Recently, everyone seems to have either their hand on a camera, they've been in front of a camera or they have a friend of a friend with a camera.

A filmmaking craze has hit BYU, from film student exhibition opportunities like FinalCut, to amateur shows such as the iOscars, making movies has never been easier.

Most college-age students don't intend to have their project up for an Academy Award, but expressing one's ideas, as well as seeing those ideas come to life on the screen, has never been easier or less expensive. With on-campus filming and editing equipment at your fingertips, as well as a little amateur and expert advice, artistic dreams can become a reality.

Aaron Martin is a junior from Idaho Falls and has just applied to the film program. He is currently working with local filmmaker and LDS Film Festival director Christian Vuissa on his new project "Father in Israel."

Joe Wilson is a junior psychology major from Angola, Ind. and works for BYU multimedia productions. Wilson also works as a media consultant for the company M4, which does Church Educational System videos. When he was younger, Wilson made movies with his friends, including a spin off of "The Crucible" and rip-off commercials.

Daryn Tufts has played the part of characters in "Single's Ward," "The R.M." and has also done film directing and producing, the most-renowned of his works being "American Mormon." Tufts graduated from BYU a few years ago in marketing and started Tufts Incorporated, a company where writing is the foundation, but they also do directing and producing.

Martin, Wilson and Tufts have done their share of amateur and professional films. Their advice for the pre-production, production and post-production the low-budget filmmaking process has gone through multiple tests of durability, and is evidently sound.

Pre-production

Tufts said creativity often comes from low-budget film projects.

"If all you have is your friends and video camera, then make a film with your friends and your video camera," Tufts said.

Martin and Tufts stressed the importance of a good script.

"If you don't write a great script, you're not going to write a great movie," Tufts said. "Writing a great script is the only thing that doesn't cost you any money."

Wilson said one of the most important things to do at the beginning of the filmmaking process is make a storyboard. Storyboards can be easily located on the Internet by typing "PDF storyboard" into Google. When sketching out the different frames involved in each scene, Wilson said it's important to have in mind a source of inspiration for the theme of the film.

Wilson said planning out the order in which you will shoot the different scenes of a film is futile because with the convenience of modern editing software, such as iMovie, it's as easy as clicking and dragging the scenes on a timeline.

The production

"Always keep the camera rolling, don't cut too frequently," Wilson said.

Tufts quoted renowned director, Robert Rodriguez, as saying, "make a movie by any means necessary." Tufts went on to say that in many cases people think they have a great movie idea, but they never get around to actually filming it.

"Some of the most creative things that happened on movie sets are when people have little money," Tufts said. "Find out what you have and what you can get and make it work for you."

Tufts wrote, directed and acted in the film "American Mormon." Of that experience Tufts said, "I analyzed what resources I had at my disposal and then made a movie to fit those resources." Tufts did not waste any time in thinking about impasses he might encounter, but he focused on what he could do with what he had at the time. In the case of "American Mormon," Tufts said he had a $6,000 budget, himself, another person and a camera.

Post-production

Once a film has been shot, all three men agree that editing nowadays has become so easy and convenient.

Martin said if real film has been used, filmmakers can send the reels of film to places, such as Los Angeles, which will digitize the reels of film for you.

Martin also suggests exhibiting a new film. Film festivals are great venues for viewings because oftentimes studios and producers come to find new talent at festivals, like the LDS Film Festival. Constructive criticism can also result from festivals, and as Wilson said, filmmakers should have as many people involved in the critiquing process as possible.

"Make the tightest, strongest movie you can and something you're proud to show people," Tufts said. "Low budget does not mean low quality."

Copyright Brigham Young University 16 Apr 2008