Basic Toolkit & Resource Guide for young filmmakers

Filmmaking, like any other art form, has its own language and vocabulary. This guide provides  the basics.

The Essential Reference Guide for Filmmakers

If you’re looking for a basic overview of color, cinematography, and filmmaking, then Kodak’s Essential Reference Guide for Filmmakers is your one stop shop!

No Film School

A leading worldwide community of filmmakers, video producers, and independent creatives. No Film School is where filmmakers learn from each other — “no film school” required.

DIY

Do it yourself! Make your own inexpensive production gear at home. Learn more at Film Daily, or follow The Slanted Lens on YouTube.

Audio Network

High quality production music for TV, film, advertising and corporate video. Pre-cleared for worldwide and multi-platform use — forever.

MovieTools

A source for completely free animated 2D and 3D background animations, lower thirds and more.

Videezy

A free library of HD stock footage. The material is shared between a community of content creators.

Distill

Distill

Many different categories of free HD stock videos and clips for personal and commercial use.

Mazwai

Hand picked stock video footage. Simple licensing, and no sign-up required.

Unsplash

An excellent collection of free high-resolution photos. The Unsplash team combs through new submissions and features 10 high quality photos every 10 days.

Pexels

A video library that brings together Creative Commons Zero licensed stock videos from different sources at one place.

StockSnap

StockSnap has a huge selection of free stock photos and high-resolution images.

DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve combines professional editing, color correction, visual effects and audio post production all in one software tool! You can instantly move between editing, color, effects, and audio with a single click.

VLC Media Player

A free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.

Stop Motion Studio

A free smartphone app (a paid version is also available) that is an easy way to get started with stop motion animation.

Archive.org Moving Images

A collection of Creative Commons and public domain footage that you can use in your videos for free. Everything from political ads to old PSAs to everyday archival footage.

Northeast Historic Film

A nonprofit film preservation center and archive dedicated to collecting and sharing northern New England's moving image heritage.

Youth Media on the Internet Archive

An open-source archive of videos created by (or about) teens and young adults

Anatomy of a Scene

This video series from The New York Times showcases directors walking audiences through particular scenes from their films.

Filmspotting Podcast

Writers Adam Kempenaar and Josh Larsen tackle a top-five list in each episode that reveals the cinematic precedents for certain themes, genres, and aesthetic conventions.

Letterboxd

Create watch lists, write reviews, and participate in discussions with other film enthusiasts on Letterboxd. It’s like Goodreads, but for movies!