The Main Benefit of DIY Filmmaking

Knowing how to “do stuff ”in the world of film is a valuable asset that could end up saving you a lot of money, give you an edge when raising funds, and make you more likely to succeed in the long haul.

If you’ve taken the time to study screenwriting and understand story structure, your first movie will be better. The same goes for cinematography, editing, VFX, etc. The more you know – the safer you are in this business, the smaller your footprint, and the better your end product will be.

When you have a budget, you can hire experts, but when you don’t – your movie relies on your ability to do a lot of the work yourself. Dov Simens used to say that if you want to make a $1,000,000 film, you first need to make a $100,000 film, and if you want to make a $100,000 film, you need to have completed a $10,000 film. And the only way to guarantee the quality of that $10,000 film is to take the time to learn the basics of DIY filmmaking (writing, producing, directing, editing, post, and release). Being a master of all trades is actually useful for those engaging in the art of low-budget DIY filmmaking.