In the history of human communication, no method of sharing information has spread as quickly or has had the ability to reach more people than the video revolution of the last decade or so. Suddenly, with the democratizing impact of consumer-affordable digital tools—video cameras on people’s phones, for instance—and the groundbreaking development of YouTube in 2005 in concert with the broadband revolution that made it possible not only to make content formally and informally but also to share it with virtually everyone at the click of a few buttons, anyone could make a video and share it. Today, in fact, more than one billion people visit YouTube each month.¹

These realities don’t make all those millions of people shooting and uploading videos “filmmakers,” of course, but they do give you the opportunity to become one if you want it badly enough. Unlike what filmmaking students of generations past faced, the tools are largely affordable and within your grasp, as are the means to collaborate on the work and share it, too. And because you are fortunate enough to be in this course, you now have the opportunity to gain a solid foundation for doing these things using methods and techniques that have been used for generations to produce thought-provoking and escapist cinema in any and all genres.

But none of that will answer the question of why you would want to make movies. Everyone’s personal motivations are his or hers alone; however, one fundamental reason shared by many great filmmakers is fairly straightforward: you have a story, something to say, and the best way for you to do that is through filmmaking. It might be something artistic, avant-garde, humorous, political, thought provoking, breathtaking, terrifying, or courageous, but whatever the message, the use of moving images is a particularly compelling way to say it. You may wish to tell a story, document a piece of history, bare your soul, or reveal the mysteries of someone’s character. Or perhaps you simply want to make people laugh, make them cry, freak them out, or titillate them. The artistic, creative, and emotional reasons for wanting to make films are endless, but there is no doubt that moving images are the most boundless, unrestricted way to go about expressing whatever it is you want to express. Your film, for example, may be only 15 seconds, so you can upload it to Instagram in a heartbeat, or it may be 24 hours long, as was Christian Marclay’s art movie about movies, The Clock (2010). Your movie may be in black and white or color, composed of typical moving images, as in most films you’ve seen, or made up of still pictures, as was Chris Marker’s La Jetée (1962). Your film may be full of music, talking, sound and fury, or silence, like La Fée aux Choux, which was the first narrative movie, directed by Alice Guy-Blaché in 1896.

The point is, moving imagery is the one medium that allows you to cross boundaries, combine formats, create the visually stunning, experiment liberally, and follow classical patterns all at the same time; to follow strict rules and break others from one moment to the next; to raise a ruckus and silence a room; to blind your audience and make them strain to see what is going on; to offer them a clear vision of what you are trying to say, or to leave them scratching their heads, interpreting your work. In this respect, moving images can be more impactful than novels because they take you to two, three, and sometimes four dimensions of vision, sight, and interpretation. Therefore, if you are interested in visual storytelling and artistry, making a film is an excellent and compelling way to express yourself at a minimum, not to mention the fact that it involves a suite of artistic disciplines that might just land you a career along the way—or, at the very least, greatly improve your artistic and intellectual understanding of both storytelling and the world around you. In other words, filmmaking is unique, and a lot of fun besides. Of course, it is also something that is extremely hard to do well, as we shall discuss throughout this book.

Before we get to that, however, what, exactly, do we mean by the word film? The precise word film originally referred to strips of celluloid on which images were recorded; in the past decade, as you will learn, these celluloid strips have largely been replaced by digital cards and hard drives. However, we think of film as the product of your work, not the medium on which it was recorded. For the purposes of this book, and for the entertainment industry at large, we define a film quite simply and generically as a series of moving images intentionally constructed to tell a story. Whereas film, movie, or video are words now often used interchangeably, in this book we will be somewhat traditional and mostly refer to the product as films or movies—terms that we feel imply greater ambition and intention than videos, which refers to products generated both by those with artistic intent in today’s digital world and by those without.

Thus, there are, as we have suggested, myriad reasons to make a film. But are there reasons not to make a film? Yes, indeed. As you will learn, if you do not know what you want to say, do not know who your audience is, or have no interest in or patience for collaborating and trusting others to help you achieve your vision, you should put down your camera and think seriously about what you are doing. Making a movie requires considerable effort from, ideally, a team of people with diverse talents, and if your purpose and ultimate viewers are not clear at the outset, it’s likely that the work will go to waste because no one will see it. Fortunately, with this book, you will learn how to avoid this circumstance.

Beyond the conventional way we think about movies—as stories we watch for a few minutes or a few hours—the principles you will learn in this course will be essential for your success in any career you choose. Film communication now permeates every aspect of our lives, from corporate communications and television commercials to music videos, interactive games, educational materials, and much more. In any job you will have, your ability to make a film will make you a more valued employee; and if you choose to become an entrepreneur and work for yourself, filmmaking skills will be great assets for communicating your vision to colleagues.

In other words, filmmaking, one way or another, is going to be a part of your future, so you might as well learn how to do it right. (See Action Steps: Getting Started—What You Need to Make a Short Film Right Now, below.)