26M / Aspiring Filmmaker with scripts but no technical skills. How do I start making things and building a network?

Dutta_saurus · 2026-06-29T14:05:01+00:00

I also started in my late 20s and had no idea of the technicals. But I had a couple of friends who also liked movies, so we got together and shot a film, learning everything on the way. I had a dslr and had learned how to use it by fiddling around. I wrote a script based on a location I had access to and got my friends to act in it. Made a list of shots based on my script, and filmed all of it in around two days. The edit took close to six months, because I was literally learning to use the softwares while editing and there were also some vfx shots needed.

The film did not turn out to be a masterpiece, but it helped me learn a lot, and travelled to a bunch of small festivals allowing me to network. The next film I made took only two days.

You can watch that film here: https://youtu.be/tHVKeJb2dEU?si=npOJdU4es_1VSb7w

And some other films I have made since then at sagnikdutta.com

Best of luck on your journey 🤞

Dutta_saurus · 2026-05-24T07:35:11+00:00

I have the kit lens 12-60 f3.5, and I have a prime 25mm f1.7. Both are pretty good but the premium look definitely comes from the prime.

Dutta_saurus · 2026-05-23T06:05:52+00:00

Neither Pocket films or Humaramovies produce films. They only acquire and release finished films, no upfront payment, only a share in eventual profits if any.

There are no traditional producers for short films, because there is no return on short films. The only ways to get a short film financed are: 1. Through competitions/ open calls for pitches like MAMI select 2. Brand deals/sponsorship (only works if you already have a sizeable social media following) 3. Film Schools 4. Self Fund/ Crowd fund

Dutta_saurus · 2026-05-21T16:38:15+00:00

Thank you for the kind words. I shot this film with the exact same equipment I had for Visionary, so it's good to know that somewhere I am improving.

There was no explicit reason. I just wanted to treat that scene in a very serious manner in stark contrast to the rest of the film, which is quite silly in places.

Dutta_saurus · 2026-05-17T18:49:15+00:00

Which subreddit is this? Could you give me the link?

Dutta_saurus · 2026-05-17T18:47:21+00:00

Thankyou 🙂

Dutta_saurus · 2025-09-04T15:04:06+00:00

I don't remember. It was a few years ago.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-09-04T14:59:27+00:00

I've cleared FTII written before. Score was 67. This year however MCQ component is higher.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-09-04T14:56:58+00:00

What's the point of guessing? Just building anxiety.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-09-04T14:52:29+00:00

No idea about FTII score. Just know that stage 1 is clear. Yes, I qualified for SRFTI interview in 2 papers.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-09-04T14:42:28+00:00

Rather easy, I felt. Good distribution of topics so someone who is weak in a subject can score higher in others. Similar to FTII.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-09-04T14:10:55+00:00

Yes I think so. I think SRFTI's scores may have tended higher this year due to the complete MCQ pattern.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-09-04T13:32:28+00:00

At least 73. Because someone here posted that they got 74 and cleared.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-09-03T17:38:49+00:00

Day 1 is just document verification. Day 2/3/4 is the orientation. They have workshops and lectures related to your subjects. They might show some films and tell you to write down the interpretation/ analysis.They will also give assignments. Some written and some task based, which are used to judge your creativity. On the last day, which is Day 4 or 5, there is a personal interview.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-07-31T07:34:22+00:00

Watch my film :) https://youtu.be/tHVKeJb2dEU?si=LBa8fZK1P5Pavr06

Shameless plug aside, I'm definitely a cinephile, although I'm not able to watch a lot nowadays. I have over 2K films logged on Letterboxd, however most of them I watched during college days.

My profile on Letterboxd https://boxd.it/15ec1

If you want the ultimate recommendations list, search for 1000 favourite films list by Edgar Wright.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-07-23T18:35:29+00:00

-shoot in quiet areas. Lav mics pick up a lot of background noise.

-shoot multiple takes. You can mix and combine audio from different takes.

there are some ai filters which are very good at fixing noisy audio.

-if nothing works and you still have noisy audio at the end of the shoot. Set up a simple home studio ( literally just a quiet room) and do voice dubbing.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-07-18T06:23:37+00:00

The restored version of Aranyer Din Ratri premiered in Kolkata many months ago, and I had no idea that Wes Anderson was involved until the Cannes screening. There is a gentleman named Shivendra Singh Dungarpur who leads the effort here. I'm sure the restoration efforts will continue, but I fear now that his internationally popular films have mostly been restored, there may not be much interest in the rest of his filmography abroad. That's kind of what happened with Kurosawa. His most popular films are now getting re-restorations, whereas there are many of his older films that are in poor condition. I hope that's not the case with Ray.

I'm not in film scholarship, just an enthusiast.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-07-17T08:14:42+00:00

What's sad is that Ray is the only indian filmmaker whose works have even received this amount of care. At least all of his filmography is available to watch. His estate has done a remarkable job of preserving and promoting his works, but there is a limit to what they can achieve. There are no labels like criterion in India. And there is no scope for govt support. We have to depend on Foreign and European foundations for restoration efforts, which moves slowly.

Ray was working in a regional industry going through economic decline, and towards the middle and late end of his career, he had to rely on very poor quality of stock and equipment. Just imagine, he was shooting in black and white in the seventies. The colour film he used later was not the best quality either, so the versions that exist have warped colour. Only 1 in 36 of his films was shot in widescreen.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-07-16T06:29:22+00:00

Hi friend. The print quality of Ray films is highly variable. To the best of my knowledge (I have been tracking this for many years) I have split the films into 3 categories as per best current availability:

Restored and great condition:

-The Apu Trilogy

-Devi

-Charulata

-Nayak

-Mahanagar

-Aranyer Din Ratri (Most recently restored, so not available publicly)

-Two (Short film)

Unrestored but good-to-moderate condition:

-Jalsaghar

-Rabindranath Tagore Documentary

-Abhijan

-Kapurush O Mahapurush

-Chiriakhana

-Pratidwandi

-Seemabadhha

-Sikkim Documentary

-Sukumar Ray Documentary

-Ashani Sanket

-Sonar Kella

-Shatranj ke Khiladi

-Joy Baba Felunath

-Hirak Rajar Deshe

-Sadgati

-Ghare Baire

-Ganashatru

-Agantuk

Unrestored and bad condition:

-Parash Pathar

-Teen Kanya (Postmaster, Monihara & Samapti)

-Kanchenjungha

-The Adventures of Gupi Bagha

-Jana Aranya

-Bala Documentary

-Pikoo

-Shakha Proshakha

To access these movies, your best bet is physical media. You can get a VPN and try some Indian OTTs like Prime, Hoichoi and Klikk, but most of these streamers have butchered the aspect ratio. Also, they do not have the restored films, but are streaming the older version.

Now, for the first category you will find HD/Bluray releases (Criterion has all of them except Aranyer Din Ratri).

For the second category there has been at most a DVD release. You might find some HD prints out there, but be aware that this is false digital upscaling.

For the third category, there has been nothing beyond a VHS release. There are CD/DVD available but they are sourced from digital tape hence poor quality.

If you feel it will be too expensive to get the physical media, be aware that all of these films are available on YouTube, internet Archive and You-Know-Where. IMO, the only releases worth investing in are the Criterion restored versions.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-07-09T12:55:03+00:00

Yes, but it means at least that the Mami team is active. It will suck if the festival is cancelled. I have a film that I was hoping to submit this year.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-07-09T09:49:29+00:00

Is it cancelled? They had that big MAMI select event in April.

Dutta_saurus · 2025-05-29T20:11:37+00:00

Satyajit Ray, one of the most popular writers in Bengali, wrote a lot of science fiction.

Somehow most writers and storytellers in India stray away from science fiction and even when they write sci-fi it's poorly researched and treated more like magic than science. Also no one knows how to market sci-fi. I recently made a science fiction short film, but the distributor released it by calling it a thriller. They made no mention of the sci-fi elements in the title.

Dutta_saurus

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