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No matter where you are, you’re likely impacted by
the Stay-Home Orders that have been delivered during
the pandemic. If you’re an aspiring creator, chances are
also good that you’d rather be out in the world mak-
ing videos and expanding your audience. While it may
feel like a travesty to be stuck at home and deemed
non-essential, this is the perfect time to develop your
skills in video production. Regardless of your niche
in the industry, ensuring that you have a fstrong grasp
on general filmmaking techniques will elevate every
project you tackle.
There are several technical and artistic roles in the
video creator realm. Most people are passionate about
perfection in a few of these roles while simply muddling
through the others or enlisting an expert. You can sharp-
en the skills that are lacking by combining your goals
with a solid plan, and self-challenges. Short films are
often created on limited budgets with fewer resources, so
it’s a great way to challenge yourself during isolation.
We’ll show you how to set effective goals and get
organized for successful at-home learning. Additionally,
we’ll give you ideas for online resources, practical ex-
ercises and insights to ensure your time is used wisely.
Follow this strategy so that when you do get back to
work, your work can be better than ever.Step 1: Create effective goals.
As with setting any kind of goals for yourself, this
will require reflection on your own skills and talents.
Consider your overall goals as a filmmaker or video
producer. Where are you now and where do you want
to go from here?
Assess your current capabilities in writing, pre-pro-
duction, directing, lighting, filming, editing and graphic
design. When do you need the most help? Which areas
would your productions benefit the most from improve-
ments? Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses.
Where do you excel? Which aspects of production use
up the most time? Where do you need to develop more
confidence in your abilities?
Once you have a good idea of your overall goals, you
can start zooming in. Be specific and create attainable
goals with realistic timeframes. When you think about
the practices and steps you’ll need to take, be sure toNew video skills to work on during quarantine
keep them relevant to your goals. For example, let’s
say you need to boost your lighting skills and your
big goal is to host a talk show. Practicing lighting in
the dark or outside won’t bring you closer to your
goals because talk shows are usually filmed in a studio
setting. However, polishing your three-point lighting
applications and modifications could make a big differ-
ence in your finished work.
Having your goals and practice steps in writing
serves a few important purposes. It can keep you on
track during self-learning sessions and encourages you
to keep pushing forward. Moreover, it gives you mile-
stones to track your progress and successes.Step 2: Gather your resources.
Even with libraries and schools closed, learning is as ac-
cessible as ever. Undoubtedly, the internet is bursting with
resources and experts creating their own content with the
purpose of helping you reach your goals and elevate your
skills. There are endless articles and videos to be found in
the form of gear reviews, expert opinions, real-life experi-
ence stories and instructional courses. Spend some time
searching for sites that cover the areas you’re focusing
on. Then, add these fresh ideas and techniques to your
goal notes. Bookmark the websites so they’re easy to find
when you need to refer back to them.
Whether this is your first solo project to create a short
film or you’ve done it a few times before, watch this
video on how to create a short film. Pre-production is the
planning stage for your film which is vital to the success
of any film but it is especially important for short films.
This tutorial covers refining the script, casting actors,