Why You Should Make A Film With Your Smartphone: FREE Film School

This week, I spotted this quote from a film director who is also a film school tutor:

“I do this to combat the insidious creep of what I call ‘pixel porn,'” said Patrick Read Johnson. “My mantra: If I ask Steven Spielberg to shoot this assignment on his iPhone, and I hand you an Arriflex Alexa, guess who comes back the following week with the better work?”

Patrick Read Johnson’s Twitter bio says he “Wrote and/or directed: Spaced Invaders, Baby’s Day Out, Angus, Dragonheart, 5-25-77″. I’m not familiar with those films but I absolutely agree with the sentiment.

Before I set out to shoot my debut feature, I had plenty of conflicting advice. Mostly, people said it would be “a waste” of a great screenplay to shoot the film on a camcorder with no budget. I took this advice and spent some months looking for funding so I could shoot on a “proper” camera.

So what changed my mind?

I watched Inland Empire by David Lynch. The film was shot entirely in low resolution digital video by Lynch himself, using a hand-held Sony DSR-PD150. At the time the PD150 was a popular pro-sumer camcorder, so well beneath the quality Lynch was used to having shooting on film.

Yes, the “pixel porn” part of the movie is lower quality than other films shot using “professional” cameras. But for me, Lynch’s creativity with the camera, the actors, lighting and the locations shone through. I thought to myself, what would I rather watch: a film shot by Lynch using a camcorder or a film shot with an expensive cinema-grade camera by someone with less creativity?

My decision at the time was: Lynch and a camcorder. After that, I abandoned the idea of raising £50k-200k. I set a date for the first day of filming. Within months, I was off and running making my first feature film.

Don’t I need a Pro Camera to be a Pro Filmmaker?

The amount of expensive equipment you have won’t make you a better filmmaker, any more than having the most expensive oil paints and brushes will make you a professional painter.

I was a professional musician for 20 years, and one thing I learned was that a talented guitarist can make incredible music from an old, £20 acoustic guitar. Meanwhile, some aspiring musicians believe buying an expensive instrument and a recording studio is the most sensible first step to success.

But I’m sure most of us know to learn an instrument you are better off with something cheap. Nobody will listen (with pleasure) to your horrible musical manglings, as you fumble your way through a tune. So, you need to put in the hours, days, weeks, months and years of practice needed to become fluent.

However, after practice (and talent, we have to say) you will one day impress your friends and family with a nifty melody. Then, you might start to hear encouragement such as “you could be a professional”. But practice comes first.

Learn your craft without pressure

Filmmaking is no different. To become fluent enough to make a watchable film you need to practice. Therefore, does it not make absolute sense to learn the basics with the camera in your pocket, before investing $ in some pro equipment?

How many times have have budding artists lost interest once the stakes were raised in this way? If this is your first time picking up a camera, you will not be feeling too confident. And if you just spent $5000 on a DSLR and lens, that’s a huge amount of pressure you are putting on yourself to produce something good.

That pressure could very well inhibit your creativity and your learning process. But if you’re just shooting with your smartphone, nobody including you will be expecting too much. There’ll be very little pressure for you to be amazing at your first attempt.

Look, to learn the violin we need to practice in a private room. Hopefully, not too many people can hear us so we feel less self-conscious about messing up. Same goes for filmmaking. Use your smartphone and practice, with as few people involved as possible. This way you feel less self-conscious when fumbling around, trying to master dolly shots, exposure settings, focus pulling and so on.

And here’s another reason not to spend those dollars on pro kit just yet…

The slippery filmmaking slope

OK, say you just spent 6 months researching every article and watching every YouTube video on DSLR cameras. You know, when you could have been spending that time learning to make films instead. Imagine someone who wants to be a pianist who – before playing a single note – spends 6 months looking for the best piano. You would question their thought process, wouldn’t you?

Anyway, you invested the 6 months and now you have your DSLR wishlist down to 2 cameras. Finally, you save up and make your choice. A few days later, the shiny Thing of Filmmaking Awesomeness arrives at your door.

Do you think you’ll now become an immensely productive filmmaker? Thing is, you haven’t set yourself up to be a filmmaker, but rather to be a DSLR expert. Yes, you are now a professional DSLR buyer with 6 months experience. Congrats!

Meanwhile, how much do you now know about the practical job of filmmaking?

Nothing.

Therefore, what do you think your next step will be? To make films or to start researching more filmmaking kit?

Thing is, you’ve already set up a psychological precedent in your mind. Rather than train yourself to be a filmmaker, you’ve trained yourself to research and purchase high quality filmmaking kit. Therefore, you now feel far more confident buying equipment than using it.

That’s just the obvious and logical result of your actions, isn’t it? So that means, rather than start making films, you will now find yourself thinking you need “just one more” bit of kit first. And so it begins. The eternal quest to find The Best Filmmaking Set-up in the World.

Of course, this is a quest that will never be completed. There will always be just one more shiny thing that’s absolutely essential for professional grade results.

Here’s a question for you…

Do you spend more time researching filmmaking kit than using it?

If your answer is yes then, following this method, you’re not going to become a better filmmaker.

So how do we make sure we don’t slip down that slope? Well, what’s the camera which needs the least amount of research before using? I put it to you, it’s the camera in your pocket.

Your smartphone camera is the most user friendly camera ever invented. Millions have been spent making them as idiot proof as possible. So if you can’t make a decent movie with one of these, what chance do you have with something more complex?

The truth is that a talented, skilled musician will make great music with a $10 instrument. I know, as a musician myself I worked with dozens of gifted musicians who just love to make music. In fact, you usually can’t stop them. Leave a musician alone for 10 minutes, they’ll usually start tapping out a beat or strumming the nearest stringed thing in reach – whether it’s a kids’ guitar or a $16m Stradivarius.

If you want to be a serious filmmaker, I recommend you take the same approach. Being eager to start shooting something, with whatever is in reach, is a good sign you are thinking like a filmmaker. However, if you spend most of your time drooling over camera specs, then…

This Week’s FREE film School Exercise

You have a week to make a film with your smartphone. For this exercise, you should keep it as simple as possible. Therefore, no script, no scripted dialogue.

Shoot a film you can make on your own, with perhaps a friend or two to play characters. This can be a documentary style film observing friends and/or family or a just a simple story made up in 10 minutes.

Aim to make a film 3-6 minutes in length.

Example of a simple documentary

Ask one or more family members about their memories of the first day at school. Film them and record their answers. Use an external mic if you have one. Now edit the takes together, focusing on the most interesting parts of the answers. Add “b-roll” footage which perhaps reflect the nature of the subject. Examples: film some old photos of them taken at school. Film them walking around outside their old school, as if reminiscing.

If you can’t find a willing subject, you can always make this doc about yourself.

Example of a simple fiction film

A person is eagerly awaiting their new DSLR to be delivered. Watching the clock. But every time they go to the door, it someone else – family member, friend, neighbour, child. Each one has an annoying reason for ringing the doorbell. And so on.

Try to tell the story visually, without dialogue. For example, the friend is returning a borrowed DVD. The neighbour is locked out of their apartment and needs somewhere to hang for a few hours…. and so on.

These are just off the top of my head. I’m sure you can think of better stories. This exercise is not intended to win any Oscars. This is purely to practice filmmaking, like an aspiring violinist playing scales.

Although, this should be more fun than practicing scales, right?

Right, you have 7 days. Get to it!

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