Lesson 8 of 8
Final Project: Shoot Your Own Short Film
Bring everything together — plan, shoot, light, record, edit and screen a 90-second film.
Learn it
This project asks you to produce a complete 60–90 second film using only a phone and household lighting.
You will be marked on story clarity, shot variety, lighting, sound and editing — not on expensive gear.
Plan on paper first. Every hour of planning saves several hours of filming and editing.
Key terms
- Rushes
- All the raw footage captured before editing.
- Coverage
- Filming a scene from enough angles and sizes that the editor has options.
- Release / Consent
- Permission from people you film to use their image.
- Reflection
- A written evaluation of what worked, what failed and what you would change.
Production Day Checklist
Work through this in order on your shoot day.
- 1Before you leave: Batteries charged, storage cleared, call sheet sent, props packed.
- 2On arrival: Scout for light and noise, agree the first setup, tape down cables.
- 3Each setup: Frame, light, level the audio, rehearse, then roll two takes minimum.
- 4Coverage: Before moving on, grab a wide, a medium and a close of the same action.
- 5Before wrap: Record room tone, back up footage to a second drive, thank the cast.
Self-marking your film (pseudocode)
pythonrubric = {
"story clarity": 0, # out of 20
"shot variety": 0, # out of 20
"lighting": 0, # out of 20
"sound quality": 0, # out of 20
"editing rhythm": 0, # out of 20
}
rubric["story clarity"] = 16
rubric["shot variety"] = 18
rubric["lighting"] = 14
rubric["sound quality"] = 12
rubric["editing rhythm"] = 15
total = sum(rubric.values())
print("Score:", total, "/100")
weakest = min(rubric, key=rubric.get)
print("Focus next time on:", weakest)Scoring yourself against a rubric shows exactly which craft area to improve on your next film.
Try it
True or false? Production-day judgement calls.
You should capture a wide, a medium and a close-up of important action before moving the camera to a new location.
Clipped audio at 0dB can be fully repaired in editing software.
Backing up footage to a second drive before leaving the location is good practice.
You can use any commercial song in your film as long as you do not sell it.
Challenge
Produce your 60–90 second short film. Submit the logline, storyboard, shot list, the exported film and a 200-word reflection. In the reflection, name your strongest craft area and your weakest, with evidence from specific shots.
Pick whichever way suits you — every mode earns the same bonus XP.
Write at least 40 more characters to submit.
Mark your own work
Guided walkthrough — 0/5 clues revealed
- Clue 1 locked — reveal it only if you get stuck.
- Clue 2 locked — reveal it only if you get stuck.
- Clue 3 locked — reveal it only if you get stuck.
- Clue 4 locked — reveal it only if you get stuck.
- Clue 5 locked — reveal it only if you get stuck.
Each clue costs 5 XP (never below 23 XP). You'd earn 45 XP right now.
Extension: Re-edit your own film into a 30-second version. Explain every cut you sacrificed and what the shorter version gains.