Although experience may be the best teacher, the next best is learning from someone who’s been there.

Noam Kroll has just released 126 Lessons On Independent Film Directing, Cinematography, Post-Production, Distribution, And More… that I find invaluable.

Noam is a filmmaker based in LA and he’s distilled his experience in producing, directing, writing, cinematography, editing and sound. He concludes with career advice. Seven nuggets:

“See your limitations as advantages, and look for ways to leverage them to make your film more unique in some way.”

“Write the movie that you want to see. The one you would stand in line for on opening weekend.”

“You can’t expect to achieve a nice color balance in post if there is no color contrast in your raw footage. Always use lighting, props, or wardrobe to achieve color contrast on set.”

“Color and sound can completely transform your film. They aren’t just technical tasks, they are also creative opportunities to entirely change the mood of your film. Capitalize on that.”

“You will be judged on the font you use for your title and end credits. Poor font choice can knock down your production value as fast as anything else. When in doubt, white sans serif on a black background will work just fine.”

“It’s critical for filmmakers today to build an audience for their work. Start now. You have an opportunity to sell your content directly to the public and don’t need to wait for permission. But you can only do it if you have an audience that’s hungry for your next project.”

“The only way to learn how to make a film is to make a film.”

My take: I love reading filmmaking advice and I sometimes try to imagine the trying circumstances behind them. By the way, Noam has great suggestions for micro-budget features too.