One of the questions we get asked most often is “How can I make a film about my rare disease?” or “If I make a film with my phone will it be good enough for your festival?” What follows is pretty much selections from Filmmaking 101, so if you already know those basics you can skip it. Although I do make some points that are unique to the rare-disease advocacy films, apart from other types of documentaries.
You can do it all yourself --but don't.
Tech and gear are cheap. But people filling each specialized role are invaluable. Get a crew of friends, a crew of professionals, or something in between, but get a crew.
Ask for help.
Get a film student or recent grad to take this project on. As a creative professional I hate asking other creatives to work for free. But as a rare advocate you have to get used to asking for more than you're comfortable with.
Find continuously available or committed help. Especially if you aren't paying them. You don't want to get caught with someone who starts a job on your film but can't finish. Try to work in discrete chunks and take delivery of the finished pieces as frequently as possible. Imagine an editor who finishes half your film and has to quit, and doesn't get around to delivering the finished pieces to you. If your camera person is not also your editor, get the camera card (footage) from them at the end of every day's shoot. Buy the cards for them. Buy yourself a card reader. As soon as you get the cards home, duplicate them.
Decide how you want to tell your story.
Imagine it with just your family talking. Imagine the leading researcher talking. Imagine if only your neighbors told the story. What if it were a silent film? Imagine if it were an animated cartoon. Now think if all of those techniques were used together. Or if all but one were used. This will help you decide the best way to tell your story. Many of our rare stories are literally one in a million stories. So it can be tempting to think that automatically makes our films uniquely interesting. Perhaps it does, potentially. But you still have to craft it, to tell the story in a unique way. Imagine screening your finished film here with us at Disorder: The Rare Disease Film Festival where it gets surrounded by dozens of other films which are also one in a million stories. What will make your film unique among them?
Shoot in HD or maybe 4K.
If you have an old video camera (using tapes), don't use it. It's probably standard definition which would be usable only for an online video and not for broadcast. You may think your film will never need to be broadcast, but you could get a lucky break, or more likely the local news might ask for clips to include in a story on your disorder. Higher quality cameras like 4K are becoming more common. Your phone might even shoot 4k video. That may be overkill for your needs but if you can shoot in 4K affordably, go for it. (It may slow and complicate your editing though.)
Use a tripod.
They can be cheap and adapters to hold smart phones are also cheap.
Cheap tripod here. Cheap phone attachment here.
You can shoot it all on your iPhone.
But don't record your audio that way. A lot of non-film makers don't realize audio is probably more important than video in film. Or perhaps it's more fair to say bad audio is worse in film than bad video. You can make your whole movie on an iPhone but you should use two: one close enough to get sound (like in a shirt pocket) and one as your camera. Synch the two in editing using hand claps or a clapper board.
Use a mic.
Lavalier mics are cheap and clip close to your subject's neck. Or a boom mic can be placed just out of the shot on a stand or with a crew person holding it. These mics can be input to your camera and you'll get automatic synchronization of audio and video. Do not rely on a camera's built in microphone for your audio—it never sounds very good, plus it picks up camera noise.
Use lights.
And watch out for harsh shadows. Video interview light kits have become very inexpensive. But if you don't have one, even 500-watt work lights from the hardware store can work. They can get hot though. New LED versions stay cool. You probably want more light than you'd expect. More than normal room lighting. Having more light helps your camera get good colors. You can always darken your footage in editing if you want a different mood, but brightening dark footage is trickier.
If you have three lights to work with, learn the basics of “three point lighting”. There are many tutorials for this on YouTube.
If you can't get lights, consider a sunny window with a sheer curtain. The sheer softens your main light. Position your interviewee so the light hits them well on one side. Then make or find a white bounce card (like a poster board) to go off camera on their less lit side. This will bounce some of the sunlight and reduce the shadows.
Shoot b-roll.
B-roll is footage that doesn't have dialogue. It might show scenes or action that are described in the dialogue, or it might be more abstract. Consider a mom staring up at some clouds. That is so open to interpretation it can be used anywhere in your film. It could be the video to go over audio like “It was the worst day of my life.” or over “That was a sign there was hope.”
B-roll is important for the pacing of your edit. You don't want it to be all talking, all information. You'll want quieter moments where only music is heard to let your audience feel and digest what you're presented. And b-roll footage is what you can show in these spots. Scenes like: your kids playing, mom counting out pills, dad making a meal, taking a walk, doctor visits. If your camera can shoot slow motion footage, B-roll can be a good occasion to do this. Ordinary events like picking up a toy can take on more import when shown in slow motion. As with most stylized techniques be careful not to over rely on this one.
Get permission from everyone you show on camera.
In writing. Have them sign a talent appearance release agreement.
Color correct.
If you don't know what this is you should learn or find someone else to do it. (It’s how you get the best colors from your video and can also set a mood.)
Score.
There are lots of free or cheap, royalty-free music sources online. Or find someone to compose original music for your film. But you cannot grab songs from popular artists and use it without permission.
Credits part 1.
Think about that long scroll of credits in a Hollywood film. Easily hundreds of people. Most with highly specialized talents. And when you make your smaller film you have do all of those jobs or find people to do them. Some won't apply. You probably won't need any CG artists to create special effects animations. But what if you want animated charts in your film? Before you start making your film study some credits of a low budget movie. Ask yourself what each job does. A gaffer is the lead electrician. You might think you can do without one. You may be right but take the cue to think “will I be plugging in more lights than the outlet can power?” The key grip makes sure the camera and lights are rigged as needed. You might think, I'll just set the tripod and the light stands. And it could be that simple, but again try to plan it out in advance. Maybe you'll shoot on a staircase or a hill, or in a pool where the basic stands don't cut it. Carefully viewing the credits should bring other needs to mind: caterer --oh, I should plan to feed everyone lunch if it's a long day?, wardrobe – oh, they can just wear want they want right? Maybe, but probably not a shirt the same color as the background or one with narrow stripes (these can distort on camera).
Credits part 2.
The ones you end your own film with. That vertical scroll of names looks very legit, very feature film. But you're safer making still cards that get replaced like a slide show rather than scrolling. Scrolling text can shudder or flicker if not done correctly. And what might look fine on computers could look bad on TVs.
Credits part 3.
Give everyone credit. Every job and every favor. This is even more important if you haven't paid them. Don't forget your stock footage and music credits. And in my opinion your last credit should be a URL for more information on the disorder or advocacy group.
Consider delaying the online debut.
As advocates we want to reach the most people with our message as fast as possible. And sharing it online is ideally suited for that. Maybe our touching film will even go viral. But if you want your film to have a good run at film festivals be aware many of them will reject a film that is available to view online.
Choose your film festivals wisely.
Your goals are probably different than most indy filmmakers'. It's easy to feel the lure of every film festival, especially if you love the host city, or it's a name you've heard of like Sundance, Tribeca or Toronto. But ask if each festival offers you the best audience. And will you be able to attend? If not your impact is minimized. Many festivals have screenings with audiences of 10-20 people. Is that worth your efforts? Science, medical and disability themed film festivals are sometimes your best options.
Think about industry and advocacy conferences.
These might be much better fits for you than traditional film festivals. Imagine a crowd of 500 genetic counselors watching your film. There are several conferences like that you could approach. The downside is the conference organizers are not always thinking they'd like to screen a film. You have to sell them on the idea.
Note: the equipment linked here is not selected for best quality. It’s selected as an affordable option.