How Do You Become a Filmmaker Without Going to Film School? 
How Brother Joseph Again Turned a 180-Year Mystery Into a Theatrical Documentary 
How Do You Get an Independent Feature Film Made? 
How to Break Into the Film Industry Without Connections with Evan Morton 
How to Find Film Friends and Actually Make Your Short Film 
How Do You Become a Filmmaker Without Going to Film School?
When I sat down with Daylen Pollard for this Filmmaker Spotlight, I wanted to talk about what it actually looks...
How Brother Joseph Again Turned a 180-Year Mystery Into a Theatrical Documentary
For nearly two centuries, millions of people have recognized the name Joseph Smith. But according to filmmaker Daylen Pollard, there...
How Do You Get an Independent Feature Film Made?
When we first saw He Never Left at the Utah International Film Festival, we saw the finished movie. We saw...
How to Break Into the Film Industry Without Connections with Evan Morton
I love talking with filmmakers who have a career path that makes absolutely no sense on paper until you hear...
How to Find Film Friends and Actually Make Your Short Film
You have an idea for a short film. Maybe you even have the script. There’s just one tiny problem. You...
How to Fund, Make & Festival Your Short Film with Bartley Taylor
It's you're waiting for permission to start making you movie you are going to be waiting FOR-Ev-Er. Waiting until you...
Filmmaking is Therapeutic with Rodrigo Moreno-Fernandez
Some filmmakers make a movie to entertain you. Some make one because there’s something living in their head that refuses...
Stop Treating FilmFreeway Like a Slot Machine
I love FilmFreeway. I also think some filmmakers use it like they’re sitting in front of a slot machine at...
Is Tech Helping Your Short Film—or Making It Look Like Everyone Else’s?
There’s a weird thing happening in filmmaking right now. We have more tools than ever, and somehow it’s getting easier...
The One Prop That Tells Us Who Your Character Is
One of the hardest things about making a short film is that you don’t have a lot of time to...
Can Your Short Film Help Finance Your Next Movie?
Your short film already ate your money. Fair is fair. Let’s make that little sucker do some work. Can it...
Just Make the Dang Film: Erick Lozano on Learning by Doing
Erick Lozano didn’t wait until he had all the answers to call himself a filmmaker. He made a movie, learned...
Stop Submitting Your Short Film to Every Festival You Can Afford
And that’s a wrap on your latest short film! That took more time, money and favors than anybody outside our...
How to Write a Short Film Script That Fits Its Runtime
Your short film script is not a feature screenplay that you just cut a ton of pages to fit your...
Where Should You Post Your Short Film After Its Festival Run?
The minute a festival run starts slowing down, all filmmakers start thinking where should we post the short film so...
How Long Should a Short Film Be for Film Festivals?
How long should a short film be? The Academy defines a short film as 40 minutes or less, including the...
How to Make a Teaser Trailer for Your Short Film
Your teaser doesn’t need to explain your short film. It needs to make me want to watch it. Go watch...
How to Find the Right Utah Film Festival Near You
Utah has a lot more film events than most people realize. Some are built around a specific genre. Some focus...
How First-Time Filmmakers Can Find the Right Film Festivals
The first film festival you submit to probably shouldn’t be Sundance. There. I just saved you some money. If this...
How to Submit a Short Film to Film Festivals
Your short film can do more than give you a passing grade in your beginning filmmaking class. A lot more!...
How to Make Film Friends at a Film Festival
One of the best things you can leave a film festival with isn’t an award, a review, or a photo...
They Can’t Find You Unless You Show Up with Damarr Jones
JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjIxMDAlMjUlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIxODAlMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMm5vJTIyJTIwc2Nyb2xsaW5nJTNEJTIybm8lMjIlMjBzZWFtbGVzcyUzRCUyMiUyMiUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGc2hhcmUudHJhbnNpc3Rvci5mbSUyRmUlMkY2ZDA0NzI0NSUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmlmcmFtZSUzRQ==You can be talented, prepared, experienced, and completely invisible. That’s a rough sentence. I know. But plenty of actors and...
Why Smaller Film Festivals Can Create Bigger Opportunities
Everybody wants to get into the big one. You know the festival. The one you’ve heard about forever. The one...
Should You Submit to Local, Regional or International Film Festivals?
Finishing a short film creates a fun new problem. Now you have to figure out where the heck to send...
How to Choose the Right Short Film Festivals for Your Film
The biggest film festival isn’t automatically the right film festival for your short. I know. That would be wonderfully convenient....
Charla Bocchicchio on Building an Acting Career in Utah
JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjIxMDAlMjUlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIxODAlMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMm5vJTIyJTIwc2Nyb2xsaW5nJTNEJTIybm8lMjIlMjBzZWFtbGVzcyUzRCUyMiUyMiUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGc2hhcmUudHJhbnNpc3Rvci5mbSUyRmUlMkZiZTE5NGU5ZCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmlmcmFtZSUzRQ==Imagine someone comes up and asks you what you do, and instead of saying, “I’m trying to become an actor,”...
How Do You Know if a Film Festival Is Actually Good?
Every year, somebody publishes a list of the “best” film festivals. Top 10 festivals for filmmakers. 50 festivals worth the...
How to Increase the ROI of a Film Festival
You got accepted into a film festival. Woot Woot! Its time to party like its....well not 1999, but you...
Picking a Talent Agency in Utah Without Getting Burned
Getting an offer from a talent agency feels like your acting career is about to take off. A legit talent...
Treat Your Film Like a Business Before You Start Shooting
JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjIxMDAlMjUlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIxODAlMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMm5vJTIyJTIwc2Nyb2xsaW5nJTNEJTIybm8lMjIlMjBzZWFtbGVzcyUzRCUyMiUyMiUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGc2hhcmUudHJhbnNpc3Rvci5mbSUyRmUlMkY0NzEyOTczMCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmlmcmFtZSUzRQ==Producer and business owner James Young explains why a successful film needs more than a good story. It needs the...
How to Write a Better Film Synopsis
JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjIxMDAlMjUlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIxODAlMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMm5vJTIyJTIwc2Nyb2xsaW5nJTNEJTIybm8lMjIlMjBzZWFtbGVzcyUzRCUyMiUyMiUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGc2hhcmUudHJhbnNpc3Rvci5mbSUyRmUlMkZiYzY3ZGJjNiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmlmcmFtZSUzRQ==A bad synopsis can make a good film sound like trash. And not trashy trash. Stinky trash. Okay, that got...
Is Your Short Film Ready for Film Festival Submissions?
Way to go on finishing your short! But before you start firing off festival submissions, i gotta question for you:...
What Should I Do With My Short Film?
JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjIxMDAlMjUlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIxODAlMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMm5vJTIyJTIwc2Nyb2xsaW5nJTNEJTIybm8lMjIlMjBzZWFtbGVzcyUzRCUyMiUyMiUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGc2hhcmUudHJhbnNpc3Rvci5mbSUyRmUlMkYwZTY3NDg3NyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmlmcmFtZSUzRQ==Finishing a short film is a big deal. You solved problems no one else saw and took an idea all...
You Can’t Outspend Hollywood. So Stop Trying.
I went to the movies recently and noticed something during the trailers. Every trailer was for a major studio release....
Make the Film Before You Feel Ready with Mary Hailstone
JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjIxMDAlMjUlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIxODAlMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMm5vJTIyJTIwc2Nyb2xsaW5nJTNEJTIybm8lMjIlMjBzZWFtbGVzcyUzRCUyMiUyMiUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGc2hhcmUudHJhbnNpc3Rvci5mbSUyRmUlMkY0MzBhOTIyYSUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmlmcmFtZSUzRQ==You don’t need to feel ready before making a film. You need a story, a willingness to learn, and enough...
It Takes Courage to Make a Feature Film: Andrew DeBennett on Obsession’s Rising
JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjIxMDAlMjUlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIxODAlMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMm5vJTIyJTIwc2Nyb2xsaW5nJTNEJTIybm8lMjIlMjBzZWFtbGVzcyUzRCUyMiUyMiUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGc2hhcmUudHJhbnNpc3Rvci5mbSUyRmUlMkZmZDYwZmFkNSUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmlmcmFtZSUzRQ==Making a short film is difficult. Deciding you are ready to make a feature requires another level of courage. Filmmaker...
Find Your Filmmaking Tribe at Festivals
Making movies can be a strangely lonely experience starting out.You can spend months writing a script. Then you plan a...
What Makes a Film Festival Different
Going to the local cinema is a great way to escape for a couple of hours. You buy a ticket,...
10 Unique Plot Structures for Film Festivals
There is no magic plot that guarantees film festival picks. Festivals build programs, not rankings. A great film can be...
$0 Filmmaking
Make Your Next Short With the Tools Already in Your Pocket You do not need a cinema camera, a lighting...
10 Short Films That Became Successful Feature Films
Some of today’s most successful independent features began as short films—or even online videos—that demonstrated a new idea, built an...
Understanding Film Sub-Genres
Choosing the right genre is only the beginning. Sub-genres help audiences understand the specific style, tone, and storytelling approach of...