I recently upgraded my lighting setup to improve my social media reels and want your thoughts. I film with my iPhone (planning to upgrade from 12 Pro Max to 16 or 17 Pro Max, likely 1TB). I mostly film myself, demos of products, acting, reviews, and UGC for companies, so my setup is focused on iPhone reels and social media content.

Full gear list:
You can see everything I have here: Amazon list

New gear:
Main light: Godox SL150R RGB
Softbox: Triopo 90cm
Background lights: 800D (ordered 2, thinking maybe 1 is enough, should I sell the other?)
Side lights: 2x GVM 50SM

Older gear / previously used lights:
- 3x LED lights I used before these new lights: https://amzn.to/3HMsjkq  wondering if I can use these as a reflector instead of the YN300
- Collapsible background (white/black): https://amzn.to/41l6Y8o  considering upgrading to a 4.9'x6.6' diffuser background for RGB color changes
- Outdoor RGB lights for wall effects: https://amzn.to/45zI1bK

Other considerations:
- I still find filming with my iPhone back camera harder for my eyes to look into the right spot yet I got a back monitor.
- I want a stand for my main light with softbox, like a boom arm style.
- Reflector options I’m considering: YN300 or the U-type reflectors. or using my older 3 LED lights if it works for that
- What from what I have should I use as gear for on-the-go for UGC or social media content?

Questions:

1. Should I keep both 800D background lights or just 1 or none?
2. Can I use my older 3 LED lights as a reflector instead of the YN300? Do I keep these or sell some or all? https://amzn.to/3HMsjkq
3. Would a diffuser background with RGB lights look better than my wall or current collapsible background with the RGB lights?
4. Any tips for which of the 2 mentioned iPhone's to get?

This was quite an investment, so I’m hoping the quality shows. I’d love advice on making the setup efficient and effective, especially for social media content creation.

Thanks in advance!

I shot this film on a Canon 60d many many years ago. Fell out of post production until a year ago. When I decided to finish the film. I used alot of roto to the right look with 8bit footage shot by shot after VFX. VFX was done with nuke and after effects. Also a lot of other tricks to up the quality of the film.

It was done with friends and family with little to no budget. Let me know what you guys think? Areas i could improve with the trailer?

https://youtu.be/Iib_Vd3b0S0

Hello,

I opened a recording studio and I bought some cinema gear. I bought a Squib Fx and now I need to sell because I never used it in 5 years it is brand new.

hey! i'm new to this subreddit! i have a question, i'm from Spain and i'm thinking about writing a script, it takes place in Colorado so should I write it in english or spanish? And when it's done, is it a good idea to start a gofundme to collect some money to be able to make it?

Some questions I have been thinking about, but not limited to these:

When considering length and quality, would a programmer choose a great 10 min short over a one of a kind 40 min short?

Is it important to have personal connections to programmers? Does that help?

Obviously each programmer and festival is different but I’m very new to this world so trying to understand it holistically.

i believe movies should have more special effects rather than focusing on character and story… movies get boring otherwise.

Hello, colleagues. We would like to ask for your professional support. We are a small team from Ukraine trying to break into the big world of VFX. Like many here, we work day and night, putting everything into our work.

We think we've done a great job: we've transported Will Smith into The Matrix. We would appreciate your honest feedback.

But, to be honest, our main goal is for Will himself to see it. For us, as a team starting out in such difficult times, it would be an incredible moral and professional boost.

If you like our work, please support us by reposting it on your social media. It will take you a minute, but it could change everything for us.
FULL VIDEO

Can anyone please teach me how to shoot and edit indoor cinematic videos from my mobile without proper lighting? I am ready to pay. Currently If I shoot videos in my mobile in indoor, the video quality is not that good and has lot of noise. Just looking forward to become a content creator.

Equipments I have: - Samsung Galaxy S22 - Tripod - Davinci resolve for editing in laptop.

That's it.

I just finished editing a wedding film and wanted to share it here for some feedback.

For this project, I intentionally stripped things back and challenged myself to avoid the “usual” wedding film toolkit:

• No gimbal at all, used tripod/static compositions instead
• Only a handful of slow-motion shots
• One LUT for grading, no heavy color work (just exposure offsets)

My thinking was: good doesn’t always need to be complex. I wanted to see if simplicity and restraint could create something authentic, emotional, and cinematic in its own right.

Would love to hear what you think - does the minimalist approach work, or are there moments where you felt it needed more “traditional” cinematic tools?

This may seem out of the world or ambitious, but I'm exploring the idea on start a vertical-first film platform. To build reach, we’ll need a steady run of bite-sized films (or what people call “content”) —either 3–5 min shorts or 1-min serialized chapters

So I'm wondering if anyone is interested in making films for this format, we'll likely start posting them on TikTok as a testbed.I’m working out how to make it worth your time. It may start as a token sum, but if it gains traction and follows a micro-drama model, it could turn into a solid revenue stream.

If anyone is interested in his experiment, feel free to send me a DM or email me at [cinelumiofficial@gmail.com](mailto:cinelumiofficial@gmail.com)

Gear used:

Fujifilm GFX100II Canon FD Lenses Diaptors 2x Mist 1/2 Laowa 12mm ZeroD One light source

Edit and Grading: Davinci Resolve VFX: AE

I did the full post production, Sound Design and Grading which was very experimental and fun. We shot this in approx. 6 hours. Crew of 4 people.

I directed, Produced, wrote and edited it. Then we had a DP, an AC and our actor, plus a runner. It was as indie as it could get and very refreshing and fun.

I'm looking for a new laptop because editing on my 2018 asus zenbook has become impossible. Everything lags so bad once I open DaVinci that one time my professor asked me what I did to my timeline to make it look as laggy as it was, after I handed him my pc he literally told me "oh,, alright I'm sorry"... anyways.

He recommended us using macbooks, "at least an M1 or an M2", so now I'm contemplating whether or not to get one. (Plus: a macbook air or a pro? These days I'm sort of understanding that a pro would be better?)

What would you recommend? I'm a newbie, keep that in mind, but at the same time I need something durable: this year I'll start working with 3d modelling programs, as well as sound design softwares, probably photoshop and of course, I'll keep editing on davinci. (And since I don't have THAT much money to spend I'll probably try to get softwares in other ways, this worries me the most when it comes to apple products.)

With all of this being said, considering I have limitet budget, like up until 1700/1800€, what would you do? I want to work with it and I want programs to work, doing things with limited mediums has become stressful to say the least.

For context, myself and a producer who I've made professional short films with before are planning our debut feature film. He has extensive commercial work and runs his own cinematography business and does quite well. We have close to $20,000 between him and myself to make our first feature film, but we need $60,000 for the purposes of what we're trying to do and to effectively make it and market the project. On the low end we could theoretically work with $40,000. We both have extensive networks of successful friends and family members and plan to raise the rest of our budget for this micro budget feature. What has worked well for some of you who have successfully done this before, and what hasn't worked well?

Ideally free.

Just want the shot and the part of the screenplay that corresponds to it written underneath it.

Just got a Fujifilm X-T3 (to go with my X-T2 & X-A3), purely for photography purposes. But I was then thinking.... it does 4K 10bit (although in just 4:2:0, not 4:2:2 as I won't be getting an external recorder from it). Does it really make sense for me to still keep my old Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera?(the original Pocket, not the Pocket 4K)

Should I sell it, as would there be any reasons why I'd ever prefer the BMPCC now over the X-T3?

Hello, I've recently taken an interest in filmography and cinematography and I've decided to learn on my own. The problem I'm having is that there's a lot of resources online but I have no idea what to pick from or where to even start. Is there anyone willing to give me a bit of direction or information a where the best place to start is and how I should proceed with my journey?

Like the title says my team and I followed MLB pitcher Shane Bieber this past year through his rehab process and made a short documentary out of it. Had a ton of fun shooting this on 16mm film and experimenting with some visuals. If you have any questions about the process would be more than happy to answer them!

Hi! I’m a Latino film producer based in LA since December 2023. I’m producing my first feature-length documentary film and I’m in need of advice regarding music rights.

The project is a Spanish language, 90 min, LGTB-themed documentary filmed in a 4K bmp camera. Its budget is around $200k

Making the film has been absolutely wonderful (in both personal and professional terms), we have attend many national and international prestigious film labs and WIP and we also got chosen for big grant here in the U.S…

But as we advance into the final versions of the cut and the premiere (ideal) date gets closer (March-June) we have to dwelve into the music rights / film distribution problem: the cut version that we are currently working features 2-3 famous songs (in a diegetical manner btw) that I don’t even know how much would they cost me to get or if it be of any use in licensing them.

I’d like to ask you what criteria do you apply as movie producers when defining what music licenses you should go for? Or even before… should I really aim for licensing original music if I’m working on such a little budget film? Would it be appropriate to make such an investment (I guess -not sure tho- that the music rights for this film may represent from 20% up to 50% of the final budget of the film) if I’m not sure If the film really has its own global commercial potential? I think I can get a latam film agent to board on it (of course no MG) but I’m not pretty positive about a truly global one.

Thank you in advance for any insights shared and feel free to ask me anything

I am a professional illustrator working with indie filmmakers around the globe. Supporting small artists with reasonably priced, yet high quality promotional materials is what I’m all about. I can also design concept art, studio logos, t shirts, blu ray jackets or whatever you may need. Let’s chat!

Hello Filmmakers!

My friends and I just signed up for a horror film contest! We have exactly one month to make a short film (starting 9/5)!

This is a no-budget, volunteer project, but the grand prize is $2,000 (which we'd split if we win)! We're trying to keep the crew small, just in case we do win BUT the main goal is to get creative, have fun, and make a short film under a time constraint. Think 48-hour film festival, but a bit more realistic.

On September 5th, we will receive the subgenre we are working with and then I will write the script that weekend. Then shooting the following weekend, and then post production and the final product is due October 5th.

LOCATION: Los Angeles (Hollywood)

DATE: September 13

Looking for CREW & POST PRODUCTION!

Crew we need:
• Gaffer
• 1st AC
• Sound
• Possibly MUA depending on the genre we get

Post we need:
• Editor
• Sound Designer

If interested, DM me or email me at [ macabreproductionsla @ gmail ]

PLEASE include the equipment you own if applicable and/or any past work! I’ve been getting a lot of messages that just say 'I’m available,' but without details I've asked for and I can’t move forward with hiring with that.

I will link my last short film ust as an example of my writing and directing (and you can check out the YouTube channel for more).

Probably the biggest question of them all…but how the hell do you even start to pursue this career? I have like 3 screenplays written (2 FF and 1 SF) but what do I even do?? Most would just say to sell the screenplays, but I would also like to have some sort of directing and producer credits and experience for them. It doesn’t seem feasible to pitch my screenplays to a company and then beg and somehow convince them to have me sit on the side lines or get taught how to be a director as production/filming goes on. (Unless i am wrong about this lol).

I am genuinely curious what do you actually do to start? I am someone who has no wealth to my name what so ever and essentially no connections.

P.S.: Its worth noting I am from the US. However I dont mind if I get to be a part of any other nations film industry…. This is just something I need to do out of passion.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I can also act, not a professional by any means, but I have done local theatre performances and have had acting classes before.