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Are you about to leave Uni with a filmmaking degree? Or want to change careers and work in a creative industry? We want to give you the tools you need to enter the real world of production or freelancing. Honest and open career advice from people in the business.
We also talk to those in other creative industries to discuss their careers, the potential cross over with film production and practical tips for a successful and fulfilling career.
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The Honest Filmmaker
Short Films - Funding, Shooting & Film Festivals with Hakim Zziwa
#filmpodcast #filmmakingpodcast #filmmaking
This week I'm talking to filmmaker Hakim Zziwa. Hakim is from Uganda where he started out as a dancer and went onto make corporate films after a scholarship in America. He's also made several short films that have done really well on the festival circuit and have a high end high quality look to them.
I talked to Hakim about how he achieved the high end look, he gave me tips on working on a low budget and we talked about documentary filmmaking and his tips for getting the most out of film festivals.
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HONEST, OPEN ADVICE ABOUT YOUR FILMMAKING CAREER
Are you about to leave Uni with a filmmaking degree? Or want to change careers and work in a creative industry? We want to give you the tools you need to enter the real world of production or freelancing. Honest and open career advice from people in the business.
We also talk to those in other creative industries to discuss their careers, the potential cross over with film production and practical tips for a successful and fulfilling career.
Join the community: http://www.thehonestfilmmaker.co.uk
[Music] hi Jim here and you're listening to the honest filmmaker podcast career advice from people in the business this week I'm speaking to cinematographer and director hakee ziwa hakeem's from Uganda and originally started out as a dancer and then went on to make corporate films after a scholarship in America he's also made a bunch of short films that have done really well on the festival circuit and have a really high-end quality about them I talked to hakee about how he achieved that high-end look in his short films he gave me some tips on working on a low budget we also talked about documentary film making and how his Film Festival run on those short films really helped him and what he got out of it enjoy talk me through how you got into film making so how I got into filmm is an interesting Journey um honestly speaking uh the background of that all is performing at uh Dance Performing atart storytelling through Dance Theater that was the foundation from that storytelling was like oh probably maybe could get into making some dance videos concept based Dance videos um and from there I so funny that at some point I did a video a dance video and somebody I got somebody's attention who was then my boss at that point who got got me into the professional side of video cuz he so potion my uh ability to do some cool stuff with video yeah so performing ads as a dancer I was a dancer for over a decade as a profession so that's where it all started yeah Fab and and is that was that in Uganda you were dancing yes that was in Uganda and I was able to meet a few um uh filmmakers that had come to Uganda to film a documentary one of them actually is a nail he's a director music video director Nabil was directing at that time a film called bouncing cats in Uganda sponsored by Red Bull so when I saw that you know it just pushed me even more I was like oh I want to be like this guy you know so in Uganda at that time um dance being in the Art Space the world of hipop culture and stuff yeah pushed me more towards um more like a plan B besides uh Performing Arts yeah sure okay and um so so in between that how have you now ended up in America yeah that's another interesting Journey um so first and foremost I did have some family members in America United States um and opportunity came up and I was like sure I would take it um I was lucky to be among those few people that were able to come to the United States to uh bump up my film making um I got a small little scholarship for an intensive film program uh at that time with a school that was with a faculty at that time that was under Boston University um they were offering this amazing program uh digital film making certificate 9 months intensive uh where they just pack you will all all this information I mean coming from Uganda there's no at that time there wasn't like really fully flaged film schools there as we speak there's like one um one you know that is recognizable but at that time we didn't have it um so I was um my brother was able to help me with the whole paperwork you could come through here and all that stuff and when I was done with that certificate the rest was history you know I was able to you know St working um um in Boston with high institutions of learning um Harvard was one of the institutions I started working with at that time but of course was mostly um high education type of videos Talking Heads and all that stuff but at the same time I was trying to uh got my first short film done probably around 2016 I would say because I was done with a program in uh I was I was I I enrolled in 2015 I was done by some summer 2016 so I did my first short film later that year which was not the best but was something to learn from um yeah that's how I ended up in the United States uh up to now but I still go back home because I feel like home they they are richer stories home to the short films where there's so many stories that are Untold in Africa and we I feel like we don't have to be waiting for a big Studio to come in our stories so that's why I keep going back and forth apart from the pandemic time when it didn't work out yeah and I can tell looking at your short films how kind of um exciting a backdrop it is as well Uganda compared to you know I imagine those short films really kind of stand out because of that backdrop um and one of the things I was going to say about your short movies is they look like they've had money spent on them like they look high quality highend have they had money spent on them and the second part of that which every filmmaker's going to want to know is how did you manage to fund those films yeah uh great question yeah some money has been spent on those short films um and that's all money coming from out of pocket because I was looking you know once I was done with his school with this program I would say and I looked at the industry I'm like okay am I gonna wait to am I going to sit there and wait for somebody to give me money you know or am I going to tap from my day job at that time I had like a day video job you know like you know more like U because in-house video job so through in-house video job and also Through The Years um I've been able to raise money from my small little I have a small little business um video business video strategy marketing videos uh kind of stuff producing type that type of videos so that and also a bit for my job through the years that has helped me fund uh these films because thinking about the fact that the process because I was looking at the money that was you know being given out to short films and it wasn't that much money it was something I could save for right and I would save myself from all this huge paperwork of accountability how do you spend on all that kind of stuff I was like you know what it's possible and it's cheaper to produce down in Uganda at least as well it's more expensive now but the more the years go the more expensive it gets because people are more aware now how to produce films and stuff but the gear got cheaper and it was just a matter of me just sitting down and thinking how can I save on um spending on a film including being aware of how gear works because gear plays a big role in Saving you on making short films if you understand that okay if if I have a running if I have this amount of lenses I'm going to I guess some point would be like I'm going to be stick I invested in zoom lenses like three zoom lenses knowing that okay if I want to shoot this thing in a few days I need to have I I need to be shooting it on zooms because it's going to save me some time it's going to go chap CH quick quick as opposed to primes are really really good you know with prime lenses you're going to get you know amazing image quality and all that stuff but again goes back to the story itself to me at some point I started moving away from gear more to story so having a gear background very uh te savy about gear how gear Works helped me save some money because any anything to do with rentals the most that I ever rented out on a project was probably a car mount you put like the kind of like a complex thing you know that I didn't want to risk uh but the rest of the stuff just putting small these small little cameras you know um the Sony a7s or sometimes Lumix cameras just packing them in a in a bag and traveling with them it's easy to put them together so that has helped me save on spending and I also being having a had experience working with some people in the United States um a mentor of mine and a few other friends that have had me on their sets and I've seen how they use the expensive stuff and I'm like I can achieve that if I do this so that has helped me save a bid so you've um you've self-funded and I guess my question was around what would be your advice to get that highend look that high quality look in your short films being aware about or rather educating uh ourselves about uh post production um I started off as an editor by the way before I started shooting I started off as an editor for probably like seven good years of editing so I mastered that space first and before I left Uganda my boss at that time told me um you will get more jobs if you are shooting as well as an editor you're not going to get more jobs but if you and that was before the program right so I enrolled in the program and and learned more about cameras how to shoot how to tell stories using um these tools but then the editing part is a is a space where somebody needs to invest some time because there's a lot of free education about this stuff some you have to buy some courses but there's quite a bunch on YouTube I keep telling a lot of people YouTube and also depend on the key wordss you use because it's a c it's a monster of information but certain keywords if you're particular in the certain keywords that you use to search whatever you want to learn there's always that always that information on YouTube so mastering post production is a good resource so you understand more of how because I I dealt with so many people's projects that were messed up and at some point I was a fixer I'm going to fix this so now I was like you know I need to learn how to shoot too so I could edit my own stuff so with that that has I think at that time prepped me for the quality of the films that I'm producing now and and also con continuous researching and learning about the whole ecosystem uh because in Africa we we've we've been desperate for information for a while since we don't have schools so you you find yourself learning every stage of production you have an idea of what's Happening as opposed to probably in other some parts of the world where people specialize more like I'm assistant camera I'm just going to be pulling Focus that's it but for us the fact that even as we speak up to now you find somebody he was probably your sound guy on a previous film and this time around he's what producer you know people are like multitasking all this stuff it's it's the kind of stuff that I also found in LA at some point last year and I was surprised that oh people in la2 go this hard uh probably sometimes goes back to the fact that people need to get jobs like if you tie yourself to just being in this specific role you're going to be limited but that background of trying to know every stage of production contributes to what I'm producing now yeah absolutely and it's always good to have that knowledge even if you're not doing those jobs of how those other jobs fit together and how to get the best out of them all so the other side to that or the thing I worry about if I was doing camera and directing for example which I know you do yourself how do you make sure that cameraman hakee isn't uh affecting what director hakee has got up get in the can how do you make sure the performance and the shots are good without just drowning in jobs that's a great question actually um I went through that in the past few years and the pandemic was like the break that had me rethink on how to go about this stuff the first two short films that produced One was a dark because I'm I'm passionate about documentary too since I have this whole corporate video background interviews talking head and stuff so the first two films that I did were good for me to sit back and see what I need to change so the whole thought process happened between the pandemic and after you know so before the first two short films that I produced I was hands on on the camera giving less attention to the actors and stuff and I saw the mistakes that I did and uh the the pandemic was to a certain degree a blazing cuz I sat back rethought um um you know had to replan again understand story structure even more so after that strategy kind of changed um the past the past two short films that I've done one of which is in post I've been hiring um camera operators uh two of them but what I do before before we shoot we have like three days of prep or four days of prep let me see if I fly because I usually have like up to a month or month and a half to shoot this film so flying in Fast Five or a week is prep rehear camera Department you know um production design all that stuff so the camera Department the guys that have been looking up to me for some time so they believe and they've believed and Trust Ed what decisions that I make so uh after the pandemic the strategy kind of changed of course for a few there always those there's always that thing you're fighting in you not to touch the camera but usually the fact that you're on a budget time is running out he's not pulling off the shot and I know the shot myself I'm like hey could I get those last two shots and I get them myself and we'll move on Bam Bam Bam but the first three or four days are very important means a a director in the camera department and the assistant camera we talk about we break down every scene what shots we're going to take once we get all the basics then we can focus on the maybe how about how about this how about that because we're on a budget so there's no time it's my own money I'm SP and I'm aware I'm producing directing uh directing the actors and also the photography as well so I keep the role of directing and photography as well where I just put them in my world so they understand why I want this particular movement and what what it adds to the story why because um a number of camera operators were very comfortable there's some rules around being putting a camera on a tripod right there's certain rules around that never move the camera and all that stuff but in my head I'm like okay if people are fighting like why would we keep it on a tripod you know so a lot of them have been playing safe there's a lot of playing safe in spaces where people are not aware about what you know especially if the few workshops that they got uh strictly don't move the camera you know all the concept so I was able to open up their minds I'm like no because I'm like okay I'm funding it so yeah this is what this is how I feel you know so they you know they open up they're really glad that they've learned some things from me and I've learned some stuff from them because that people that have been shooting um because in in Africa well specifically East Africa Uganda there's this um I'll say the equivalent of prob tundo tundo sop series stuff on on people's TVs TV shows that usually have like 200 episodes and stuff so it's a lot of that in Uganda and a lot of these guys have been shooting that stuff where it's like put on the tripod and all that kind of stuff but there are friends from way back that people who's who have started relationships with pre pandemic you know seeing a dude they tell you here's a camera then you talk to them you have it you know have lunch you have you know talk to them so bu been building those relationships to get to these sex where I can trust them and be like this is what I want this is what we're going for they've learned stuff from me I've learned stuff from them because they're shooting almost every day yeah and um talking about so that's the uh short film side documentaries what's your tips for that how do you get the most out that because I find um I've done stuff in the corporate space before and in a way you have to sort of disappear a bit as a camera person because you don't want to get in the way and you want to affect what you're filming you don't want to change anything so what are your tips for that how you how do you do a good documentary I would see um because I've only done one which actually did well but I would say from experience at that a documentary that I've done I've always made sure that um because there's a lot of interviews so these interviews um it's the same setup as any other U Market promotional doy Style video so it's there's been this um understanding that whoever is telling the story you have to let them say all that they have to say well I would say not worrying so much about memory or memory cards all that kind of stuff whereby if you if you um limit them then you're GNA miss out on certain parts of the story and I saw that in postproduction I'm like wow if I had told them you know if I had restricted them then I wouldn't have gotten to know this part um so I won't speak so much in that space because it's a space that I'm still trying to develop because it's narrative and the documentary those are two huge monsters so I've been for doing a lot of uh narrative but then recently I've been looking at a few professionals and how they do and some of them have courses online I'm looking forward to taking those courses so I can learn and understand documentary better because I still also have to figure out the storytelling structure of the real the I mean there's quite a number of them but I it's a space that I'm still developing as we speak yeah and then talking of your short films so they look super high quality you've got a country you can go back to and get some awesome locations some real dramatic stuff why no feature film when's that coming so I a feature film I think is the next thing that I'm going to do having done what probably one two three having done like five short films I feel like I'm ready now and why did I take why did it take me this long and people have been asking me this question actually uh I've been practicing um I like to if I get to a feature I like to be 100% comfortable cuz like the the the recent one that I just did which is in post I was like the most comfortable person ever in my career ever so it's been practice grounds to understand how the whole narrative monster works I call it a monster because there's so many pieces around narrative how do festivals work how does distribution work how how does audio post-production work because that's another huge element that is neglected by a lot of people audio post because audio post past two short films that I've done are the first short films that are done with a bigger crew and films that are done where the audio post production is separate even if I'm an editor I know how to you know plugins and all that stuff I was like you know what I'm not going to do this myself I need to learn how this stuff works on a professional level there's this one company in my country that does audio post on an international level Netflix level HBO and all that stuff I know some people that work there um it's it's been pretty expensive but I feel like it's has been a good investment for me to understand how those spaces work because I got to realize like um industry Executives as they call them or people who are who are dealing in that space usually you want them to find you ready right whe they're asking something and you know like uh what What's that you know so these two short films I'm using them as learning space is what's a film media tour I didn't know what that was right when a film comes out marketing marketing a film too you know how do you Market this film using social media all that's prep it's investment uh for myself in the long run without expecting to get money from these short films um especially the past two short films which have invested quite a bit where I'm like okay I'm not expecting any many any money back but this is building an audience marketing myself understanding how the whole thing works that was the most important thing and what I knew before and what I know now is way more and even more comfortable to kind of um if I'm you know those short films too could help me secure some funding too as well because if you um um if the pitch goes well and it comes along with what you've done before right I I've been told that that's something that's a huge plus that's so deep Waters but I feel like in the long run the features the next thing I'm writing one and I'm I'm in touch with some of my mentors that would help me shape it because I'm not because writing is another monster that I've been um try I've been struggling with you know storytelling story structure emotional you know camera movement all that stuff like how does a story there's all that language in scripting that is deep the literature in film all that stuff and stuff that I'm continuously uh learning I won't say teaching myself because I don't have that knowledge but you know if I come across a course that's teaching this there's so many resources in YouTube film courage I mean uh honest filmmaker too I'm always listening to all these things people they experience listening to what they saying why did they take those decisions so learning is a huge thing and um feature film is coming soon where I feel like I'm in that space I'm at this stage where I feel like I'm comfortable attacking a fature film as opposed to because already have like two people willing to invest in a fature film on my next feature film so I want them to feel comfortable because sometimes because with feature films it's usually money on the line right and if I do a show short film I don't want to be doing like extremely low budget type of short film right I would like it to have a bit of a good budget you know depending on who you're talking to what a good budget is that's another topic for another day but I would like to be in that space where yes money is on the line but what you're going to get is going to be good well I look forward to seeing that feature film when you get to it and the other thing is it's not just money it's time isn't it because that feature film's going to take a couple of years of your life away so you got to make sure you you're going into that knowing exactly what you want to make um talking about learning experiences so you've done pretty well Festival wise with all of your short films um what have you learned from that Festival process how did you get the most out of it any tips for getting into festivals so film festivals I would say for the most part it's been exposure because I believe I mean there's so many filmmakers around the world now but it's good exposure and also it helps you understand uh the fact that at film festivals there chances chances are high you're going to run into a producer or uh some a representative from a studio or and it's it's a space that I've also learned that you would have to spend you would have to spend and that's something I think some people probably not but it's when it comes to budgeting for film you have to spend on festivals but meeting people networking um is huge in festivals you don't know who you're going to meet there's no guarantee that at that Festival you're going to get a deal right and also learning that at a festival you want to be ready with what your next project is cuz they're going to say oh we you know we like your film you know we like so what what are you working on next if you don't have a next at least if you have like a treatment or something you know throw it at them you know in case you get an email that is because you want to be ready with film festivals but it's good exposure and it's also lets you learn more about the dos and don'ts in film especially with uh film uh music scoring and stuff how far certain licenses go you know there's there's stock music of course I mean there's tons of companies that you could put all that music in but the license has limits you know where like if you go into the some of them specify if you're going to festivals uhuhuh we need to negotiate you know strictly YouTube and stuff so the way music works and film has helped me uh I mean sorry the festivals the way submitting festivals has helped me understand more how licenses work when it comes to music or certain elements in your film yeah so far so far and I'd I'd add to that and say that the other good thing about Festival is you get to watch your film in front of a audience don't you and get that feedback from them as to what works what doesn't work and you kind of learn from that audience and they're usually quite a friendly audience they're they're there to enjoy the films so at least you you finally get to see on the big screen and see people enjoy it I hope you enjoyed that episode if you'd like to hear from more industry professionals how they got into the business and how you can do the same or you just want to listen to some cool stories from movie sets around the world then please do subscribe to the honest filmmaker podcast[Music]
