As with any career out there, filmmaking training, to be effective, need not be of the formal kind. Film school is not the be-all and the end-all of a career in film. There are other sources of knowledge, such as firsthand experience, befriending a filmmaker, joining workshops, reading a how-to book, making your own movie, or getting a job as a movie extra.

All these will rack up experience points in the filmmaking industry. All you need is a receptive mind and a willingness to learn. Throughout these diverse ways of getting a good training experience, the 12 basic lessons that any aspiring filmmaker will have to learn can be enumerated here:

• How to recognize a good story
• How to translate it into a script
• How to look for a distributor
• How to scout for locations
• How to choose the right crew
• How to cast properly
• How to direct actors effectively
• How to shoot good scenes
• How to record sound
• How to edit a rough film
• How to add a soundtrack
• How to release a movie

These 12 lessons can be grouped into the 5 processes of making a film. The first is the development stage, the second is the pre production stage, then there are the production and post production stage, and the last is distribution and exhibition to an audience. Comprehensive filmmaking training will take one through all the aspects of this process.

The film is a very popular medium, and one of the hardest to do of all the art forms. It requires the involvement of a lot of people in different fields. It requires months and even years of work. A big budget is the norm, although independent filmmakers have been doing more and more good movies on a low budget. This new development in the field of filmmaking has made possible the entry of relatively untrained or informally trained artists. It has also given rise to a new category, the indies, and therefore the need for additional lessons in the art of movie making.

The lessons in the art of independent filmmaking start from the concept of the story itself. A script has to follow a low budget format. Less nighttime scenes and less special effects are the first rules in a low budget film. These are not elements that lessen the quality of a film. In fact, a pared down script will sometimes work wonders for a film. It is all in the handling. The other lessons in this new field in filmmaking will have to do with technical know-how. Digital filmmaking requires different handling. It lessens the overall budget, it requires a lesser film crew, but it also requires a person to have more knowledge on the operation of the equipment.

The concept of filmmaking training is thus outlined. From the different sources you could go to, to the general ideas of filmmaking, to the modern trend in this exciting field. A filmmaker is thus made.

In the making of a good film, there are no hard and fast rules. Each filmmaker has his own technique. These they have learned through years of practice. When studying these classics that were made by artists through the years, one becomes aware of the moviemaking style of each one. The techniques that each one follows are their filmmaking secrets. Such tips and tricks and other nuggets of wisdom are hard to come by straight from the mouths of the filmmakers themselves. One has to study the examples they have made. This in itself is not a magic formula for success; copying the styles of the masters makes for a derivative movie. What one has to do is to study these styles, learn the techniques and the rules of the game, and then build from what they have accomplished to develop your own original style.

This in effect is item #1 in the rule book of filmmaking secrets, if such a one exists. This is the most important secret you will ever learn. All things will follow from here. The rest of the advice you will hope to get will then pertain to the use of equipment, an angle or a viewpoint on filmmaking, opinions and counter opinions, how to handle certain projects, and the like. If you are lucky, a nugget of wisdom will inadvertently fall from one of your instructor’s lectures, a gem will be unearthed from a filmmaking book you are reading; or a mentor, friend, or colleague will truly open up his secret filmmaking styles to you. These are real treasures and should be treated as such. One can then choose to be a follower, or innovate from what he has learned and grow from there. There is no shame to being a follower. There is no shame to innovate as well. As was pointed out earlier, there are no hard and fast rules.

Recently, the filmmaking industry has seen a new trend in moviemaking. It is a technological change that cannot be ignored or bypassed. It is the use of digital media in moviemaking. There is the video DV, editing software, and the like. Most of the purported film secrets revealed are actually a number of tutorials and guidelines on effectively using the new medium. These are then advertised as a cheaper and easier-to-work-on alternative to authentic film such as 35mm, 16mm or 8mm. These tips and tricks are also good secrets to know, especially for the young and upcoming or struggling artists. It is the cornerstone of the indie phenomenon in moviemaking. It has, in fact, taken everyone by storm. Even veteran filmmakers are not averse to learning the new tricks such as these.

Filmmaking secrets aside, one must remember that the artistry and creativity that one brings into a film will come from within one’s soul and not from what one has learned in books, pamphlets, in the classroom, or at a workshop. This is the true essence of a filmmaker. This is what makes a film unique and truly successful.