Everyone is screaming for content. And I know you want to make your first movie, but my guess is you don’t know where to start. Best of all, you can do it with a few simple tools. Today I’m going to break down 10 essential filmmaker tools that will help you get that great idea for a movie out of your head and onto paper. From paper how to get it onto the screen. And once your film is finished – how do you monetise and sell your film.
Resources and Links
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1. Celtx
2. Canva
3. SOLDO
4. The Mandy Network
5. Filmic Pro
6. Audacity
7. Action VFX
8. Davinci Resolve
9. FilmFreeway
10.Vuulr
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Pre-production tools
1.Writing your script is the first challenge. And once the script is written it needs to be prepped for production. Celtx creates cloud-based software for the early stages of media production designed for collaborating, organizing, and producing media projects like film & TV, commercials, documentaries, machinima, games and interactive media, and podcasts. Celtx’ software is used by creatives and companies worldwide to achieve streamlined production workflows from concept to camera.
2.Another tool that I love is Canva. It helps you speed up the whole content creation process. They have battle tested templates that just work. So make sure you check them out and you can literally use their editors, and with the clicks of a button, you can get really good creatives or infographics and you don’t need a design bone in your body. Ideal for creating pitch decks, directors’ look books and promotional materials. It’s really easy to reformat for different social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter and TokTok. I particularly like the way that video content can be seamlessly embedded and shared making it the ideal collaborative tool. Have a look at the deck we made in no time at all for Raindance here.
3. When you start production, keeping track of the budgets and expenses is easily managed using SOLDO – the expense management system used here at Raindance. It makes budget reconciliations, expense management and VAT (sales tax) reporting easy.
4.Finding cast and crew is easy when you use The Mandy Network. The Mandy Network provides industry-leading tools which empower creative professionals to connect and find jobs across all sectors of Film, TV, Theatre and Commercial Production.
Production Tools
5. Filmic Pro is a mobile app designed to turn your smartphone into a professional video camera. It comes impressively close. This app is all about recording the video with the detailed control used by pros—it’s not a video-editing app. Its support for many recording formats, push effects, and high bitrates make Filmic a rival to dedicated video cameras. After all, if Lady Gaga can use Filmic to record a recent video, the app is certainly up to the task for your social media clips.`
6. Sound can be a real issue when filming. Situation solved with Audacity, Audacity is an easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. Audacity is free, open source software.
Post-production tools
7. For the very best in stock footage – things like editing in muzzle flare or gore, we turn to Action VFX. They have an amazing library for everything from explosions to crowd scenes. Not long ago, artists were limited in their choice of VFX elements because high-quality assets that met the standards of professional work were scarce. We believed there was a better way, so we got to work. Action VFX have built the undisputed best and largest library of VFX assets in the world.
8. When it comers to post-production most we know are turning to Davinci Resolve, part of the Black Magic family.. It is the world’s only solution that combines editing, colour correction, visual effects, motion graphics and audio post production all in one software tool! Its elegant, modern interface is fast to learn and easy for new users, yet powerful for professionals. DaVinci Resolve lets you work faster and at a higher quality because you don’t have to learn multiple apps or switch software for different tasks. That means you can work with camera original quality images throughout the entire process.
It’s like having your own post production studio in a single app! Best of all, by learning DaVinci Resolve, you’re learning how to use the exact same tools used by Hollywood professionals!
Sales and marketing tools
9.Now that your film is finished, you need to get it out there. FilmFreeway is the industry standard submission platform. it’s free to upload your film and data. Once uploaded, the platform alerts you to appropriate film festivals and their entry requirements and deadlines. You can also use their marketing service to alert festivals that your film is finished.
10. Finally, the newest way to market and sell your finished film, be it a short or feature, narrative or documentary is to use the online digital marketing platform, Vuulr. It’s free to upload your film, and once uploaded it can only be seen be one of their 7,500 accredited acquisitions executives. And these film buyers operate in over 140 countries, and acquire everything from traditional television and cinema to ancillary markets like airlines, hotels and schools. It’s the way forward to sell your film, whether you have a sales agent or not.
Fade Out
With these tools, you will be able to execute a film to professional standards.
Happy filmmaking!
A Raindance Film Editing Course:
https://raindance.org/courses/hands-on-film-editing-foundation/
Did You Know?
- Raindance Film Festival is considered one of the top fifteen film festivals in the world?
- Raindance Film School London offers HND, BA and MA in Filmmaking and Screenwriting?
- Raindance members support indie film, and enjoy a range of benefits
- Let Raindance guide you on your filmmaking pathway. call +44 (0) 207 930 3412 or email filmschool@raindance.ac.uk
Photo Credit: Bertie Watson
I founded Raindance Film Festival in 1993 because the British film industry was closed, polite, and congratulating itself while shutting new filmmakers out.
I co-founded the British Independent Film Awards in 1998 because British indie film deserved more than a shrug, a pat on the head, and a Tuesday night screening.
Raindance didn’t start as a brand. It started as a rebellion: film training without gatekeepers, a festival without permission, and a community built by filmmakers who weren’t waiting to be invited in.
Later, we took it global: Toronto, Vancouver, New York, LA, Berlin, and Brussels, because independent film doesn’t belong to one city, one class, or one accent.
I’ve produced 700+ short films and seven features, including Deadly Virtues (2014) and ALICE, which won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize (2019) not because someone “discovered” us, but because the work earned its place.
I’ve written three books used by filmmakers worldwide because too many courses taught compliance instead of survival.
In 2009, I was awarded a PhD for services to film education, ironic, given that most of my career has been about tearing down the rules that education insisted you follow.
I don’t believe in waiting for permission.I believe in making work, building systems, and forcing the industry to catch up.
Specialties: Independent Film (the real kind) · Producing · Writing · Film Education · Festivals · Breaking Broken Systems
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