1.
Casting your friends or family because your budget is non-existent:
2.
Or filming in a classroom, basement, or your backyard because you don’t have money:
3.
Helplessly watching your editing software of choice freeze before you could save your 6 hours of work:
4.
Forgetting a shot on your shot list and having to use awkward stock footage:
5.
Playing back a good scene and then realizing there’s a glaring continuity error:
6.
Having NO IDEA where to get most of your props:
7.
Using creative commons music instead of that perfect Radiohead song:
8.
Accidentally breaking your tripod and suddenly making your project a Cloverfield remake:
9.
Driving a U-haul of valuable equipment for the first time:
10.
Gravely overestimating how much post production will improve your film:
11.
Trying to zoom in slowly and instead making it look really choppy:
12.
Realizing your screenplay needs 60 new drafts before it is even remotely presentable:
13.
Filming outdoors and being paranoid about sudden car/dog/baby sounds:
14.
Watching the perfect take happen in rehearsal when, OF COURSE, you weren't filming:
15.
Accidentally saying stuff like “I’m DPing on set” around non-film folk:
16.
Worrying you won't surpass $1 on your Kickstarter or Indiegogo:
17.
Not being able to watch even totally mediocre movies without analyzing the cinematography/character arcs/dialogue:
18.
Experimenting with actual film for the first time and realizing everything has to pretty much be perfect from the first take:
19.
Or deciding to try stop motion and learning it takes a billion times longer than you ever imagined:
20.
Having half your close friends move across the country to pursue their careers.
21.
Feeling a pain in your soul every awards season when so many talented people get snubbed:
22.
Having no clue how you’ll afford to go see all the films you want in theaters:
23.
Not being able to decide on which Oscar viewing party to go to:
24.
Realizing how much you need connections to get anywhere in the business:
25.
Worrying about sounding pretentious because of your major/career choice/taste in film:
26.
Spending all your tax refunds and birthday money on your film budget or new equipment:
27.
Because, despite all the challenges, you really are the happiest when making a movie:
