bathroom or the trunk of a car, or another confined space, to make a point? It makes you find creative angles and lighting solutions when spatial depth is virtually nonexistent. And think of the props you can use!
7. All Naturalist Lighting: Bounce & Diffuse Only
- YouTube www.youtube.com
The Goal
Shoot a daytime scene using only direct sun, negative fill, and reflectors/floppy boards.
Why Do It
Shoot outside. Go to a location where there are no plugs or outlets and just be there. Can you make it look good? Can you remove the emotion from it and make it feel picturesque? Channel your inner Malick.
8. Build a 100% Custom Foley Track
The Goal
Build every footsteps, door creak, and room tone track manually.
Why Do It
What does your scene sound like? Sound is 50% of the viewing experience. Creating Foley from scratch can make you appreciate all the little things that happen in a scene that need to pop. You can build a whole mood, too.
9. Tell a Complete Story in 60 Seconds
- YouTube www.youtube.com
The Goal
Setup, escalation, climax, and resolution, all within one minute.
Why Do It
This is a short film challenge. Can you tell a story in a minute? How fast can you get your character or exposition? How much story can you fit into one of these narratives and the heart within it? There is zero room for fluff.
10. Execute a Seamless Match-Cut
The Goal
Connect two completely different locations or time periods with a perfectly matched motion or graphic transition.
Why Do It
You can do the literal match like Lawrence of Arabia or the bone in 2001. But do something that connects inside the brain. We want to know the visual language from the story and want to see how you're connecting things, like the blood from a cut to raspberry jam or another. It trains your eye to think about edit points during writing and pre-pro, long before you hit the set.
Which Challenge Are You Taking On First?
Challenges mean things are not easy. But they do make you better. Think of this stuff as stepping stones to put more arrows in your quiver.
You get good at these, and we'll even add more.
Pick one from this list, grab a camera, and go make something this weekend.
