How to Make a Movie With One Person
Come up with a simple, filmable idea., Write out a basic script., Round up your equipment., Experiment with your camera until you know every feature.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Come up with a simple
Making a movie by yourself means you'll have to strip away any other actors or any scenes that need multiple people to run.
This eliminates most special effects and dialog, unfortunately.
But these limitations can be liberating, leading to unique and creative workarounds.
Some ideas to consider filming are:
Art Films:
Pioneers like Sadie Benning and Bruce Nauman have made huge contributions to the art world with nothing by a camera and a willingness to experiment.
You can do anything from video diaries to abstract videos exploring color or sound.
Check out the free Video Data Bank for inspiration.
Short Documentaries:
All you need is a camera and a microphone and you can be on the street interviewing and grabbing footage.
Talking Heads:
Popular on YouTube and in shows like The Office, this is just you talking to your camera, delivering a monologue or performing a sketch.
Sometimes this video is set next to a movie or game you are commenting on.
Stop-motion:
Though time consuming, stop-motion is one of the few places a filmmaker can make a professional-looking film all by themselves. -
Step 2: filmable idea.
It doesn't need to cover the entire story if you are working with a loose idea, but having some ideas of paper will guide you when filming starts.
Almost all videos tell a story, in some way shape or form, and almost all stories are broken into three parts:
The Beginning:
Set up the world of your video.
It can be you, the character, the location you're shooting on, or simply a color or mood you want to explore.
The Conflict:
Something disturbs, changes, or morphs the original set-up.
For art films or smaller pieces, this might just be a change of pace or the introduction of a new theme.
The "story" is told through this change.
The Resolution:
How does your story end, what is your message or thought? Some stories just end, but this just implies that nothing has changed in the end., All you need is a camera and a way to edit the footage on a computer, but there is additional equipment that will help build a movie by yourself as well:
A Tripod:
If you want to film yourself in a scene, a tripod is the best way to get a steady camera that can be moved, spun, and raised/lowered into a variety of angles.
Lighting:
One of the key differences between amateur-looking movies and professional ones is good lighting.
Even 3-4 clamp lights bought at Home Depot can be enough to get strong, consistent lighting in your movie. , If you're making a movie on your own you want as many tricks up your sleeve as possible.
Your camera is your best friend, and knowing how to manipulate it will be a big part of making your movie unique and original.
The best way to learn is to play, but some things you need to look out for include:
White Balance:
This changes the "temperature" of your film, or the coloring.
A properly set white balance ensures that all of your colors look natural.
While you can play with white balance to get different visual effects, this is often easier while editing.
Lenses:
Different lenses will profoundly change your shot composition.
Play with wide angles, fish eyes, and macro lenses to change up your visuals.
Focus:
Focusing takes a lifetime to master, and you should start now.
Focus dictates what part of the shot is clear and which is blurry.
Many cameras have automatic focus, but to make great films you need to manually control the focus. -
Step 3: Write out a basic script.
-
Step 4: Round up your equipment.
-
Step 5: Experiment with your camera until you know every feature.
Detailed Guide
Making a movie by yourself means you'll have to strip away any other actors or any scenes that need multiple people to run.
This eliminates most special effects and dialog, unfortunately.
But these limitations can be liberating, leading to unique and creative workarounds.
Some ideas to consider filming are:
Art Films:
Pioneers like Sadie Benning and Bruce Nauman have made huge contributions to the art world with nothing by a camera and a willingness to experiment.
You can do anything from video diaries to abstract videos exploring color or sound.
Check out the free Video Data Bank for inspiration.
Short Documentaries:
All you need is a camera and a microphone and you can be on the street interviewing and grabbing footage.
Talking Heads:
Popular on YouTube and in shows like The Office, this is just you talking to your camera, delivering a monologue or performing a sketch.
Sometimes this video is set next to a movie or game you are commenting on.
Stop-motion:
Though time consuming, stop-motion is one of the few places a filmmaker can make a professional-looking film all by themselves.
It doesn't need to cover the entire story if you are working with a loose idea, but having some ideas of paper will guide you when filming starts.
Almost all videos tell a story, in some way shape or form, and almost all stories are broken into three parts:
The Beginning:
Set up the world of your video.
It can be you, the character, the location you're shooting on, or simply a color or mood you want to explore.
The Conflict:
Something disturbs, changes, or morphs the original set-up.
For art films or smaller pieces, this might just be a change of pace or the introduction of a new theme.
The "story" is told through this change.
The Resolution:
How does your story end, what is your message or thought? Some stories just end, but this just implies that nothing has changed in the end., All you need is a camera and a way to edit the footage on a computer, but there is additional equipment that will help build a movie by yourself as well:
A Tripod:
If you want to film yourself in a scene, a tripod is the best way to get a steady camera that can be moved, spun, and raised/lowered into a variety of angles.
Lighting:
One of the key differences between amateur-looking movies and professional ones is good lighting.
Even 3-4 clamp lights bought at Home Depot can be enough to get strong, consistent lighting in your movie. , If you're making a movie on your own you want as many tricks up your sleeve as possible.
Your camera is your best friend, and knowing how to manipulate it will be a big part of making your movie unique and original.
The best way to learn is to play, but some things you need to look out for include:
White Balance:
This changes the "temperature" of your film, or the coloring.
A properly set white balance ensures that all of your colors look natural.
While you can play with white balance to get different visual effects, this is often easier while editing.
Lenses:
Different lenses will profoundly change your shot composition.
Play with wide angles, fish eyes, and macro lenses to change up your visuals.
Focus:
Focusing takes a lifetime to master, and you should start now.
Focus dictates what part of the shot is clear and which is blurry.
Many cameras have automatic focus, but to make great films you need to manually control the focus.
About the Author
Jose Cruz
Experienced content creator specializing in home improvement guides and tutorials.
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