Keeping things low-budget can be difficult, and there are many things indie filmmakers do to stretch their budgets as far as possible. This week, we discuss a few of the methods we have used in the past to achieve professional results on an amateur budget. From home-made (and safe!) squibs and blood pumps, how to create a gun muzzle blast with ...…

On most Low and No-Budget films, the director is usually also the writer, and producer, sometimes camera operator and editor as well. With all of these hats to wear, there are a few key components to being a director that you need to know and have to consider before shooting your film. There's more to making a film that just writing it then gra ...…

Film Races are something we've always enjoyed doing, ever since we began making movies. Our first film race was in 2007 for the Alamo Drafthouse Bloodshots Competition. We have competed in three others since then, we hosted a panel discussion about them at Macabre Faire in 2014, and Manny recently was a judge for the Madison, WI wing of The 48 ...…

Your first film set can be a big undertaking, and you need to be prepared or your filmmaking journey will be over before it begins. Where do I shoot? What do I need? What should I prepare for? How many people do I need on my crew? Who does what?? Do I seriously have to feed everyone?! Having started out with a 4 person crew years ago, and to th ...…

This week Manny and Lindsay sit down with filmmaker, and long-time collaborator Louie Cortes. Together, the three of us as written, produced and directed our first feature film, Blood Slaughter Massacre, our web-series-turned-featurette, The Attack Of The Brain People, and a number of short films, including Louies' web series Holidays Of Terror ...…

We're back! Our computer unfortunately died on us (we did discuss it during the recording, but that turned into a 20+ minute discussion, so it was cut. we'll cover the issue we had on a future episode discussing hardware and software you can use!) so we've been away trying to sort that all out, install the new PC, and get everything up and runn ...…

Manny and Lindsay take on a subject that many independent filmmakers are unaware of this week, and that is Development Funds. This area of your budget is not always necessary, and it depends on what your film budget is actually going to be. What are development funds? Where does this money come from? When do you pay it back (if at all)? How doe ...…

This week on Filmmaking Sucks, Manny and Lindsay sit down with author Loren Molloy to discuss the differences between writing a book vs a script. Besides the obvious format differences, when writing a novel, the creator tends to be less restricted in their story writing, but there still must be some level of constraint. With a script, you must ...…

This week on Filmmaking Sucks, Lindsay and Manny discuss what is like working the convention circuit. Many indie filmmakers, especially those in the horror genre, decide to forego the traditional distribution route, and opt instead to sell their films themselves by running tables at conventions like Monster Mania, Chiller Theatre, Horrorhound, ...…

This week, Scott W. Perry joins Manny and Lindsay again to discuss his series "In Fear Of." Producing a TV or Web Series is a long process and big commitment. With many moving parts and different directors on each episode, the production can balloon very quickly and just as quickly it can go off the rails. With the success of In Fear Of behind ...…

Every writer has a process, and it's different for each one. This week, Manny and Lindsay sit down with writer/producer/director Scott W. Perry and discuss the process of completing a script. Scott is the producer of the web series "In Fear Of" where he worked with over a dozen directors and writers. In a situation like that, you learn the art ...…

We're back! This week, in what is possibly our least structured episode yet, we have a conversation with teenage filmmaker, Anthony Edward Curry. Anthony, who began making his first feature film at 13 years old and completing it at 15, has since gone on to working on numerous indie projects with many of the NY/NJ Indie Filmmakers, including a n ...…

Hiring a good producer is so important to you film, we needed two weeks to explain it. The day-of filming is the most important moment for your film, and if you're directing, the only thing you should be concerned with is getting what you need on-screen. We're sure you're setting up lights, working with actors, telling your cameraman what you w ...…

Hiring a producer can be expensive, so many indie filmmakers write and direct their own films, which is just fine. But then, they decide "I'll do it myself" when it comes to producing, and they don't realize how much they have actually hurt their film by making that decision. The truth is, it's because most don't actually know what the producer ...…

Actors. You can't make a movie without them! Obviously... well then lets talk! How do you find them? How do you cast them? How do you pay them? SHOULD you pay them? Is your friends brother the best choice? Are you an actor? Would you like to be an actor? We cover all these topics and more, along with a few casting do's, don't and a couple of ho ...…

This week Lindsay, Mario and Manny discuss some tips on how to create a successful crowdfunding campaign for your film. There's more to a successful campaign than just posting and hoping for the best. With so many crowdfunding campaigns out there, you need to stand out from the group and offer things no one else is. Breaking it down into the fa ...…

In part 2 of our Sound discussion, Manny, Lindsay and Mario give you a checklist of things to look out for when you are on set. How to get the best sound quality, avoiding ADR sessions, grabbing sound fx, and so much more. Then, once filming has completed, the real work begins in sound post-production. This topic can be discussed as an entire e ...…

This week on Filmmaking Sucks, Manny, Mario and Lindsay discuss the variety of microphones, the different types there are, and which one you will need for your shoot. Mics can get extremely expensive, but you don't always have $500 to drop on one. My new podcast, Filmmaking Sucks, is aimed at all of the budding filmmakers out there, and the new ...…

This week on Filmmaking Sucks we are proud to bring you the audio from a Cinematography Panel hosted by Manny Serrano and Patrick Devaney at the Macabre Faire Film Festival. The panel itself discusses the importance and unimportance of certain pieces of equipment, frame rates, HD vs 4K, shooting on cell phones, tons of knowledge that we hope ma ...…

This week, we bring you something very special! On January 14th, the Macabre Faire Film Festival hosted a Women In Media panel, and we are proud to bring you the audio of that discussion. All of the women involved are making huge strides, advancing the way people view women working in horror today. Hosted by Adam Ginsberg, the panel members inc ...…

Over the years, we have met many people who (just like we all did at first) said they cant make their film because they don't have the right camera, or the right equipment, or the right actors, the locations, the sets, the know-how.. there's always something. What those things equate to are just excuses. It's self-sabotage. If you say you don't ...…

The Film Festival is the coveted rite of passage that every filmmaker must pass through. Film Festivals are one of the sacred combination locks we much attempt to crack, and honestly, we need to do it with limited funds. How can you do that? Networking, Planning, and Time. How does that work..? Listen in and find out from our first hand experie ...…

Welcome to the first episode of the Filmmaking Sucks podcast! Now, we don't actually think filmmaking sucks. In fact, we love every second of it, but that doesn't mean its easy. We put our heart and souls into every page we write, frame we shoot, and scene we edit, and sometimes, it just sucks. But we still love it. As your hosts are Manny Serr ...…