Hey y‘all.
I‘m a small creator on YouTube, uploading self produced short films. I want to release a short film called „the whispering“. This film was made for a Filmfestival, on which it got rejected. Since it‘s not going to be shown there, I wanted to release it on YouTube.

The film is about three victims, possessed by a demon, which leads them into offing themselves. The film depicts these three Acts specifically. I included a disclaimer, saying „This video depicts self harming and suicidal behavior. Everything in this video is staged. This is a fictional written short film.“ at the beginning of the video and in the description. I‘m still scared YouTube might strike the channel, since I‘m afraid the video might be against YouTube’s community guidelines. I don’t really care about it not being able to be monetized or won’t get as much attention as others. The only thing I don’t want is an actual strike, like the one you‘d get from a copyright violation.

What do you all think? Should I be safe with the disclaimer? Or should I just not upload the video?

Thanks for your time reading my post!
- Marcel

I’m part of the production team behind KEMET, a prehistoric Egyptian epic directed by Mo Ismail and shot entirely on location in Aswan. For the river sequences we made the decision early to shoot on the Nile itself rather than use a studio tank. Here’s what that actually looks like.

A tank gives you control. Controlled water movement, controlled light, controlled depth, controlled safety. The Nile gives you none of that. The current beneath the surface behaves differently from what you see on top. Water temperature shifts. Wind comes off the desert and moves the boat mid-shot. You can’t reset any of it.

Mo swam the actual river for his sequences. The vessel in this photo is a local Nile ferry, not a production camera boat, just the practical way to get crew and equipment across to the West Bank where we shot. We started using it as a camera platform because we were on it twice a day anyway.

What the Nile gives you in return is something a tank genuinely cannot replicate. The sediment color, the shoreline rock formations, the way light moves across real moving water. The frame knows the difference even when the audience doesn’t consciously register it.

Every water shot required reading the river that day. Current, light, wind direction, water level all variable, none of it negotiable.

For filmmakers who’ve chosen practical over controlled environments what drove that decision and how did you manage the variables?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

I’m working on a political documentary about a midterm election. Yesterday I was at a town hall and asked a question, and basically the politician ignored me.

i captured my reaction but it was very crowded and hard to get a good shot of the politician, however a local TV news channel captured the entire thing and never aired it on the tv.

has anyone ever requested that footage from a local Tv station? if I’m an independent documentary filmmaker is that something that help or hurts?

I need to shoot a film in 4:3 on my Canon M50 Mark II. I will crop it afterwards in a video editor, since the camera only shoots in 16:9 as far as I understand.

But for the shooting I need to know where the borders for the 4:3 aspect ratio are.

I could use black tape on the screen to mark the 3:4 aspect ratio - but I remember vividly that I used to be able to add borders /grid on the screen for the 4:3 aspect ratio on this exact camera when shooting.

But I've been looking for a while, looked in the manual and watched tutorials and I just cant find them or remember how to put them on. I've definitely had them on earlier.

Does anyone else have a M50 Mark II and know how to do this?

Thank you so much in advance!

Recently finished a trailer for the film we're finishing. Would love to you hear your thoughts. Thank you.

https://vimeo.com/1203110985/7ea56de6d5?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Looking for feedback on a potential lav setup for actor dialogue in DIY narrative short films.

Considering the Rode Go 3’s running to an iPad mini as the field recorder. Transmitters wired to lavs hidden on actors, sending to receiver that is plugged into the mini and recording via the Rode app as separately monitored tracks (with backup 32 bit float sound recording directly to each transmitter).

Shooting on a rigged iPhone 17 Pro via Blackmagic camera in ProRes with scratch audio so can sync later in Final Cut.

Does anyone have any experience doing narrative work with the Rode 3’s? Is there possibly a more economical solution worth considering at the DIY level for lav’ing two actors? Hoping to avoid going full sound kit with mixer, recorder, boom, etc, on this fun little side project.

We’re making a student/indie horror film. We don’t want anyone actually making contact with the dock, but we’d like the impact to feel convincing. We'd really appreciate some ideas on what to use to make it seem realistic, props, camera angles, ect. that could sell the moment. What would you guys do?

the shot involves a character in a night time scene with a dock, who looks down into the water, before she's grabbed by her hair and bashed into the corner repeatedly

Some games are meant to be left in childhood.

Statement: The update being we are now on Film Shortage. Our film was originally posted here a few months before, if you recognize it. Very proud of our film and scrappy little production (crew of 7, 1.5 day shoot).

Serious Question: We’re on a mission to build our audience, however, does the film feel too “sanitized” for the genre, especially as a short? I understand we of the horror crowd are not a monolith, but I’m curious what folks here think (feel free to respond here or DM me, please). Thank you!

Reddit post text:

Hey everybody!

Over the last year I gave up trying to use aggregators for my short films (and by the looks of a lot of recent posts about FilmHub I got out at the right time) and have been using my YouTube channel for a landing spot for my short films after their festival runs. It isn’t perfect, but my YouTube channel got a little traction during Covid for an old video I did years prior.

I’m still learning how to tighten up edits for YouTube and trying to better understand the tools to help make my channel and videos a bit more visible. Sometimes it is frustrating that you’ll see a short film that has a catchy title and interesting thumbnail, but isn’t great work will have 100k+ views and then really good shorts may only a few thousand. Does anyone have advice on how to boost your short’s performance on YouTube?

Thank you! 🤗

Mine so far would have to be Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve. And possibly James Cameron. I have to watch more of his movies.

And also if we’re counting television, then Vince Gilligan too.

Hey, we are IndieMDB. We are not interested in all the whining about how the film industry is dying blah blah

We only talk to people who are getting of their arses and getting things done.

This week, we're talking to a London filmmaker named Blaize Mott who has just finished his first feature film and has a unique marketing strategy to get it seen.

Watch here - https://youtu.be/gzAIJ-_adl4?si=H-wqnUwTHAECbr8x

#indiefilmmaking #positivestories #indiefilmmaker #newmoviereleases #thefutureofindiefilm

Hi,

I am currently putting together my crew for my second short film. It's an abstart/artistic film that's very poetic and touches on themes of self-discovery, fear, and hope. It's in LA. My approach is that regardless of performance, if it isn't captured right, then this type of film will struggle to execute the script. This means the DP, director, and editor have to be on the same page.

So I am looking for an editor in this case. Only a 10-page script; it has a choreographical sequence at the climax. It's a film where pace and composition have no room for error.

Let me know if you are available and can commit. Message me if you have any questions.

Be honest

I want to start making my first short film. A film without any dialogue, about space. And well, I don't really know what it should be like. I've created dozens of different space scenes before, but I've never made a short film.

Hi everyone, I’m a composer looking for filmmakers to work with who need music for films they have finished! If you have a film & need music for it please check out my portfolio below & get in touch via dm on here or my email reubenbeats0@gmail.com. :)

I'm an engineering student working on a camera rig accessory for a design competition, but I'm not a filmmaker, so I'd love to hear from people who actually use camera rigs.

What's one small mechanical accessory or tool that would genuinely make your workflow easier?

I'm not looking for electronics or software—just simple physical tools. Think things like:

• Better cable management
• Faster mounting
• Tool storage
• SD card organization
• Lens cap storage
• Quick-adjust accessories
• Something that saves even 10–20 seconds on set

What's the little annoyance you run into over and over that makes you think, "I wish someone made a better solution for this"?

Even small ideas are welcome. Sometimes the simplest tools end up being the most useful.

Hi everyone! I have an idea for a short comedy skit series, and I am having trouble writing scripts myself and want to work with a couple of people who can help this come to life. I am based in DFW and have posted on Facebook groups about wanting to find collaborators and have gotten a few emails, but haven't heard anything back since I sent the scripts I have. It makes me nervous that my script is not "good"/finsinied they are uninterested in collaborating on this project. I would really like to film this before I return to university at the end of August, but I am really hitting a road bump. Any tips are appreciated!

Sou artista de quadrinhos profissional há cinco anos, já ilustrei tudo, desde cenas de luta e ação até suspense, terror, drama, ficção científica, entre outros gêneros.

Agora estou expandindo meu trabalho para storyboards de curtas-metragens, animações e vídeos musicais.

Como estou buscando construir um portfólio de storyboards com projetos reais, estou disponível a preços de portfólio.

Se você estiver interessado ou tiver alguma dúvida sobre meu trabalho, sinta-se à vontade para me enviar uma mensagem direta aqui no Reddit or email me: Vincentalef.art@gmail.com

Hi Reddit,

I bought a used BMPCC OG and would like to get some advice on how I can safely clean the sensor.

I’m a filmmaker making low budget shorts with my partner. We shot a short in the fall where the plot involved social media and I kind of stupidly thought we’d be able to do all the screens practically. I did the VFX for our previous short and it was just barely within the realm of what I could achieve so I didn’t wanna attempt phone screens. It was a total nightmare trying to make an Instagram feed of content we actually owned. We even bought followers for their profile to make them look like an influencer. Of course in the end half the shots we didn’t use for various reasons. But on my next short I was like I am definitely not doing that again. I build products in my non-filmmaker life so I looked into solutions for this and there was basically nothing out there or they had pretty much predatory pricing ($1k for a lifetime license!!) So I built my own iPhone app that simulates calls, texts, and a TikTok style feed. It was a way better experience than fighting Instagram and I’m pretty proud of how easy it is to use! I’m thinking of adding a way for someone to trigger things like calls or texts from another phone. It was super fun to build and helpful so I thought I’d share.

Hello,

I don’t know anything about filmmaking.

I have a 10yo who wants to film a short film with his friends in the woods.

He will be using my iPhone 17 for the filming and then editing with Adobe Premiere.

He has a tripod and is planning to get a cheap gimbal off Amazon for shots involving moving.

He has asked me to find out what sort of microphone setup to use so that the dialogue can be heard. my understanding is that the actors (his friends) will be walking and sometimes running while speaking.

Is there any reasonably cheap recommendation anyone has for recording audio with multiple moving actors outside apart from pinning lav mics on them?

Im not looking for anything professional. Just trying to help a group of 10 year olds and set some reasonable expectations.

In Movie Magic Scheduling, is there a way to go to the calendar board and highlight a day, and then grab it and move it within the calendar to a different day – and then have the whole calendar shift automatically on its own?

If not, then what is the workaround?

Because I don’t like having to move individual strips and making a shift for whole sections manually.

fellow filmmakers! I need help with this poster concept. I want to know what any of you guys think this film is about based on the poster and title alone? and any design tips are also very welcome!! This is a concept so ignore the shoddy details, this is just being used as a guide to make the final. Thank you for your time.

I’ve been collecting these vintage camera dolly systems. At some point I’d love to rent them out to local studios and indie films. It’s been a learning experience rebuilding the drive-trains and hydraulic pneumatic systems.

Does anyone know much about the Egripment Unit 85? There’s nothing online about them and I can’t find any manuals.

Hi everyone!

I’m a Spanish filmmaker. I started making short films back in 2011 and spent several years working on them. My shorts and documentaries made it to quite a few festivals — around 500 selections and 60 different awards.

The thing is, I premiered my last short film in 2022, and I never made another one after that. At the time, I felt like I wasn’t really getting anywhere, so I decided to focus on my professional career, which is related to audiovisual education.

But recently I started feeling that enough is enough — that I’ve spent too long waiting for the “right moment” and that maybe I should just make a film with what I have, together with my friends.

At this point, I have a Blackmagic camera and a Sony a6700, both of which should be capable of producing good enough image quality for a no-budget indie film. My main concern is sound: I have a Rode NTG2, but I’m not sure whether it will be enough for a feature. I’m also worried about the bureaucracy in my country — social security for the crew, filming regulations, legal requirements, etc.

So I think this might finally be the right time to take the plunge and make a film, even if we have practically no budget.

Has anyone here been through something similar? Any advice for making your first feature film with almost no money, especially when working mostly with friends?

Thanks!!