Recommended Resources

Filmmaking and video production requires a lot of tools and resources. If you’re looking for tutorials, video equipment, content for editing, even marketing for independent film, here is a massive list of resources I personally use. When I get excited about a new tool or source of information, I add it to this list, and if I stop using I will remove it. These are the resources I’m currently loving, but I’m always testing new tools, so tell me if you have alternatives to recommend!

Most of these resources are free, but I have included paid resources that I think are worth the cost. Where applicable, I’ve used links that support this blog without changing the price for you (read more about that here).

Software for Filmmakers:

  • Adobe Creative Cloud – I’ve been editing video with Adobe Premiere exclusively since 2004, and now rely on After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Audition, and more. If you are able to pay for industry-standard advanced software, I highly recommend a Creative Cloud subscription. If you’re a teacher or student, be sure to look at their educator pricing. Some free alternatives are listed below.
  • Audacity – (Free alternative to Adobe Audition) audio recording and editing; (you’ll need to download an additional file called “lame_enc.dll” if you want to save mp3 files)
  • Monkeyjam – free frame-by-frame animation software for drawings, stop-motion, etc.
  • Gimp – (Free alternative to Photoshop)
  • Simple Calibration & Detailed Calibration – Free sites to calibrate your monitor
  • Video Copilot – Some of the industry’s best After Effects plugins are on Video Copilot. Element 3D, Optical Flares, etc. They have a few free scripts here and there, too.

Stock Media for Filmmakers:

Note: Make sure you understand copyright rules and Creative Commons licenses before you use media from other sources in your own work!

  • Images:
    • unsplash.com– “Beautiful, free photos. Gifted by the world’s most generous community of photographers.”
    • pexels.com– “All photos and videos on Pexels can be downloaded and used for free”
    • Pond5.com – You have to pay for images here, but the selection is huge.
  • Sound Effects:
    • Ambient Sounds Vol. 1 – Forty field recordings I’ve created over the years
    • Freesound.org – Download and share sound effects for free. Remember to check the license agreements for anything you download here, as some have restrictions on their use.
  • Music for video: (Many of these sites have royalty-free music, but there are a range of different licenses. Always check the license for any song you download to use in your films!)
    • Incompetech.com – Check out Kevin McLeod’s “creative commons” music collection. This guy is a hero.
    • Bensound.com – A small, but excellent bank of music, great for corporate and commercial videos
    • Mobygratis.com – A small collection of music from Moby (yes, that Moby). You have to write to get permission to use these songs, but they respond relatively quickly.
    • Freemusicarchive.org – Another bank of music, much of which is royalty-free
    • Musopen.org – Royalty-free recordings of classical music from different recording artists
    • Pond5.com – Tons of great music here, typically ranging $20-$60 per song. Always check to make sure the license you’re buying is extensive enough for your purposes.
  • Video
    • Video Copilot – Home of the Action Essentials collection, which is an awesome set of pre-keyed explosions, fires, muzzle flashes, exploding dirt, smoke, etc. probably used by every visual effects artist in the industry. They also have a ton of 3D objects for integrate with their Element 3D plugin, mentioned above.
  • Equipment
    • LensRentals.com – If I want to try a new piece of gear, or I need extra cameras for an atypical shoot, I use LensRentals. I actually recommend signing up for their emails, they send generous discounts nearly every other month. This is also a great way to have gear shipped to your shooting location instead of having to travel with sensitive cameras, lenses, or heavy and unwieldy support gear.

Business & Marketing:

Promoting, crowdfunding, and building an audience for your independent film is a business venture, even if yours is a passion project, and a good business needs a rock solid website. When I started working as a freelancer, a good website became critical for my portfolio as well.

I have built all of my portfolio and film project websites using WordPress. This includes free blog websites at WordPress.com, and using the WordPress platform to build websites on a dedicated domain and host. Although WordPress is more complex than other fast page-builders, the advantage of starting with WordPress is your access to more complex tools and plugins as your website or business grows. 

Ok, let’s get a little bit meta for a moment… 

  • Web Hosting: I have been using Bluehost for over five years; they are hosting the words you are reading right now… ! But seriously, an incredibly reliable service for a few dollars a month. Economically, this decision improves every time I have a new project to promote; I am currently hosting four websites on my account which also allowed me to split the cost with a colleague.
  • Domains: To streamline things, I use Bluehost for this, too.
  • Themes: I’m currently using the “Reel” Theme by WPZOOM, spiced up with a few plugins. Not only do I love this theme, I am using it on multiple websites, which they allow at no extra cost, and have received phenomenal customer service from their team.

If you’re working with clients, you may also need:

  • File Sharing – Been using Dropbox for years, no regrets. If you’re collaborating on a film (or on anything), Dropbox is an invaluable tool for sharing and backing up small files. For quick, self-destructing file shares under 2GB, I also use WeTransfer. Both are free until you want more GBs, basically.

Learning Resources:

  • Video Copilot – I am not exaggerating when I say that I would not be where I am today without this After Effects resource. Start with the free “After Effects Basic Training.”
  • Socialsounddesign.com – A forum with a great sound design community
  • AaronWilliams.tv – Great blog on color correction; his tips have helped me out a lot.
  • The Frugal Filmmaker – DIY builds and tips, the Frugal Filmmaker shows you how to do what you need to do without breaking the bank.
  • IndyMogul on YouTube – Really fun DIY props, prosthetics, and more for the filmmaker on a budget.
  • DirectorsNotes.com – Stuff about movies.
  • ZSnowFilmNotes – My friend Zach Snow checks off top film “lists” religiously. Thankfully, his notes from thousands of films are now public on his blog.
  • Books are awesome, too. Some of these I bought for college and continue to reference, some I discovered on my own, all of these are staples on my bookshelf:
    • Voice and Vision by Mick Hurbis-Cherrier
      • This is my never-leave-home-without-it guide to every step of the filmmaking process. Whether you’re shooting a fictional story or a documentary, need help with writing your script or lighting a dramatic scene, this book has it all. It’s one of the few books from college I kept on my shelf. Although tech has changed over the past decade, the anecdotes and tips are still highly relevant to filmmakers working in digital formats with small equipment loads.
    • The Independent Filmmaker’s Law and Business Guide by Jon M. Garon
      • Even the smallest scale film projects should consider or be aware of legal issues related to location shooting, copyright infringement, and actor release forms. For the more advanced, Garon touches on business structures and taxes, getting music rights, and handling ownership of your film when the time comes to distribute or sell.
    • 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Steven Jay Schneider
      • If you’ve ever wondered where to begin, this is it. A chronological collection of 1,001 film essays describing each film’s back story, cultural impact, influences, and innovations, Schneider’s carefully curated list is as much fun to “check off” as the movies are to watch.
    • Color Correction Handbook by Alexis Van Hurkman
      • After weeks and hours of online research I finally turned to an actual book to teach myself the dark art of color correction. I spent a summer teaching myself the craft, and Van Hurkman’s book was the best written and most thorough of anything I found.
    • Painting With Light by John Alton
      • Originally released in 1949, this thorough guide from one of Hollywood’s master cinematographers is the first book of its kind to be published. While some of the camera technology is outdated, the basic principles of shooting are the same now as they were when Alton wrote his informative, and occasionally humorous, guide to lighting and cinematography. This one can be rare to find at a good price, but you might check a library near you to borrow it.