TwoCents | A List Of Mistakes Not To Repeat When Making My Next Film

I shot a feature film last month.  Wow, l can’t believe we’re in August already!Firstly, I'd like to commend myself for successfully transitioning from making a short film to directing a feature-length production within a remarkably brief span of four months. This was my inaugural foray into feature film direction, and as expected when venturing into new territory, I committed a plethora of mistakes, akin to those made during my short film stint. However, the errors in this second attempt were distinctly different. As Chris Buick astutely observed, "You're learning as you're going as a director, and each film is its own entity," a sentiment with which I wholeheartedly concur.When all you have is the script, it's easy to underestimate the enormity of the efforts required to bring that script to fruition. Integrating all the elements and transforming them into a tangible reality is a far more complex endeavor. In this film, I assumed multiple roles, just as I did with my first short film. With this, I was co-writer, line producer, and director, and I even did small waka pass, so we can add acting “my first love,” to the mix. Hehe The script was broken down into about 74 scenes including montages and B-rolls, some of which we were unable to capture as we ran out of time.Remarkably, we shot this film in a mere 5 days. Remarkable for me, as this was uncharted territory.The experience was exhausting, and we were all getting only about two to three hours of sleep each day. Meaning we were shooting for twenty one to twenty two hours every bleeping day. We somehow managed to achieve a total of 64 scenes by the time we wrapped. Unfortunately, we couldn’t capture ten whole scenes, four of which were crucial to the narrative. When I realized this in post-production, I nearly had a heart attack. Thankfully, the editor graciously offered me his camera, and all four scenes featured only one actor, who was serendipitously available. Me and the editor marched to her house, and shot those four very important scenes. If we hadn’t captured these, some other scenes would have been unexplainable. Thinking back; all I can say is God was definitely on my side with this, because imagine if the actor had traveled indefinitely?Anyways, I was compiling a list of areas for improvement for my next film as this first feature is intended to have a sequel, and i felt like sharing this list. I'm literally going to screenshot it as it was written in my “notes” app and paste it here. I don’t know if it’ll help anybody, but these are some of the mistakes I made that impacted my film negatively, and I hope to correct them all when next I make a film.  <img src="/media/inline_insight_image/IMG_9128.jpeg" alt=""> That number 10 dikwa very important because i can be too lenient sometimes. Pre-production took about two months, but due to limited resources, we couldn't hold a script conference or conduct dry runs or camera rehearsals until we arrived on set. This affected our work significantly. In truth, many things went awry because I didn't dot all my i's and cross my t's. However, my team and I tried our best considering the challenges we faced. This was YouTube “guerilla” style of filmmaking, and most of my crew were new to the terrain. Omo, those who shoot feature films for YouTube are used to shooting like criminals. But I'm not, so the fact that I didn't collapse from exhaustion on only two hours of sleep each day; was nothing short of a miracle. I was literally running on sheer grit and determination. So, take what I've shared for what it's worth. As Sam Fuller once said, "Film is a battleground," and you'll soon discover just how much blood, sweat and tears you will spill if you're a newbie. And whatever happens after your first attempt; don't berate yourself too much if your vision doesn't pan out exactly as you wanted. Just come with better reinforcements next time.

Other insights from Belinda Chiazor