The No Film School Podcast

How To Make a Movie... For TikTok?

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Lately, we keep hearing the advice to grab an iPhone and just start shooting a movie. Well, that’s exactly what the team behind The Mountain Murder Tapes did. Not only was filming very simple, but they kept post-production really scrappy and distributed their project on TikTok!


In today’s episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins speaks with Jacob Seltzer, Benjy Steinberg, and Spencer Levin to discuss:

  • The inspiration behind the project - “Blair Witch meets Ski Mountain”
  • Why the actors were the cinematographers
  • The natural progression of events from different character perspectives 
  • Having a digestible number of POVs in the project
  • Using improvised versions over the scripted versions 
  • Their very low-tech process of filming and editing
  • Using a hook in each episode versus a cliffhanger 
  • Why a project like this is so accessible for scrappy filmmakers 



    • Memorable Quotes

    • “We were in touch with the creepy nature of nature.” [3:35]
    • “We wanted to get back to the roots of our indie filmmaking and get scrappy.” [4:19]
    • “It was an experiment in cinematography as much as storytelling.” [5:15]
    • “So many shots were stolen. We upped the production value of the project by going into places we probably shouldn’t be.” [14:17]
    • “Within the first second, you have to hook the audience.” [22:56]



      • Mentioned:


      The Mountain Murder Tapes on TikTok


      Follow Benjy on IG


      Follow Spencer on TikTok 


      Follow Jacob on IG


      #ChadGetsTheAxe




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