5 Household Hacks every Filmmaker Needs to Know

Published on October 3, 2017

Cinematography & Filmmaking

camera hacks, DIY, Household

As you probably noticed during your film making carreer, gear can be very expensive! But it doesn’t always has to be. In this tutorial we explain our handy hacks with household objects to make your filmmaking a little bit easier. We use common objects everyone has lying around in their house and show how you can use them in a creative way.

These hacks aren’t necessarily about improving your shots and giving it that super cinematic look. They are more about your workflow when filmmaking and making it easier for you to work. This can vary from hanging cables, filters and more to cleaning your lens.

But of course there are some hacks you can use to improve the quality of your shots. A trick or hack or whatever you want to call it, is using you car as a dolly. Dolly shots are very difficult to do without a proper dolly  and dolly’s are very expensive. So you can try to use something else like a skateboard or what you can find with wheels. But our preference still goes to a car. You just take place in the trunk with a small tripod and let one of you friends slowly drive forward. making Dolly shots has never been easier.

Another tip we can give you is a DIY lighting for your scene or subject. If you want to use soft light but don’t have a diffusion filter or a softbox. You can always use a (white) shower curtain or a Chinese paper light ball. These two are perfect for creating soft light and will really help your lighting.

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