It’s the story, silly and Apple just proved it with their new Super Bowl Ad , which they chose to release online rather than over the air. That isn’t to say there isn’t a place for 4K or even 8K in the ever changing movie making landscape, but for the indy film maker, there is no reason for you to not tell your story.
If you have any desire to use film as the medium to tell great stories, you don’t need to wait for film school. The basic tools are all around you and well within reach. But for the novice who whats to wants to make films, we need to step back from the talk of technology but start at the beginning. Where do you start. You have your iPhone. You’ve event purchased an external microphone to pick up better audio. What now.
Story. Film makers are storytellers. And good films, start with a good story. This article is not intended to tel you how to make a good story, but to tell you if you don’t have a good story, nor how to tell a good story, STOP NOW. Do not proceed until you have a story that is compelling, entertaining and well written. The story is you plan, it influences everything else in the production. Story, story story.
Then everything you do in your film is to tell the story. Wardrobe should tell the audience about your character. The environment should tell the audience about the scene. The lighting should tell the audience about the mood or characters thoughts. What motifs can you add to help lead the audience to discover meaning. You must know your story inside and out, and then think through the lens as to how best present each moment of your story.
In this short you can see some great behind the scenes footage of the production using the iPhone in use with some really high end production gear as well as just in hand. Apple has proven the technology is sufficient, and the story was worth telling. So how about you? You have the tools to say something. Now go out and say it.
What are you waiting for. Register today for the 4th annual Little Hollywood Shoot Out and we’ll see you in Kanab.
