If you think you know all there is to know about filmmaking, you can still take some time and see if indeed Hollywood director David F. Sandberg knows less than you. Otherwise just watch this.
Sometimes professionals share tips that are so well known even to beginners. I am glad this is not that kind of video. It’s exciting when you listen to really practical advice from someone who hasn’t ever thought they’re going to make it into Hollywood, but now that he is, he’s still down to earth. Although nothing can beat personal experience, it is still good to pre-visualize some of the things you have to endure in your career as a filmmaker by listening to professionals like Sandberg.
One of the things you will learn from this video is that the ending can make or break your movie, regardless of the quality of the filming and the exciting plot. Sandberg recalls that on the first test screening of a feature film he directed the audience’s feedback had been exceptionally negative. The reason for that was they didn’t like how the movie ended. On the next screening they were shown a version of the film that ended five minutes earlier and the reaction of the viewers was completely the opposite. Honestly, that’s the most common flaw I find in short films today: they may be great as visuals and sound, but the ending is sometimes mediocre or too boring and predictive.
I hope you will find the rest of director’s tips helpful for your filmmaking as well.