Sorry for the radio silence last week, but maybe it’s for the best. Toni and I had shot most of the film by last Friday, but we saved some special effects shots for a third night of shooting, which we knocked out Monday.
So now I can give you the full breakdown of this no-budget short film shot entirely on my iPhone, entirely in our living room, with just the two of us.
I learned a lot on this one.
By the way, if you want to see my first iPhone short film, made under very similar conditions – you can watch right here.
More Breath, Less Stress
This was probably the least stressful narrative shoot I’ve done in years, which was my goal!
After Oliver Brody, I really wanted to swing in the opposite direction production-wise. That film was sprawling and ambitious and exhausting in all the ways you’d expect. So this time I wanted to see what would happen if I stripped the process down to the bare minimum: no crew outside of Toni helping with BTS and art department stuff, no locations, no rentals, no budget.
Just a tiny movie in the living room.
And if you strategically design a film to be essentially free, then there’s really no reason to force the process to feel like a Hollywood set. You can slow down and have fun with it because you’re not bleeding money every hour.
Speaking of time, let’s talk a little more about the schedule of this one…
I originally thought this was going to be a 1-night shoot. Then I started building the shot list and schedule using my automatic scheduling template (still by far my favorite way to schedule any shoot).
Very quickly, I realized that was completely unrealistic. I had a LOT of shots planned. So 2 days was looking more realistic. And normally, that’s what I would have done…
But then I remembered how the Witchfish shoot went.
Very similar setup: 2 nights, shooting in my house, mostly at night, basically no crew. Yet I was needlessly stressed during that production because I kept trying to force the shoot into an artificially tight schedule. I didn’t want to repeat that mistake this time.
So I gave myself a third night.
That decision changed the entire experience. The shoot became fun and appropriately low-stakes. We even had drinks in the middle of the shoot. Why not? It’s a no-budget film in our living room after all…
Besides the schedule, another big stressor on Witchfish was lighting.
Lighting is such a pain when you’re basically shooting solo, especially on night interiors. So this time, I created one basic “universal” lighting setup for the whole project. Then I could just moved around one little battery-powered light as needed to tweak each setup. Occasionally I’d bring in another light just to throw a shape onto the floor or wall if the image was feeling too flat, but the entire lighting approach was built around speed and simplicity.
And it worked out! I think the lighting looks nice (nice enough anyway), and it felt easy, even with our 2-person team.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make filmmaking more sustainable for myself long term. How do I reduce the parts of the process that create unnecessary stress and overwhelm? How do I preserve the parts that are actually creatively fulfilling?
This project felt like a really good testing ground for that mindset, and I plan to push even further in this direction moving forward.
How much can I get away with before the films start to suffer? We’ll find out…
The Minimalist iPhone Rig
I’m obviously going to make a full YouTube breakdown covering the production, so I won’t go too crazy here. But I do think this will probably be my last iPhone short film for a while.
Not because the footage looks bad (I think it holds up great actually). The issue is more the workflow.
I shot the entire thing on my iPhone 15 Pro in ProRes LT, at 4K, using the Blackmagic Camera app. Since the ProRes files are huge, I recorded everything onto a 1TB external SSD that was designed for smartphones. The key advantage of this SSD was a USB-C passthrough port on the bottom, which allowed me to still plug in my wireless mic receiver while recording externally.
So the whole rig was basically:
- iPhone 15 Pro
- TWOPAN 1TB External SSD
- Hollyland Lark Max 2 USB C receiver
- Little Ulanzi MagSafe tripod (I love this thing)
That’s it. The whole thing is only slightly bigger than the iPhone itself.
And I wanted to keep it that way. I have zero interest in attaching cages, hubs, batteries, handles, lenses etc to my phone. At that point you’re basically rebuilding a cinema camera out of a phone, which totally defeats the purpose of shooting on the phone.
But the biggest issue I kept running into was battery life.
Once the battery started getting low, the rhythm of production completely changed. We’d have to stop and fast charge the phone, shoot a few more setups, stop again, recharge again… over and over.
Not being able to hot swap batteries is the single biggest downside of iPhone filmmaking compared to using an actual camera.
That said, there’s still something creatively exciting about making a film with the device that’s already in your pocket all the time.
And if you’re anything like me, seeing filmmakers push low-end tools to their limits is way more inspiring than watching someone casually shoot a film on $100k worth of gear with a full crew.
It just makes filmmaking feel more achievable.
On to the edit (on a deadline)
One unexpected advantage of stretching the production to three days was that it allowed me to build an assembly edit after day two.
That turned out to be really valuable because we were planning to physically alter our couch during the final night for some special effects, and I wanted to make sure I hadn’t missed any important moments before making those reshoots impossible.
Thankfully, the assembly edit already looks really promising. The footage holds up well and, more importantly, my mediocre acting doesn’t completely derail the movie.
I’ve got a sponsor attached to the release, so we agreed the film will go live May 18th, which means I need to move pretty quickly in post. I’ve been buried finishing another project’s edit, but fortunately that is finally wrapping up too.
So now it’s time for fun stuff! Cleaning up the edit, getting creative with the sound design, some wire removals in After Effects, and then hopefully a proper Resolve grade if I can squeeze it in… Although realistically, I’ll end up doing another quick-and-dirty Premiere grade considering the time constraints.
Anyways, the film drops May 18th barring any disasters. And I’ll hopefully have the full behind-the-scenes breakdown the following week, and maybe even a post-production breakdown after that.
But already I consider this project a big win in my ongoing attempt to make filmmaking less overwhelming, more sustainable, and still entertaining and crowd-pleasing at the end of the day.
More projects like this coming soon.
Favorites this week:
App: Shouting this out because they recently added camera control to the Apple Watch! A super handy feature for the making of this short. It’s actually amazing how many features they’ve added to the app since it first launched. My go-to camera app on my iPhone when shooting something serious.
Tool: My Automatic Shot List & Schedule Template
I’m still so proud of this thing! Scheduling a film used to be my least favorite part of pre-pro, and this just makes it so easy (dare I say fun?!). It definitely saved me a lot of time and frustration planning this 70 setup little shoot.
Let’s make some movies.
-Kent
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Just got back from NAB with Toni last night, and we had a blast.
It’s probably the biggest trade show in the world for companies in the film/video/audio space, but that’s not what makes me excited to attend.
Don’t get me wrong – it’s fun walking the floor, picking things up, talking to the companies etc.
I was particularly interested in some upgraded Hollyland Pyro monitors, a compact cinema camera body from a smaller brand called Kinefinity, a camera slider from iFootage that integrates with DJI gimbals, and a bunch of little Smallrig & Ulanzi accessories I’ll probably impulse buy some day soon…
But the real draw is the creators, pros, hobbyists, and innovators from around the world in attendance.
This year, a bunch of creators I’d met at the conference last year packed into an AirBnB house, and Toni and I were the only Americans. As such, we took it upon ourselves to introduce them to the finer points of American culture:
I also spent some time trying to line up sponsors for the channel, because it’s tough to find that rare win-win-win collaboration where it’s something genuinely useful for you, interesting or exciting to me, and actually helps keep the lights on over here. But I’m excited about some of the collaborations that might be coming later this year.
I also loved the random conversations and interactions from viewers like you who let me know the videos helped them make a film, or that they bonded with their kids over them.
I even met a police officer who said the channel helped him wrap a feature he’s been shooting on weekends for the past year (while raising a family)!
I love to hear that stuff – it makes me so motivated to keep making more for you all.
The Future of Indie Filmmaking…
Between what I saw at NAB, AI developments, and my own experience making films at different budget levels, I keep coming back to the same idea:
I don’t think the future of narrative filmmaking is about making things look better.
I think it’s about making things stick.
Impressive visuals are fast becoming a commodity. They’re easier than ever to create, and only getting easier (especially with AI undercutting real production). So if everyone can make something that looks at least “pretty good,” long-term that won’t be the thing you compete on.
What matters is whether someone remembers your film 10 minutes later. Or tells a friend about it. Or wakes up thinking about it the next day.
And that has way more to do with the characters and the situation, than how expensive your setup was. Fortunately, those things are free.
Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is
I’m shooting a short film Monday and Tuesday in my house on my iPhone. Minimal gear, money, and people – just a couple of interesting characters in a strange situation.
This will be my second time doing an iPhone short, so hopefully I top my first one.
As per usual, I’ll document the process and share a breakdown once it’s done.
If it goes well, I want to start doing this kind of thing more regularly. Just making stuff quickly without overthinking it, but always pushing myself to try at least one thing new with each project. Feels like the right direction right now.
So with any luck, next week I’ll have some stills and a breakdown of how the shoot went.
But for now, time to unpack, rest my feet, and get my shot list together!
Let’s make some movies.
-Kent
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Short issue this week so I can focus on making my post-production breakdown video for The Lost Fortune of Oliver Brody.
Hopefully that video will drop Monday – the same day Toni and I will be heading to Las Vegas for the NAB conference!
NAB was so much fun last year – I can’t wait to reunite with creator friends from around the globe, nerding out on the latest audio & video gear, collecting unnecessary swag, and hopefully ending the trip in much better condition than I did last year…
On top of that, I’m getting ready to shoot a no-budget short film that takes place entirely in my living room – can’t wait!
But enough updates on me, let’s jump into something you might get some value out of…
Scene Analysis – Blade Runner 2049
Here’s an old Patreon video breaking down the opening scene of Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to Blade Runner. The combo of Denis as director + Roger Deakins as cinematographer makes this a masterclass in visual storytelling.
I’d love to bring back my old Patreon, but I never cracked what would make it a must-join membership.
If I brought back a paid Patreon, what could I offer that would make it worth it to you?
Hit reply and let me know!
Favorites this week:
Movie: 32 Sounds
A documentary about sound, and specifically, how humans respond to it in all it’s different forms. Note that you’ll need to listen with headphones, and prepare to be prompted to close your eyes several times throughout the film. It’s artsy and occasionally a little too indulgent, but also very human, calming, and beautiful.
Here’s a quote I loved from sound designer Randy Thom, called out in the film – “Sound is a second class citizen in our own consciousness, but it has a secret weapon: Stealth.”
TV: Love on the Spectrum – Season 4 (Netflix)
The most heartwarming and wholesome show on TV just released season 4. Love On The Spectrum follows single people on the autism spectrum as they search for love. It shines a light on the unique quirks and social challenges they face, and you can’t help but fall in love with them and their families.
With everything happening in the world, the show feels like bleach for my soul. I can’t get enough of it. The Australian version is great too.
Book: The Indifferent Stars Above
I’ve been on a real kick of western novels, and now I’m slightly switching gears – listening to this non-fiction audiobook on Spotify about the frontier tragedy of the Donner Party.
If you’re not familiar, the Donner Party was a group of 87 settlers headed to California in 1846, who got snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountains and resorted to cannibalism to survive a treacherous winter.
I’m halfway through the book, and DAMN, the situation brutal. Life was hard on such another level back then, especially for these adventurous early settlers.
Let’s make some movies.
-Kent
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Sorry it’s been a minute since the last normal issue. A lot has happened!
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new in life & work.
A Writing Exercise I’m Trying Out
Toni and I have been re-watching Mad Men. As usual, I’m struck by the quality of the writing -it’s at a level that I aspire to, yet always feel so far away from.
In order to close that gap, I’m trying out a new writing exercise (for me) – typing out scenes from the show.
I just watch, wait for a particularly strong scene, and then go back and type it out in screenplay format, action for action and word for word.
At the end of the exercise, I know how it FEELS to type out such a nuanced, dramatic scene. And I can read it back and get a sense of how much of the scene’s power came from the page vs the performances & execution.
I think it’s a great way to sharpen my eyes & ears for writing, especially with dialogue. I plan on doing the same thing with other genres that are really strong in one aspect (like 30 Rock for jokes).
Next, I may take it a step further and try to first write the scene from memory, then write it out exactly following the scene.
New short film
I’m accompanying my final class of Wrapped in 30 Days, and shooting a low-budget short film this month.
I’ve written a script I’m happy with, and fortunately, it takes place in my living room, has a cast of 1 (which I may just play myself), and still has opportunities to challenge myself with practical FX that I’m not quite sure how I’ll pull off yet.
More to come!
Something Long Overdue
After 6 amazing years together, I finally proposed to Toni.
…Fortunately, she said yes!
And I couldn’t be happier 
Honestly, I’d been sitting on the ring for months, but it was hard figuring out a way to pop the Q. I knew I wanted a photo of the moment I asked her, but bending a knee in front of a waterfall wasn’t going to feel “us.”
Then I found out LA has a disproportionate number of old analogue film photo booths (there’s apparently only 200 or so still operating in the world). And wouldn’t you know it, a dive bar near us had 2 of them.
Then just a couple days later, we stepped into one of those booths as a couple… and stepped out as fiancés.
Favorites this week:
Video: Nor Gather Into Barns (his whole YouTube channel)
Follow along in the life of a modern day drifter.
I’ve been binging through these raw but tastefully curated slice of life videos. They’re addicting, and an antidote to the chipper, presentational style of most YouTube content. It’s lonely, melancholy, but beautiful at the same time. And a reminder of our own free will.
I recommend watching it in order from oldest to newest (I linked to his first video above). He starts in the states, but quickly ends up on an impulsive European adventure.
Let’s make some movies.
–Kent
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Film School for the Real World
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This is a short one. Tonight my most challenging short film yet releases online as a YouTube premiere.
Click here and check the “Notify me” button to tune in live with me and watch it together live at 5:30PM PDT tonight.
It’s been a very long journey, but I’m so excited (& relieved) to check off this last milestone.
If you want to support me and the film, help spread the word & share it with friends.
1-on-1 Feedback Discount Ending! 
I’ve had a blast giving feedback on your projects through my new Loom Roast offer (a 30-minute pre-recorded video with my best thoughts & tips for your project).
So I’m extending the 25% off coupon code for just a few more days.
If you want my suggestions for your script or edit – now’s the time!
Get 25% off your Loom Roast.
Use code ROAST25OFF at checkout.
Let’s make some movies.
-Kent
Want to Write Your Next Short Today?
Film School for the Real World
Join +200 members of WRAPPED in 30 Days where I guide you through every step of writing, producing, & directing your own crowd-pleasing short film in a month.
Over the past few years, I’ve discreetly offered 1-on-1 consultations to filmmakers seeking help or advice on their projects – at first it was by request only, and then eventually I made a page for it. Here are a few things I’ve learned from 50+ individual consultations over the years.
Most People Do It Too Late
Many filmmakers book a consultation after finishing a full draft they are already mentally committed to.
They are not really looking for direction… They are looking for confirmation.
And to be honest, I’m rarely enthusiastic about them shooting what is on the page.
My biggest and most useful notes are almost always about the big picture: structure.
I ask them to work backwards from the emotional destination of the film.
“Where are you trying to land dramatically? Is this structure the strongest way to get there? Or did you choose it early based on instinct and vibes, and never question it again?”
…It’s usually the latter.
The problem is, structural notes feel invasive. while polishing up scenes with minor notes (like dialogue tweaks) feels harmless and affirms they’re on the right path.
But those minor tweaks are usually the least of my concerns for them. I’m more interested in helping them achieve:
- Shorter runtimes
- Less predictable choices
- Stronger pacing
- A more cohesive film
- Bigger payoffs
But reworking structure can feel like changing the entire movie they have been replaying in their heads on loop for months.
Even when the upsides are obvious, most filmmakers resist major changes at this stage.
Why?
Because they came to me too late.
Sunk Costs
There is a cognitive bias called the sunk cost fallacy. Once we invest serious time, energy, or money into something, we become irrationally committed to it.
Like a gambler feeding dollars into a slot machine that already took hundreds, we tell ourselves we have come this far and must keep going. Otherwise we would have to admit we chose the wrong path.
So far, unfortunately, I have yet to see this resistance to structural change result in a film with real reach or impact.
But there is another way…
The Compounding Wins of Early Feedback
I love when filmmakers reach out for 1-on-1 help while they’re still in the outline phase.
- Outlines are quicker to read, so we can spend more time analyzing the material instead of just reading page after page of fundamentally flawed execution.
- The writer is less entrenched in their choices and more open to change.
- After an early nudge, all the rest of their creative work happens in a more fruitful direction, compounding the results.
The same goes for edits.
By the time you’re picture locked, there’s not much my feedback can do unless you’re willing to reopen the cut. And our brains do NOT want to re-open the cut when we’ve told ourselves it’s locked.
Better to get feedback while there’s still time (and desire) to make meaningful changes, like in the rough cut stage for example.
A New Way to Get Feedback
I recently launched a new option for 1-on-1 consultations with me: pre-recorded “roasts” of your scripts or edits.
By doing the feedback on my own time, whenever I’m available, I’m able to offer these at a lower price than my live consultations.
And just for the email crew here, I’m offering 25% off for one week.
In return, I simply ask for your honest feedback on how helpful the recording was for you, which I may use as a testimonial to help spread the word about this new offering.
I won’t promote this publicly. If you’ve been waiting for “the right time” to get feedback…
Earlier is better.
Get 25% off your Loom Roast.
Use code ROAST25OFF at checkout.
My favorite things this week:
App: Jump Desktop
If you work from a desktop but occasionally need mobility, this is a game changer. I sold my old MacBook Pro a few months ago and switched to a Mac Studio + iPad setup, and with this app I can remotely access – and even EDIT off – my Mac Studio from my iPad anywhere with a decent internet connection.
It’s surprisingly smooth, easy to set up, and best of all – free.
Quote
Sometimes a dream almost whispers… it never shouts. Very hard to hear. So you have to, every day of your lives, be ready to hear what whispers in your ear. — Steven Spielberg
Let’s make some movies.
-Kent
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Film School for the Real World
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After a long road, we finally hit a long awaited milestone: Wednesday night, we premiered our short film in a crowded movie theater in Los Angeles.
I’m too wiped out to type a full report of the night, but expect a YouTube video covering it soon.
For now I’ll just say it went off without a hitch and was an absolute blast.
I’m so grateful to the 111 people who came out to the screening – from in the neighborhood, to hours away, to all the way from Texas! I wish I had more time to chat with everyone individually but I’m glad I got to meet most of the audience.
Plus we had a batch of amazing films & filmmakers accompanying The Lost Fortune of Oliver Brody, which meant a great show and panel discussion afterwards.
Despite having found huge audiences online, most of these short films had never screened in a theater before, so I think it was a delight for the audience and filmmakers alike.
Soon I’ll also be making a video about the process of putting together an event like this – what did and didn’t work, how much everything cost, what I’d do different next time, etc.
And of course, Oliver Brody will be releasing very soon as well! You’ll be the first to know when I figure out the date – should be some time in March.
Lastly, I just want to say that it’s easy for me to lose sight from behind my computer screen here of whether any of this matters. But meeting you in person and hearing your stories of how it has helped you, has me walking away from the night with a renewed faith in what I’m doing, and a desire to make the best content I can for other filmmakers. Thank you for that.
Let’s make some movies.
-Kent
Film School for the Real World
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As you know I’ve been prepping for a premiere screening of my new film this Wednesday at a theater I rented out in Los Angeles. (Tickets here if you haven’t gotten them!)
It’s been an interesting experiment: Finding the right venue, finding other films to screen with us, promoting it… It’s taught me a lot about what it’s like to be a film festival.
The financial side is still a big question mark too. I set the tickets at $10 to keep it affordable, while still allowing for the possibility of breaking even – if we sell enough tickets.
The venue rental was $2150, and I spent about $200 on some posters and postcards for the event just for fun…
So right now it’s not looking like I’ll break even based on ticket sales. But I don’t mind spending some money to essentially give our team a wrap party, and satisfy my own desire to see it on the big screen.
The other expense was creating the DCP for the film. If you don’t know what that is, then you probably haven’t submitted to some of the bigger film festivals who require it.
What’s a DCP? Why do we need it? What does it cost?
It’s a “digital cinema package.”
Basically, it’s a specific file format that digital movie theater projectors are programmed to be able to play flawlessly. When a Hollywood studio sends the new Batman movie to your local AMC, it’s as a DCP.
This used to mean they shipped a physical hard drive to every theater, which would get plugged into their computer system, and the DCP would be transferred onto their system. Their DCPs were encrypted, so the studio would have to provide a key that would allow the film to be projected for a certain window of time by that theater.
Many film festivals ask for a DCP so that there are no quality control issues. DCPs are already in the correct color space to play consistently on theater projectors, they have sound levels brought to the correct range, etc.
To ensure this – most festivals recommend you go to a company like SimpleDCP to have your film converted into a DCP, because they check everything to make sure it’s all according to spec as they create it.
They can also deliver the DCP to your festival of choice digitally. Otherwise, you get given a USB stick or physical hard drive you’ll lug over to the festival.
The downside? It costs money – and at a time in the filmmaking process when you’ve already spent more than you wanted to!
They charge by the runtime of your film. Our film is 12.5 minutes long, and to get a DCP created and put on 2 thumb drives (just to have an extra copy) cost us $330.
They do let you do a quality check in their projection room though, which is nice.
What are the alternatives?
Many festivals let you submit a simple file like a MP4 or ProRes of your film over something like Google Drive.
While certainly a lot cheaper than submitting a DCP, it’s a little risky if you’ve put a lot of effort into the polish of your film (color, surround mix, etc). You’re basically at the mercy of how they’re setting up the projector, their gamma settings, their volume levels on the speakers, etc.
In other words, you have no idea how it’s going to look and sound in their theater.
Conversely, if they accept DCP as a format, you know you’re going to get a consistent viewing experience if you give them one.
Free DCPs?
The issue I ran into with this screening is that this is essentially the same as a short film block at a film festival. But unlike a film festival – I’m responsible for these DCPs.
Since I’m screening multiple short films, I need to make a DCP for EACH film I’m screening.
That would be too expensive. So I decided to take a crack at creating DCPs for these other films myself.
This is considered a bit risky… but after a little research, and with the technical knowledge I already have about post stuff, I think it’s fine.
There’s a free program called DCP-O-Matic that makes the DCP creation process mostly painless. Since these shorts are all in stereo and not surround sound, it makes it a little more simple.
The only thing I’m worried about is getting them onto properly formatted thumb drives, and making sure the theater can play them all in order – so I’m reaching out to the venue to see if they’ll let me do a tech preview ahead of time.
(SimpleDCP refused to let me test the DCPs I’d created in their projection room unfortunately)
Why do this?
This is all a big experiment to see if it might be possible to self-distribute a low-budget feature film in a profitable way.
Learning about putting on my own screening in LA with this short film should give me a much better idea of what might be possible if I try to make a feature and want to avoid the film festival and traditional distribution routes.
That’s also why I’ve been creating making-of videos since the beginning of working on this short. Does getting the audience involved from the very beginning make it easier to build an audience who cares about the film?
We’ll find out…
Once again – get your tickets here if you haven’t!
It’s playing this Wednesday the 25th at 8pm at the Lumiere Cinema in Los Angeles, and we’ll have other films, live Q&A with the filmmakers, and audience prizes.
Here’s the trailer if you haven’t seen it:
Let’s make some movies.
-Kent
Film School for the Real World
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Happy new year!
I hope 2026 brings you new projects and growth as a filmmaker. And hopefully even money from your skills too. As they say in China on new years: “I hope you get rich.”
This time last year, I wrote an issue about a different approach I was going to try for setting goals in 2025…
TLDR: Instead of setting routines or creating new habits, I just reinforced to myself in the beginning of my daily journal entries what type of person I was, because that type of person would naturally do the things I wanted to do.
Today, I’m going to tell you how that actually worked out, and what I’m doing to steer the ship in 2026.
Results of the 2025 Method
So did it work?
Not at all.
As is usual with New Year’s resolutions/plans – the first few weeks went great. I was journaling every day without fail, and topping each entry with the mantras about the parts of myself I wanted to reinforce (”I love screenwriting” blah blah).
But soon it started to feel silly. Especially when my actions weren’t aligning with what I was typing. When things get busy, writing is usually the first thing to drop on my daily to-do list. Yet there I still was, writing about how much I LOVE writing everyday.
I started feeling like I was trying to brainwash myself, and I lost faith in the process.
Then, my journaling habit started faltering, and I was no longer doing it every day.
At that point, everything fell off the rails, and none of my goals came to fruition with consistency.
Damn. And I really thought it would work. What a whiff!
Lesson learned though.
Here’s what I’m aiming to accomplish this year, and the simple way I’m going to try to do it.
Goals for 2026
First and foremost – I still need to make writing a daily practice. It’s by far the biggest lever I can pull to get where I want to go. And the more I practice and improve my own writing, the more I can share with you the useful things I’ve learned.
…Unfortunately, it’s hard to do!
But like going to the gym, the more into the routine of writing you get, the more you enjoy it. So if I can build even a little bit of consistency there, I’ll be fine.
Speaking of going to the gym, that’s my other goal. 2025 was easily the most sedentary year of my life. Yikes, I can’t be pickling my own body at 36 years old – the wheels are going to fall off any day.
So at this point I don’t care what kinds of workouts I do, the plan I stick will be better than the optimal one I never do.
Same with writing.
The Plan
I’m keeping it dead simple this time around.
No hacking my own brain into loving these things.
I’m just going to focus on consistency over quality.
This is basically the Atomic Habits approach, or the “No Zero Days” method I talked about in this video. By doing the smallest amount of each of my goals every single day – you’re keeping momentum moving in the right direction.
If you do a single push up in a day, that’s not a great workout.
However, you still made time for it, you made the effort, and you got just a little bit stronger. Do that every day, and that’s 365 pushups you wouldn’t have done otherwise.
Likewise with writing.
If you only make time to open your Notes app and type out one sentence – “short film about the worst surprise birthday party imaginable” – that counts.
Open that note up again the next day and add another line to it (”House seems empty bc everyone he knows is hiding in it, but he’s going on a racist tirade as he enters, they hear him inviting his mistress over, learn he’s stealing from work, etc etc”).
Worst case scenario – you slowly write a new film, one sentence at a time.
But usually, once you make the effort to start – you wind up continuing and doing much more.
So you just need to force yourself to do the absolute bare minimum every day. That makes it unintimidating to get started, and getting started is the hardest part.
New Year, New Film?
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Wishing you the very best in 2026.
Let’s make some movies.
-Kent
Film School for the Real World
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Happy holidays,
I’m finishing up this last newsletter of 2025 from my parent’s house in Virginia, trying to work as little as possible, but I wanted to finish up what I talked about in last week’s issue…
It was about the snowball effect and how valuable generating momentum is when making a film.
However, my upcoming short film, The Lost Fortune of Oliver Brody, has been… does the math …20-months in the making. 
For the longest time, our biggest struggle was a serious LACK of momentum. But now that’s it’s almost done, momentum is in full force.
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The Lost Fortune of Oliver Brody
Why did it take so long to get this project moving?
Well, partly because $15k of sponsor money fell through early on. Momentum down.
Then we gained a producer/DP/colorist in Casey Bohrnell. 3-in-1! Momentum up.
But then we had script and location problems that we greatly underestimated the difficulty of, which kept the film stuck in the starting blocks for what seemed like an eternity. Momentum way, way down.
Finally, we solved all those problems and were able to shoot something special.
And then, with our post-production team, momentum finally felt like it was on our side.
Between Casey and I, we knew the edit and color would be free. But we’d need more than our skillsets to get this film where we wanted it. And having already gone over budget, spending thousands more on post was going to be extra painful for yours truly.
Fortunately, we were able to get some top notch artists to help bring the film to completion for free (or very close to it) – and I think that was mainly due to the merits of the film itself.
Here’s how it shook out.
Recruiting Our Post Team
Music:
First I did some cold outreach to a cellist & composer named Julia Kent whose music I’d been listening to the entire time we were writing and prepping the film (it was even used as temp tracks in the rough cut).
I figured it was a long-shot… but introduced myself as a fellow Kent who was inspired by her music while making this film, and sent her a link to the rough cut.
Fortunately, she loved it and signed on to create the score despite our lack of budget – a huge relief. The snowball was rolling.
And as I suspected, she killed it and the score rocks.
Sound design & mix:
I figured I’d do the sound design myself and had made a lot of headway, but eventually realized I was going to do the film a disservice by not handing the sound off to a true specialist.
I took a flyer on reaching out to a super talented sound designer and mixer I’d met once named Colton Jackson, and he responded the same as Julia, and will even be making us a 5.1 mix!
His first pass came back a couple days ago and added so many great sound design touches I would never have thought of, while elevating all the sounds I had been working on.
I can’t wait to hear the complete mix in beautiful 5.1 surround at our upcoming premiere (if you’re in LA, click here to join the wait list for tickets!)
VFX:
I’d planned to not need any VFX for this film, but at the end of the day there were about a dozen shots where a VFX whiz could really solve a problem or elevate what we’d shot.
We figured, “We’ve come this far… why stop here?”
So I put out a call on this newsletter, and fortunately, a reader named Finley McNeilage with VFX credits like Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Rings of Power volunteered to take a look at the film, liked what he saw, and has been saving our asses shot-by-shot during his off hours.
I’ll be making a full breakdown of the post-production for this film soon (releasing it after the film itself), but I can tell you that every update from Julia, Colton, and Finley has been like opening an early Christmas gift. You click into an email, and suddenly your movie is stronger – what a feeling! Highly recommend.
Status Check
These wins in recruiting have spurred Casey and I to work even harder on bringing the rest of the film to the finish line – and even though we’re only about 90% done with the color, it’s already more polished and beautiful than I ever thought it would be.
He’s now considering creating a 35mm optical scan of the film – which seems like an insane thing to do… but if he’s buying and we got time, I’m here for it.
So in the end, even though it felt like we were building NO momentum in those early months where we felt completely stuck on this project – we actually were building a lot of steam, it was just delayed.
In those early stages we were solving really difficult challenges that other people wouldn’t or couldn’t, and finally breaking through those barriers allowed us to create a film that seems to stand out, and attracted more talented collaborators to join it… even though our pockets were empty.
What’s next?
We still have to finish sound, a bit of color, the key art, and a couple of final VFX shots.
There’s also three last-minute fixes I want to make based on screening it to my family the past few days – hopefully they don’t set us back.
Then we take it to SimpleDCP to get a DCP made and preview the film in their small QC theater.
At the same time I’m tracking down the best theater to host a public premiere of the film, and filling out the rest of the show (since this short is only 12.5 minutes!)
The premiere will likely be in early February in Los Angeles, if you want to be notified when tickets are available, join this waitlist I’m setting up. It will be an awesome night with films, giveaways, and all kinds of fun.
Join the Oliver Brody premiere waitlist!
The film itself will release on the YouTube channel a week or so after the premiere.
Wrapping Up The Year
Each year I do an issue about goal-setting and try out some new ways to stick to those plans – keep an eye out for that next week (as I figure out what my goals actually are for next year).
Favorites this week:
Book: Lonesome Dove
I’d heard of this epic western novel before – apparently it was a major influence on Taylor Sheridan (writer of Sicario, Yellowstone, many more).
It took its time to get going, and I almost stopped reading for all the idle chatter on the front porch that kicks it off – but once the story really starts, you’re well invested in all the characters and I’ve been loving it.
Still a long way to go, but I’ve been switching back and forth from the Spotify audiobook (included with any Spotify plan) and the Kindle version to get through the 843 page book faster.
They turned it into a well-received mini-series in the 1989 starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones, looking forward to watching that afterwards.
Let’s make some movies.
-Kent
PS – For the end of the year I’ve knocked $100 off my online film school, WRAPPED. If you’re interested in kicking off 2026 with a new film, community, and wealth of resources for all your future filmmaking needs, now’s the perfect time. Join today.
Film School for the Real World
Join +200 members of WRAPPED in 30 Days where I guide you through every step of writing, producing, & directing your own crowd-pleasing short film in a month.