Filmmaking is an exciting journey, but it’s easy for beginners to make common mistakes that can impact the quality of their projects. Whether it's skipping essential pre-production steps, overlooking proper audio setup, or neglecting storytelling, these missteps can turn a promising idea into a missed opportunity. In this post, we’ll highlight 10 beginner filmmaking mistakes and share practical tips to help you avoid them.
1. Neglecting Pre-Production Planning
Pre-production is the stage before you roll the camera: it involves storyboarding, script refining, shot lists, location scouting, and more. Many beginners think that some of these steps are unnecessary, or do virtually no pre-production at all! This is a bad habit that you don’t want to get into.
Set aside several days, or even weeks, to go over your script with a trusted peer or crew member. It’s highly recommended that you create a storyboard and shot list if you are creating a narrative video, such as a short film. A shot list is, well, a list of the shots you’d like to get, including camera and lighting details, and a storyboard is a way of drawing out how your shots will look. No artistic ability is needed for storyboards, as long as they get the point across.
You’ll also want to lock down your locations beforehand; you don’t want to show up on the shoot day with no permits or permissions. A location scout is when a crew gets together, drives or walks around, and looks at different location possibilities. If you’re filming in your own backyard, you won’t really need to “search”, however, a location scout could still be useful for the crew to see the location and plan shots and setups accordingly. For private locations you don’t own, you may need special permits or simply just permission from the property owner to film there.
By securing your location, knowing what your camera and lighting setups will roughly look like, and having the perfect script, your shoot will go much smoother than if you skipped pre-production. If you didn’t plan these things ahead, you may run into trouble.
2. Poor Audio Quality
Audio quality is just as important as camera quality. Many new filmmakers think that just because they have the latest camera, they don’t need a good quality microphone as well. That’s not the case. Without good audio, your footage will feel cheap. Viewers need to be able to hear as well as how they see.
A simple on-camera mic will get the job done for most people. It attaches to the top of your DSLR camera, and many connect right into the camera, recording the high-quality audio directly onto the mp4 footage file. These microphones are relatively affordable, with most models being under or around $100 to purchase.You can also splurge on a mic with a boom pole and mixer, although these cost more and record a separate audio file from the video, requiring syncing during editing.
A good microphone will take your movie to the next level, and the viewers will appreciate the crisp sound, too!
3. Improper Lighting
Although you don’t necessarily need any fancy lights for your first film, many new filmmakers throw lighting right out the window. Ensure your camera’s ISO and light temperature settings are correct for the space you’re in. Don’t think you can just “fix it in post”: make sure all brightness and temperature levels are as correct as possible before you start recording.
Some affordable tools for lighting that can help you out include a reflector. A reflector is a piece of silver or gold fabric that reflects light towards a subject when angled towards them. This is helpful in scenarios where you have no extra lights, but want to light the subject a little bit more using the sources you already have in the environment. Small LED lights can also help by providing a secondary source of light. Many can be attached to the top of a camera, or a C-stand.
4. Misunderstanding Camera Settings
Before shooting your grand short film or documentary, you should practice with your camera so you know all the settings and how they work. If you don’t touch your camera until the first day of production, you’ll run into trouble and spend more time looking at instruction manuals rather than filming.
Don’t think you can set everything to automatic mode, either; while auto modes can be helpful in certain situations, such as autofocus for action shots, you should be using manual as much as possible. This may seem more tedious, but it’s worth it in the long run for consistency.
Set aside some time to run a few test shots, so you can get used to how your camera works and learn manual settings. If you need help, ask for tips from someone who is highly informed on cameras, such as a retail advisor, instructor, or even your pal that just knows a lot about DSLRs.
5. Overusing Effects and Transitions
Most video editors include built-in effects and transitions you can apply to your project. While these may be tempting, and are helpful in many scenarios, these effects often come off as “amateur” to viewers. Flashy effects like strobing and fake rain may come off as cheesy and unnatural to the environment you shot in, and classic transitions like screen wipes, while often used in mid-century films, could come off as "cheap” in today’s world.
This doesn’t mean you have to avoid the Effects and Transitions tabs in your editor altogether, though, but they should be used sparingly. If you are trying to achieve a specific effect, research the best way to reach your desired results, as there are likely tutorials for how to create the look you’re going for. Transitions such as fade in/out and dissolve are tasteful, and can work well when keyframed for certain scenes.
Remember, with effects and transitions, in most cases, less is more. Spending a bit more time on your effects by utilizing tutorials will make your film look more professional in the end.
6. Shaky Footage
You may think renting or buying a tripod is a waste of money if you believe you have a steady hand, but trust me, you’ll want one. A good tripod will work with virtually any camera, so there's no excuses. Tripods can be rented for as little as $10 a day, or you can buy budget-friendly ones for under $100. A tripod will help you have steady, level footage, creating a better experience for the audience. Your viewers won’t get headaches from constant trembles and swerves!
If you want to level up your footage, you may want to invest in a stabilizer. A stabilizer holds your camera steady while you walk around, like a moving tripod almost. Stabilizers are perfect for following subjects around as they walk, run, drive, or otherwise travel. You can get some awesome shots when you use a stabilizer. If you are hoping for some steady movement while filming, consider a stabilizer. You can typically rent ones for under $100 a day, or purchase one for a few hundred more.
7. Neglecting Storytelling
You may be really focused on having your footage look good, but what about the story of your film? Does it make sense? IS there a story?
When writing a script, a good rule to follow is the Plot Diagram, also called the Plot Triangle or Plot Pyramid:
Start your story with exposition, which is where you introduce your setting and subjects. Then, introduce the conflict of the story, which is what the main character must “solve”. Rising action is the “journey” the main character takes to try to solve the conflict. Then, you get to the climax, the most exciting part of the story where we learn the outcome of the rising action. Falling action follows, and those are the events that lead to the resolution of the conflict, which ends the story.
By making sure your script hits these key plot points, your story will make the most sense possible to the audience. You may say “But my story doesn’t have a conflict/resolution/whatever!”, and I can assure you, it probably does. It should, anyways, unless it’s REALLY experimental.
8. Ignoring Frame Composition
Ok, so you know how to use your camera, you have an external microphone, you have a tripod so your footage is steady, and you have good lighting. But, do you know how to frame a shot?
Frame composition is an important aspect to remember when shooting your first film. By composing your shots during production, you’ll have less hassle during editing, and your footage will look much nicer than if you ignored frame composition.
One of the most important ways to ace composition is the Rule of Thirds:
There should be a function on your camera where you can apply a 3x3 grid to your viewfinder. Don’t worry, this won’t show up in your footage, this is just for composing your shot. The intersections of the grid are key focal points for viewers. Putting the most important parts of your subject, such as their face/eyes, on these intersections will draw the most attention from your audience. When positioning subjects on an intersection isn’t possible, you should still be lining them up with one of the two horizontal lines on the grid. Make sure the subject has enough headroom (space above their head, so their head doesn’t get cut off in the final footage) if possible. If you have multiple characters, try to get them all on or near a horizontal line as much as possible.
While directly centering your subject may look good to you, it’s better to use the rule of thirds for composition as it will draw the viewer's attention more effectively. Ultimately, some shots will come down to creative composition rather than following rules, but for the most part, the rule of thirds is the handiest composition tool a filmmaker can have.
9. Inadequate Post-Production
You’ve finished filming. Next is editing! Post-production is where your footage comes to life, but rushing through editing or skipping critical steps, like colour correction, can ruin an otherwise solid project. Make sure your colours are leveled, your audio is synced and leveled as well, and that your edits match your story.
To avoid mishaps, set aside enough time to review and refine your footage. Use trusted editing software, such as Davinci Resolve or Adobe Premiere Pro, and focus on details like smooth cuts, cohesive sound design, and enhancing visuals through color grading. Careful post-production ensures your final product looks polished and professional.
If you would rather not edit footage yourself, enlist the help or an eager friend or a freelancer hat can help you reach your vision within post-production.
10. Not Testing Equipment
Making sure EVERYTHING works ahead of time, no matter if it’s pre-production, production, or post-production. From a simple ballpoint pen to an expensive camera, make sure your equipment is ready to go for your shoot, editing time, or storyboarding session. If you don’t ensure your equipment works beforehand, you’ll land yourself in trouble.
For pre-production, make sure your computer is working or your laptop or tablet is charged. Ensure you have plenty of pens and pencils on hand for note taking or writing on scripts. Before production, charge all batteries, check all gear for damage and flaws, ensure all cameras and audio recorders have SD cards with enough storage, and make sure you or whoever is operating equipment knows how the equipment works. For post-production, save your edits often in case your software crashes, make sure your computer is working or your laptop is charged, and ensure all footage is encoded properly.
By setting aside time to ensure all gear and software is working properly, you’ll be ready for a smooth filmmaking process.
Filmmaking is a rewarding craft, but avoiding common beginner mistakes is key to improving your skills and creating polished, professional content. By planning thoroughly, learning the basics of equipment and storytelling, and dedicating time to post-production, you’ll set yourself up for success. Every filmmaker stumbles at first, but by recognizing and addressing these pitfalls, you’ll grow more confident with each project. Embrace the process, learn from your experiences, and let your creativity shine as you continue your filmmaking journey.
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