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6 Tips for Indie Filmmakers

I have fond memories of running around as a kid with a camcorder, directing my friends around and making short films. I wrote my first screenplay in fourth grade - it was a slasher flick called 10 Inch Knife (Scream was very popular that year and I had just discovered the genre). Though I also wrote songs, stories, and poems, there was always something appealing about writing a screenplay, even as a kid. Knowing that real people were going to read the lines and that the imagery and locations would be transferred from the page to the screen seemed magical.

I went to film school and studied production and screenwriting, hoping to make a career out of it (still working on that part!). I made a few films in college, and though I’ve continued to write since then, I haven’t really filmed anything in quite some time, other than some of the music videos I’ve made. So when my good friend, Tamara Diaz, asked me how she should go about getting into acting, I said, “Let’s make a film!” The result is an action short called Gemma that I just filmed over the holidays.

Overseeing all of the moving parts (finding locations, cast members, etc.) was definitely a challenge. On a big budget set, you have multiple people helping you coordinate everything. But when you’re doing it mostly by yourself, there’s a lot to remember. Here are a few simple things I learned from the process. These may seem like no-brainers, but they are really essential and easy to forget: 

1. Make sure the story is solid before shooting. Some filmmakers don’t work with a script, but you should still have a clear idea of the story. If you do write a script, have people look at it and give feedback. Have your actors get familiar with it and give their suggestions. Don’t rush the writing process. Sit on it for a couple of weeks and see if a new idea pops up. Be open to new directions. You don’t want to shoot the entire film and realize that you should’ve taken the story down a different path. This may still happen regardless, but you should feel confident about your story and have a strong vision going in. It just makes the process smoother.

I don’t usually write with specific actors in mind, but I did this time. I knew I wanted Tamara to play Gemma, and I had a few of the supporting characters cast in my head as well. There’s nothing wrong with writing with an actor in mind (TV shows do this all the time with their established cast members). It actually can help you envision how the characters talk and act.  Just be open to using a different actor for the role if someone should fall through. 

2. Keep your budget in mind. When I’m wearing my writing hat, it’s easy to get carried away with big ideas that just aren’t realistic with my budget. For Gemma, the budget was essentially nonexistent, though I was willing to put some teeth in the game if I had to.  

There are a number of inexpensive ways to get things done. Think about what your resources are, what skills your friends have, and what locations you have access to. We used a rolling chair for a dolly in some scenes and painter lights for some quick and dirty lighting. I was fortunate that Tamara had access to a gym that we could film at while it was closed. My parents own a cargo van that I worked into the script. I didn’t want to spend an enormous amount on prop guns, so I found some really cheap airsoft ones at Sports Authority and spray painted them black. I actually find this part of the process fun. Something about low-budget filmmaking gets me excited. Get creative and you can find a way to do things on a dime! 

3. Scheduling is everything. Don’t underestimate how much time things take to shoot. Even a short, simple scene can have unforeseen complications. Allow time for travel, setup, and rehearsal. And count on people showing up a bit late! Prioritize which scenes must absolutely get done that day and what can be shot another day if needed.  

I meticulously scheduled each day of shooting Gemma (with spreadsheets!). Because I live in Los Angeles and Tamara lives in New Jersey (where I grew up), we had limited time to shoot when I was home for the holidays. I had to keep it to just three days, working around everyone’s busy schedules. Even so, there were still a few things we didn’t get to. So schedule time for reshoots and pickups as well! 

4. Have backups (and backups for your backups). If someone doesn’t show up, who else can you call? If a location falls through, where else can you shoot?

Though there are only a few major roles in Gemma, it’s amazing how many extras/minor parts I realized I needed. The night before Day #1 of shooting, I still hadn’t cast several of the male thugs for some of the action sequences. Although the thugs could be almost anyone, it was still challenging to find a few guys to devote a couple hours. Thankfully, I pulled from family and friends and ended up filling the roles the day of the shoot. I even ended up with a few other guys who were available as backups in a pinch.

I also faced a huge hurdle when I went to the location I had planned to shoot a bulk of the film at – a storage facility. When I went early the morning of the shoot to confirm we could film there, I found that the owners were gone for the holidays and the person working there didn’t have authority to let us film. Luckily, my mom suggested I take a look at our church basement. Surprisingly, I realized the church basement was actually a better fit for the story once I saw it. Also, since the church was closed that day, I didn’t have to worry about people walking through the set unexpectedly or questioning what we were doing. We did ask for permission of course, which was thankfully granted! 

5. Be grateful. When you are an indie filmmaker, you are relying on a lot of people to donate their time and energy to a project. They are doing you a huge favor.

This was something I tried very hard to keep in mind for this shoot. I wanted to make the shoot fun and comfortable for the actors and crew. I made sure to plan around the actors’ schedules. I told myself, we will get as much done as we can and then go from there. I tried to make sure my actors weren’t nervous about their performances as best I could. Although it can be a stressful process, it can still be fun! After all, isn’t that why I fell in love with filmmaking to begin with? 

6. Learn as much as you can. Shooting Gemma was a huge learning experience for me. It was my first time really using my new camera, so I spent hours watching YouTube tutorials, reading up on the camera, and playing around with the features. It’s been a while since film school, so I had to refresh my memory about things like ISO, shutter speeds, and exposure.

I always learn from working with actors – what direction they respond to, how to utilize their strengths, and how to get the best performance from them. Part of that is being open to their interpretation and ideas as well.

Now that I am editing the film, I’m learning more about color correction and grading. Looking at the footage, you also learn about what you could’ve done better while shooting. Filmmaking is a constant learning process. Push yourself to be better with every film you make!


So that’s my take on things. Hopefully you found some of these tips helpful. Feel free to leave me any comments or questions below. I’ll keep you guys updated on the status of the film. I can’t wait to share it with you all!

Filming My "Blue Jeans" Music Video

Shooting music videos is always a bit stressful to me. There’s usually a lot to get done and not much time to do it. Plus a lot of planning and logistics go into it, much of which seems to fall by the wayside once filming starts. Add to that the fact that I’m usually filming on a budget and begging friends to work for free.

I had lots of ideas for the “Blue Jeans” video that I had to scrap because they were just too complicated or too expensive. My original concept involved me wandering through an old ghost town in the desert. I researched some ghost towns outside of LA and I fully intended on hiking out there. One of the key images I had involved me in a bathtub, filled with water in the middle of the desert. I liked the idea of taking everyday items or furniture and displacing them in the middle of the desert. In the grand expanse of time (the desert), these were remembrances of a relationship long gone.

But as I started planning, it became clear that this would require a lot of coordination, time, and money to execute. Finding a bathtub for dirt cheap is not easy, and then there was the issue of lugging it to the desert and somehow filling it with water. Baking under the desert sun in the middle of summer didn’t sound too appealing either.

So I went back to the drawing board. I listened to the song over and over again with my eyes closed. I kept having visions of a girl driving somewhere - her hair blowing wildly in the wind. That was the seed from which the rest of the video sprouted. Who was this girl? What was her story? Where was she going?

My good friend Jeffrey Cline shot the video. We support each other’s work a lot – I’ve helped with a few of his films, which are beautifully avant garde, so make sure to check them out here: https://vimeo.com/user2501671

My friend and roommate at the time, Brittany Hook, agreed to star in the video. She was perfect for the video – very expressive with the kind of bohemian style I was going for. She introduced me to Zack Peckinpah. They have great chemistry together and he’s got the look I wanted for this video – the tattoos were awesome!

Shooting went surprisingly smoothly. We shot my performance in the late morning by an overpass for the 405 not far from my apartment. I rented a sweet Les Paul guitar from Guitar Center. It’s probably the most expensive guitar I have ever played - ironically, I used it only for show and not for the actual sound it produces.

Then we shot all the scenes with Brittany and Zack. We were on a tight schedule so I had everything pretty much scheduled out. We got everything in just under the wire, thankfully. I managed to work the bathtub scene in, though no longer set in the desert and with Brittany in place of myself.

I ended up with tons of footage – some of which had to be left on the cutting room floor. It’s always surprising to me when you put footage in slow motion how much it expands. I edited the video myself and I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out.

I’ve asked a couple people what their interpretation of the video is, and it’s been amusing to see all the different reactions – especially to the part where Brittany falls to the ground, her hands covered in blood. Some people thought she fell and hurt herself, others that she had killed her lover, and (my favorite) a few people actually thought she had a miscarriage. Some interpreted it as a literal story about a tumultuous relationship, possibly where he dies at the end with her unable to say goodbye. Still others thought it was a supernatural love story where he has been dead the whole time, haunting her throughout the video.

While I have my own ideas of what the video represents, I like that it’s open to the viewer’s interpretation. There is no right or wrong answer and it is purposely vague. Regardless of what you make of the video, I think it captures the essence of the song. Just like the lyrics, there’s love and joy intermingled with sadness, longing, and nostalgia. 

I hope you guys like the video as much as I enjoyed making it. I would love to hear some of your theories! Here’s a link again to the video. Feel free to leave comments below.  

I Will Love You Till The End of Time...

I first heard about Lana Del Rey in 2011. I had just moved to LA and her song “Video Games” was just starting to find a foothold on the Internet. Being a video game player myself, the name intrigued me and I felt compelled to give it a listen after seeing it posted somewhere.

The music video, for those who haven’t seen it, is essentially home video of Lana performing, intercut with found footage. I remember thinking she reminded me of a coked out supermodel or the girlfriend of some famous actor, but in the best way possible. She was vulnerable and beautiful - she seemed damaged. Though the lyrics were uplifting (“Heaven is a place on Earth with you”), her delivery was heartbreaking. There was a story to her. 

Shortly thereafter, “Video Games” came on the radio one day when I was driving (quite appropriately) through Hollywood. It reminded me how much I liked the song and compelled me to go look her up again. At the time, she only had a few songs on YouTube, but I fell in love with her music. Despite her rocky performance on SNL soon after, I remained a loyal fan, and when her album officially released, I was hooked. Lana has since become one of my favorite artists of the last 5 years, if not all time. She has inspired me musically and lyrically, and I find her subtle influence apparent in lots of other artists that you might not expect (Taylor Swift and Adam Lambert come to mind).

“Blue Jeans” is a standout track on her first album. It’s truly Lana at her best – longing lyrics that invoke the Golden Age of Hollywood, a hip-hop influenced arrangement, and of course, Lana’s signature jazz-infused vocals. Doing my own version of the song was not as easy as I anticipated. I realized very quickly that trying to imitate Lana’s unique style was just not going to work. I had to make it my own, and part of that realization was coming to terms with giving up some of what I love about the song – the relaxed, melancholy crooning on the verses and breathy, ethereal vocals on the chorus. It just didn't suit my voice. I tried to strip away Lana's interpretation of the song and reimagine it as if I had written it. What came out was a more biting approach to the lyrics. I fused the arrangement with as much energy as I could, while keeping the sweeping feel of the strings. I created the entire track in GarageBand, recorded the vocals in my closet, and then had some help from Jeff Schoeny with mixing. All in all, I'm really proud of how it came out!

So without further ado, here is my version of the song. I really hope you guys like it! Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below!

Who Am I?

Well, that's a loaded question. People usually define themselves by their job - "I'm a doctor," "I'm a teacher," "I'm a social worker." I guess this makes sense, since most people go to school or train for years to work in the field that they are passionate about (or at least the one they think will make them the most money). Though in my experience, people in Hollywood will tell you both their job AND their passion, which are inevitably two separate things and neither of which tend to involve much money - "Well, I work as a waitress right now but I'm also a singer-songwriter."

Well, OK in that case my name is Justin Messina - I work in entertainment marketing but I'm also a screenwriter, singer-songwriter, and filmmaker. There. Now you know me.

So why the blog? Mostly it's a collection of my random thoughts and musings as I navigate the entertainment industry and my own creative process. But it's also an invitation to join me on this journey into the "wondrous land of imagination," to quote the Twilight Zone.

As a huge fantasy and sci-fi buff, I spend much of my time living in other worlds - some very much like our own, some that could not be more different. I moved to LA from the east coast right out of college and it was very much like entering another dimension. Perpetual sunshine, plastic smiles, and an entire city founded on the things I grew up loving but was always told weren't "real" careers - film, TV, music.

At its best, Hollywood is a community of creative minds - competing, collaborating, struggling to have their own voices heard, all wanting to build something meaningful. At its worst, it's an industry fueled by greedy execs who dilute creativity and destroy artistry for the sake of being "commercial." Yes, Hollywood is its own strange dystopian society - shiny and perfect on the outside but with a dark and flawed underbelly.

And so this blog is just one man's attempt to navigate this strange land - hoping to learn and grow from the adventure while still holding onto the pillars that define him. Join me, share your stories, and perhaps together we can make it out alive.

You are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, Hollywood!