One of the most dramatic effects that filmmakers create is rain. The trouble is, working with water is really expensive. If you want a good old fashioned rain storm (i.e: water and wind) it’s even more expensive.
Big budget movies use jet engines and water towers hooked to high pressure water mains. This is likely not within your budget.
You might decide to wait until mother nature provides you with some rain. Generally however, natural rain isn’t obvious enough on camera.
So, how do you make movie rain?
Filmmaker Jason Satterland lives in Portland Oregon and was introduced to me by the good people at Raindance LA. Jason’s Big Puddle Films is kicking up the airwaves with his new web series The Record Keeper. The reason I am dragging Jason into this is because he is somewhat of an expert on sexy movie rain. He manages to create scenes in the midst of howling gales that make it look like he’s working with a million dollars rather than a million cents.
He says that there are four important elements to movie rain:
- Big, fat drops (a garden hose doesn’t cut it)
- Wind
- Debris (blown in the wind)
- Backlight (edge lighting the drops so they show on camera)
Once you have seen this video (it’s a terrifically fast and entertaining watch of just 3 minutes) do me a favour: go here, like Jason’s Youtube channel and then watch Part 2. This portion is 4 minutes long.
After that you will know how to make big raindrops that will make any of your actors as sexy as Ryan Gosling.
Useful Raindance Classes
Write and Sell the Hot Script – day one is writing, day two is selling
Lo-To-No Budget Filmmaking – day one is no-budget shooting, day two is financing and selling your indie film
Producers Foundation Certificate – get the paperwork you need to get your film finance in place
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
Check out my new Substack for in depth Free Articles:
