Drama, Documentary or Animation?

Live action / Drama
Documentary
Animation

After you've decided what your film is going to be about, you will need to choose your production style. Films can be broken down into three very broad categories: live action/drama, documentary and animation.

Live action / Drama
Think about your favourite TV dramas or films which involve real people acting on screen. You will be able to see your results come together quite quickly but this style can involve a lot of work: scripts, learning lines, acting, costumes, props, appropriate locations and possibly a large team of likeminded people. Initially, think of some simple themes and locations to get you started.

Alternatively how about making a music style video? Create a film with your favourite local band to the sound of one of their tracks. You could promote it at one of their gigs or give the band's fans an opportunity to watch the film online.

Live action and drama is an exciting way to create a film but make sure you plan ahead. You will find lots of planning tips on our pre production page.

Check out the Acting for Film link of the right of this page.

(back to top)

Documentary
Documentaries are an ideal way to start out in filmmaking. You don't have to rely on people learning lines or acting their socks off although good presenting skills in front of the camera are still required. It's important to have quality sound on all films especially if you are interviewing a variety of different people. Choose an issue that will capture a potential audience, that way you can be certain people will want to watch your film. But remember, if you choose an emotive or sensitive issue be prepared for the response.

For more information take a look at the links on the right of this page.

(back to top)

Animation
Animation is fun and can really draw upon your imagination but you will probably need some additional software or equipment. It's also a great way to make short films but can be quite labour intensive as there are around 25 separate frames to shoot for each second of finished film. The great thing about animation is you can exceed all boundaries: fairy tales, space, futuristic themes, historical battles and monsters are all ready and waiting to be part of your film. Anything is possible with animation.

To find out what you will need to start an animation film project, download our animation guide which you will find to the right of this page.

If you want to start animating right away but don't have time to create all the individual compositions then Go Animate is definitely for you. This is a brilliant website which enables anyone to start creating brilliant animation projects within minutes. You will find a link Go Animate on the right of this page.

Ready to take your next step ... move on to Pre Production.

(back to top)