I’m Making a Horror Movie; and I Have No Idea What I’m Doing…
Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic and I have some idea what I’m doing….Maybe.
For the past few months, I’ve been creating audio horror short stories for my 66 Nights of Summer series on Crystal Portee After Dark. What started as me telling creepy little stories has slowly turned into something much bigger. I’m working my way toward Night 66, which will be the premiere of my first short horror movie.
And I just released my first trailer.
Am I nervous?
Hell yes.
Am I going to finish the movie anyway?
Also yes.
And am I probably going to look back at my first film one day and think, Good Lord, this was terrible?
Absolutely.
But I think that’s part of creating anything.
Nobody starts as the filmmaker they eventually become. Nobody wakes up knowing exactly how to frame every shot, direct a scene, edit a film, write the perfect screenplay, or get an audience to care about their work. At some point, you have to make the first bad movie so that one day you can make the tenth really good one.
That’s where I am.
After I finish this film, I plan on taking screenplay classes because I want to understand the craft better. Eventually, I would also love to submit one of my films to a film festival. Not because I think I’m already some incredible filmmaker. I don’t have a giant budget, a professional studio, or years of filmmaking experience.
I just want to learn and the only way I’m going to learn is by actually making films. So, if you're sitting on a short-film idea of your own, here are five ways you can start getting your movie out into the world; even if nobody knows who you are yet.
1. Put It on YouTube and Use the Audience You Already Have
You don't necessarily need a distributor to give your short film an audience.
Start with YouTube.
If you've already built a following on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, or another platform, use those accounts to lead people toward your film.
And don't wait until the movie premieres to talk about it.
Show pieces of the process, post a teaser, release a trailer, show a prop without explaining what it means, introduce a character, talk about why you're making the movie, and let people watch the project slowly come together.
That's what I'm doing with Night 66. The people who have been following my horror stories don't suddenly have to discover that I'm making a movie on premiere day. They're watching me work toward it.
Your first audience doesn't have to be 100,000 people.
It might be 100, 20, or five people who genuinely want to see what you make next. Five people watching your first film are still five people who didn't know your story before you created it.
2. Submit Your Film to Film Festivals
This is one of my eventual goals.
Film festivals aren't reserved only for filmmakers with huge budgets and expensive equipment. There are festivals specifically for independent films, short films, horror, experimental projects, first-time filmmakers, women filmmakers, Black filmmakers, and countless other genres and communities.
You also don't have to start by trying to get into the biggest festival you've ever heard of.
Research smaller festivals, look at local festivals, find horror festivals that actually screen the type of work you're creating, read their submission requirements carefully, because every festival has its own rules, deadlines, fees, runtime requirements, and premiere policies.
You may get rejected.
Actually, you probably will get rejected from some.
Submit anyway.
I'm not expecting my first movie to walk into a film festival and win everything. My first goal is to make a movie. Then I can make another one and another one.
Eventually, I'll have something I'm ready to put in front of festival programmers and say, "Here! This is what I made."
3. Look for Local Screenings and Community Opportunities
The internet isn't the only place where independent films can find an audience. Look around your own community.
Independent theaters, libraries, colleges, universities, art organizations, horror groups, filmmaking organizations, community centers, and local arts events may have opportunities for independent filmmakers.
You can also eventually organize your own screening.
Imagine showing several locally made horror shorts in one evening. Suddenly, instead of trying to convince people to attend an event for one unknown filmmaker, several filmmakers are bringing their audiences together.
Your first "premiere" doesn't have to involve a red carpet.
Sometimes it just needs a screen, some chairs, and people willing to watch.
4. Find Other Independent Filmmakers
One thing I'm learning as I move from audio storytelling toward filmmaking is that I don't have to know everything myself.
Neither do you.
Connect with writers, actors, editors, cinematographers, makeup artists, musicians, film students, horror creators, and other people making their first, second, or third films.
Don't approach every relationship thinking, What can this person do for me?
Build actual creative relationships.
Watch their films, share their projects when you genuinely enjoy them, talk about what worked and what didn't, ask questions, and learn what other creators are doing with limited budgets.
The person making a $500 short film today could be making a $50,000 project several years from now. And so could you.
5. Turn One Short Film Into the Beginning of Something Bigger
Don't treat your first short film like it has to determine your entire future. Let it teach you how to make the second one. Maybe your film gets 47 views.
Okay.
What did you learn?
Was the audio bad? Was your opening too slow? Did people love one particular character? Did your trailer perform better than expected? Did you discover that you're much better at editing than directing? Did you realize you absolutely hate being in front of the camera but love writing screenplays?
That's useful information.
Build a portfolio, create a filmmaker page or website, keep your trailers, posters, stills, behind-the-scenes material, and finished films together. When you make your next project, you won't be starting from zero anymore.
You'll be starting with one completed film, and that brings me back to Night 66. I don't know exactly what will happen with my first horror movie. Maybe I'll look at it five years from now and cringe. Actually, I'm almost certain I will.
But I'd rather cringe at the first movie I actually made than spend five years thinking about the perfect movie I never started.
66 Nights of Summer taught me that I can keep creating even when I'm tired, unsure, experimenting, or figuring things out as I go. Night 66 is simply the next experiment.
The trailer is out, the movie is coming, and after that? I have some screenplay classes to take. Then maybe one day, I'll see one of my films playing at a film festival, but first, I have to finish the first one.
