Film School On Demand - How to Make & Sell your First Movie

Kick off your independent filmmaking journey with getting started, script basics, and pre-production planning. Learn essentials of film finance, delivery, and distribution to bring your first film to market.

Explore how to write or acquire a screenplay, choose genres like horror, action, thriller, sci-fi, drama, and navigate optioning, purchasing, floors and ceilings, and the three-act structure for budgeting.

Discover pre-visualization, storyboarding, and shot lists to visualize scenes before filming, break down your script, and plan schedules with gorilla budgeting software for your first movie.

Discover film financing across budget ranges—from micro to productions—and master budgeting with padding, insurance, and post-production planning using Gorilla. Learn how unions, distributors, and music rights shape funding and distribution.

Explore practical film financing models for small budgets, including 50/50 investor deals, distribution fees, deferrals, and profit participation, plus strategies such as pre-sales, incentives, and gap financing.

Master pre production by finding a producing partner and assembling key crew. Cast, lock locations, finalize budget and schedule, and plan delivery formats from high definition to film out.

Plan and organize production with pre-shoot scripts, storyboards, and a master calendar. Ensure on-set discipline with call sheets, permits, petty cash, drawdowns, and tight wrap, sound, camera, and makeup readiness.

Embrace postproduction with an editing workflow, assembling footage, and shaping sound, color, and effects while crafting a trailer to sell your film. Organize paperwork, deals, and delivery to attract distributors.

Learn to navigate film distribution and delivery, including domestic and foreign sales and essential deliverables. Discover how deals, sales agents, minimum guarantees, and payments shape revenue.

Master film marketing to sell your first film. Understand prints and advertising, trailers, and online marketing, then build a squeeze page and a viral social media plan to attract buyers.