Top 5 Tips for Film Festival Submissions in 2019  You just finished your film! So now what? Sure, you can show your friends and family, even put it up on YouTube. But why don't you try getting it out to a much wider audience? Indie filmmakers and student filmmakers can have their movies shown around the globe at film festivals. Film festivals run the gamut of red carpet affairs like Sundance and Cannes to more local events, online festivals, and university-led events. For example, in Buffalo, there are a number of incredible film festivals like the Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival (a local film fest that has a special love for all horror and science fiction), the NCCC Film and Animation (a great venue for students and local film networking), and other film festivals like the Buffalo International Film Festival and the 48 hour Film Festival.  The 48 Hour Film Festival is a worldwide phenomenon where filmmakers get together and create a film in, you guessed it, ...

How to Make a Movie We all love watching movies. Learning how to make a movie doesn't have to be that difficult. Sure, it's a lot like trying to juggle oranges and chainsaws convincingly. But overall most folks absolutely LOVE the filmmaking process! So let's cover some of the basic steps. We'll assume you already have a great story and script. If not, then check out my Filmmaking Crash Course for some great writing exercises. Get a Camera Now you might say, "Well, I know how to make a movie, but I don't have a camera." Don't worry. When I say camera, I mean any sort of device that shoots video or film. These are all cameras: Smartphone Camcorder Your Granddad's Super 8 A Laptop Tablet Okay, I know the purists are going to say that you need an incredible cinematic camera that shoots 4K and costs thousands to make a good high-quality film. But the truth is that most of us are not trying to win an Oscar, we are trying to tel...