Lights Film School Blog

Free Music For Filmmakers

If you’re a filmmaker then you’ve undoubtedly had the experience of looking for music to use in your feature films, documentaries and short films. Unfortunately this is often an issue of compromise for filmmakers who lack the budgets to license music from record labels for their films or hire someone to compose music specifically for their films. The cost of both of these options are often prohibitively high. The compromise usually consists of using your musician friends music which may or ma...

How to Create a Trailer For Your Independent Film

The following independent film trailer embodies many of the characteristics of a major Hollywood feature. Like it or not audiences perceive value based on the standards that the large studios have set. For example, you will want third party validation and quotes, a green card from the MPAA stating that that your video is an approved theatrical trailer. If you don't get MPAA rating, then you should consider using a card that looks similar to its format. Another interesting idea is keeping your tr...

What digital cameras can you enlarge to film?

Many filmmakers dream of having their digital videos displayed on the big screen. However, for this to happen you first have to first do a “digital to film transfer”. This is the process of taking your digital image and transferring it to film format. This process takes time (about 2-4 weeks for a feature length film) and is quite expensive. A digital to film transfer for a short film usually costs about $300 - $400 / minute of footage. For a feature length film, this price usually falls to arou...