It’s been a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and we are still grappling with it as intensely as ever. Besides health, the financial condition of people worldwide has been affected the most. Many have lost their jobs and are facing hardships to make ends meet. Filmmakers have been facing a lot of financial difficulties as well.
The biggest challenge is that neither the people nor the locations that are required to shoot large-scale films are accessible anymore. However, not every avenue related to filmmaking and videography is as severely affected. Let’s look at how, as a filmmaker, you can still make good money in this age of lockdowns.
Challenges for Filmmakers
One of the most significant problems that filmmakers are facing these days is the absence of live events, both large and small scale. Covering or recording these events was a major source of income and employment for many filmmakers, either through organizations or at individual levels. In these times, it is also disheartening to see how governments are neglecting filmmakers by not providing any financial aid.
Filmmaking is a source of employment not only for the filmmaker but for others, too. This implies that the repercussions of complete lockdowns are far-reaching. Many of these people are in dire straits and are forced to live from hand to mouth.
How to Find Work as a Filmmaker In a Pandemic?
The purpose of this article is not to reiterate the problems but to help you find solutions for them. Filmmakers can adopt these ideas to sail through these tough times:
1. Cover Virtual Events and Inaugurations
As stated before, live events with large gatherings have now more or less been done away with. Virtual launch events have become the new normal, and companies are looking for professionals who can help them conduct these events efficiently. This is an avenue that most filmmakers and videographers have found work in during the lockdown.
You can work on creating the official film for launch events or inaugurals. Moreover, if you have some knowledge about broadcasting and streaming, you can contribute a lot more to such online events. If you have the means, you should start advertising these services on social media so that relevant clients can contact and hire you for the same.
2. Learn New Skills to Offer Other Services
If you are a conventional filmmaker, you would have never thought of learning how to edit footage or giving voiceovers for videos yourself. However, the thing with these tasks is that you can do them sitting at home and help those who have ongoing or pending projects and who urgently require these services. So, while it will take some time for you to build a new skill, you can try and get started with it; you will surely be able to offer your services to earn a good amount of money at some point.
Ultimately, these skills will also improve your chances of getting employed once things get better. Therefore, at this point, the best way to utilize your time is to invest it in learning a new industry-relevant skill. Apart from all the other benefits, it will also help you stay in touch with the field and even get better at your job.
3. Product Film Shooting
At the end of the day, one has to agree that these are tough times for almost all industries and not just the entertainment sector. Brands are looking forward to launching products and advertising them to improve their sales significantly.
They will surely want some innovative product videos and films to attract and entice their customers with such promotions. Again, if you think you can do this job well, or even learn how to do it in a short time span, it is time to advertise your skill to find clients. Owing to the crisis, the payout can be on the lower side, but there will certainly be a substantial amount of work coming your way.
You can imagine the huge number of brands or sellers operating on e-commerce platforms today. Thus, if things get going for you in this domain, you will end up earning much more than you might expect.
4. Make Short Films at Home
The biggest skill that seasoned filmmakers have is not their ability to shoot, but their creativity while shooting. If you think you can work on a good and concise script, you should seriously consider making a short film at home. You can enlist the help of your friends and family and shoot it in a unique way to produce something refreshing. Many filmmakers have already ventured into making short films and have monetized their videos after posting them on platforms like YouTube. Start thinking on these lines, contact writers or editors interested in something similar, and eventually, you might create something great. It might seem like an unusual area to explore right now, but the opportunities here are endless.
5. Start a YouTube Channel or a Website
Young filmmakers are always looking for guidance and advice from their seniors to make a better career for themselves. At a time when you do not have much fieldwork to do, you can think of sharing your expertise while also earning something from it.
You can start a YouTube channel or a blog/website where you can share your experiences and tips regarding various aspects of filmmaking, videography, etc. These days, blogging and creating content for YouTube is a lucrative avenue to explore. You already know the technicalities of shooting good content. So, get started with a website or a channel and see how it becomes a source of income for you.
Tips on Filming During Lockdown
The procedure for filming during the lockdown remains the same. However, some aspects need to be given a little more attention to get the best footage. Firstly, if you plan to shoot in your house, invest some time preparing the backgrounds to give your shots a professional and cinematic quality. If you do not have enough equipment to shoot and decide to use your phone camera for recording, make sure that you record in landscape view only. It will help you get the standard 1920×1080 film screen.
Lighting is crucial when you are shooting indoors. Utilize the sunlight streaming through your windows and set up your frame in a way that natural light is sufficient for shooting. You can use techniques like shadow shooting to create a cinematic look even with regular sunlight. Some people might find it hard to increase the depth of field while shooting at home.
Just ensuring the basics like sitting at a distance from the walls and placing the camera opposite to the light source can significantly impact bringing the subject into focus. It is all about adapting to the new setting; the rest of the procedure for filmmaking remains exactly the same.
Conclusion
Finding work and earning money in the midst of a pandemic is not easy. Opportunities become even more scarce when you work in a field like filmmaking. While people in most other sectors have managed to adapt to this sudden change, filmmakers are finding it hard to find a stable source of income.
However, some areas of filmmaking and videography have remained unaffected by the adversities of the pandemic and the shutdown of services. Exploiting these opportunities will not be easy for every filmmaker, nor will it allow you to earn money instantly.
Please spend some time analyzing the situation, and try your hand at all the options that we have discussed so far. You will certainly find some work if you go about searching for it in the right way.
