Having started acting in films at 11 years old, when friends visit me on set, I am always reminded how intriguing and lucky it is to get to experience filming up close. There are so many members of the team that create a film — from the writers to the production designers to the camera team and cinematographers, to the electricians to the makeup artists to the editors and the sound team, to the special effects to the marketing specialists and more! And all of these contributors are put into an intense and intimate environment for several months to create a cinematic work together, with the director at the helm of the undertaking and the actors becoming the public faces for the entire industry.
When friends come to the set, they always want to know: Who are the many individuals who take part in the making of a film? What do they do? How do they do what they do? How did they get the chance to do what they do? And often: how can I do that too?
These questions led me to believe that there was a desire for this inside look, especially from the vast majority of people who don’t have friends who can take them on set. With the ever-increasing number of self-taught filmmakers, who find audiences for their films using new opportunities for video-sharing online, I thought there would be an additional audience for our content among those who want an experienced filmmaker’s advice as to how to light a certain type of scene or how to achieve a particular makeup effect, and so on.
When I first discussed the idea with my friend Christine Aylward, she immediately matched my enthusiasm for the concept and passionately devoted herself to creating this site as you see it today. It is our goal to create a centralized source for the type of filmmaking insights often found on DVD extra features, with additional features catered toward the film enthusiast and filmmaking enthusiast alike.
I love what I do, and feel grateful to have the opportunity to share it with those who find the filmmaking world as exciting as I do.
I’d love to visit one day one of these sets. I am finishing at the moment my MA in Filmmaking and I hope one day to work in projects like those you do.