It’s interesting to hear your thoughts about improv. It’s definitely swayed my feelings about it even just a little. The script I’m writing right now has a few sections where artificial dialogue would be so obvious and improv is the only solution. However, I don’t think I could totally go without a script or direction. Call it pickiness, but I gotta have most of my scenes exactly how I want them.

It's always been clear that you've got an affinity for improv, but I didn't realize how committed you were to it. It's fantastic man, your advocacy for 1. Get up and go, and 2. Have fun and don't waste time. I used to host a small cable show in which I interviewed Canadian film directors about their paths and their styles. Ingrid Veninger once told me to buy an expensive roll of film stock and put it in my fridge, so that I'd be forced to shoot something, ANYthing before it expired. You really take this kind of philosophy to an exciting level. Film is one of those industries where everyone who is a professional feels there's a set way to do things, and there's very little wiggle room. It makes me happy to see you challenge conventions and stay the course!

Everyone says it's unprofessional that i improvise with my claymations (which are dialogue heavy) but now i feel less invalid. Even when i try to write scripts and storyboards, they always change! Thank you for your inspirational and wise words!

You're essentially film's answer to jazz music 🎷 you never know where it's going to go, but if you pay attention everything makes sense.

I always love when you leave little bits of characters breaking in your movies. I don’t know why, but it makes the whole thing better to know everyone was just having fun.

I think the film Close Up (1990) is the first thing that came to mind watching this since it's everything Joel was talking about how an improv film could still be great and be loved. Every characters were just real people playing themself, the "lighting" didn't matter and at the end you could clearly see the beauty of improv film when it provoke the most beautiful quality of human being from both the "actors" and the viewers with nothing but a shaky handcam and a near-broken mic proving you don't really need Hollywood standards and shit to make great films that'll be love and be remember.

You bring so much pride to the Anchormen family

Drowning in Potential was so grounded in the basic humanity of the characters. It was a pleasure to watch.

Your passion for filmmaking is contagious

Crazy you're releasing this today, wherein in less than an hour I'm gonna be doing my own first improv short with my friends

Now knowing your position on improve gives me a greater appreciation for your film 'Pretend That You Love Me'. I had a Kaufman-esque experience trying to parse which parts were scripted or not on my first viewing, and now I feel comfort in knowing that's just part of the journey lol

There's this one saying in Jazz that I could butcher that goes "Composition is just improv in slow motion." The way you make movies inspires me a lot because the things I make need to be fast paced and quickly permanent in order for me to finish them at all - like a pen drawing that's really hard to erase and cover up mistakes with. All that tension keeps me focused and in my body the entire way through and I live for flow states like that where I feel present. I made a mod (Moddie?) of your movie where I improvised a score Elevator To The Gallows style with a MIDI guitar that's on my channel if you want to watch it. Thanks for the movies Joel!

Improv is the coolest thing ever, some friends of mine do these semi-improv semi-written plays where they get together a list of story beats over three days and then just make up the rest. It gives such an organic, human aspect to what can oftentimes be an overly-engineered, somewhat clinical process.

The Party starring Peter Sellers was a short script (about 20 pages for this feature length film) and was mostly improvised. Enjoy it if you have not yet seen it.

Can't tell you how much I relate to you describing the lighting stuff in film school being endlessly boring.

I really like getting together with friends and improvise some videos. Not having a laid out plan or script takes away a lot of preparation and pressure. We always have a general idea of a starting point, but it's exciting to not know where the movies will take us. It puts back the fun in funlmmaking!

I don't know if it was intended this way, but this was a very reassuring pep talk for me. I, too, want to improvise and don't feel like I should be "working towards" doing that less.

I love that Joe gives his opinions, but is also like “hey it’s also valid if this doesn’t work for ya”. Great environment

You absolutely nailed it, improv keeps everyone engaged . Not only engaged everyone is part of the creation of the film.

Your films style of improve always makes me feel like im watching theater plays I look forward to future content and I hope you have fun along the way

I look forward to when Joel takes his time and scripts out an explanation for how and why he improvises his feature films.

I love hearing your thoughts on film-making. You have a lot of experience and a lot of good to say. Very inspirational! I've long wanted to hear you talk about your color-grading process a bit. Because your shots are exactly the kind of lighting and color aesthetic that I love.

I have been really having the urge to make a movie for over a year now but can never capture exactly what I want in a script. This inspired me to just go hit up my friends and improvise it. Thank you joel!

You did ramble, which is good. You made your point and didn't drag it out. Not surprised I'm still a fan.

One thing I love about improv and at least the way you shoot things, it always feels so REAL. And I love that. I love seeing real people, real events. It makes me feel connected and invested in whatever story is being told.

Joel, your approach to movies is the single biggest influence to my art practice at the moment. For a long time I was working way more on music because I found it to be so much more enjoyable, and it had everything to do with the methodology. It's really bizarre to me how omnipresent the idea is that there is one "proper" way to make a film, ie a script, shot list, millions of dollars, etc. It is roughly the equivalent of saying music can only be made if it is written out on staff paper, then performed in a professional studio or a concert hall. What I find sad is the attitude seems to prevent so many people who would otherwise make a film from doing it. Thank you for bringing the jamming spirit of music to the medium of film.

Great video, Joel. Made me want to ask my friend to make an improvised movie together.

This is truly beautiful, and I feel really inspired to try this out with my own films. Your film philosophies are amazing and make me see the wonder in film making. Thanks Joel.

You are a hero to anyone who has ever been awkward or insecure about life.

I always appreciate hearing your thoughts, and I'm glad that you're continuing to find the way that you most love making movies. It's cool that you're in a sort of place where you're able to explore that.

I needed to hear this Joel, thank you! Great inspiration to get up and just press record already!

making art with you sounds so incredibly enjoyable. what a great approach.

thanks Joel lov this channel

Hey Joel. Your creativity is inspiring. My first review on letterboxd is one of your films; I felt like I owed you my own contribution of creativity after you made "Pretend That You Love Me." I dont think just anyone can make films the way you do. A lot of people (some nice nerds on letterboxd) note that many other small timer films attempt the loose scriptless style you adopt: but for some reason, I seriously doubt I'd feel the same way about those films as yours. You bring a lot of human understanding when you create. Maybe I'm overthinking it, idk Thanks for inspiring

Thank you, this is really helpful for me.

Glad you are doing your thing and loving it. It might be a nice experience to try filming off an outline like spinal tap and curb your enthusiasm

I really love your advice and general approach of creating art. I always overthink my ideas to a point that I am completely exhausted and overwhelmed before I even start creating something. It’s really inspiring how you manage to do your movies in such a organic and creative way without burning yourself out.

We love you Joel

This is very inspiring. I think for my next movie I will try to write as little as possible out beforehand. I read that Wong Kar Wai also disliked using scripts and would have the actors improvise a lot of the dialogue. I think it would be fun to shoot like this

Joel your movies have been so inspiring. I’m glad I found them, didn’t realize you made more than animations for about two years until I hear you on sardonacast. Early this year I saw you at brain dead and that reminded me I had been meaning to see 30 days in marshal so I watched and loved it. I now have seen 9 of your films and love them all as well. Thank you!!

I spent months working on a script for my senior thesis film in college, only to have the professor tell me to throw it out and start over (she was right, it was trash). I didn't have enough time to write a new script so we just went to a location and made up a story as we shot. I never really thought of that as improvised filmmaking until now, but I often reflect on how well our improvised short turned out. And I don't think I'd be any happier with the scripted version even if I'd had the time to rewrite it. Thanks for your wisdom Joel! ❤

you improv movies are some of the very few movies that i can sit down genuinely watch and actually enjoy the experience of watching them, it's so genuine and real its just a different experience to any other movie. Also dax does an incredibe job in drowning in potential, genuinely one of the best performances.

Joel the kind of guy to have a green screen and then not put anything back there. I love you Joel.

Live Action Recorded Play (LARP) Very nice Joel, thank you for sharing.

Couldn't agree more. While it is nice for me to jot down general ideas for a film, the results are far more natural and raw once you improvise. It's truly a beautiful thing. Also, loved that scene you did with Alex Ernst. Seeing him show up in a film made by you AND Dax Flame was my No Way Home lol. Another great video Joel!!

recently stumbled into your short film work, and only in the last week realized that you were doing your now-current 12 Films 12 Months project. after watching your Caleb movie, watching this video and hearing your philosophy is _really_ exciting. your approach feels so fresh, and personally very inspiring. it's (practically and intellectually) both really sensible but also a little confronting & challenging, but in ways that I think are really constructive. a heartfelt thank you for doing what you do, I am really excited to keep watching your work!

I think the way you see filmmaking could apply to jazz maybe in how you aproach it. I do understand and like your points, I still think that even if you have a script you could just take it as a rough plan but still have the fun and the improv on set. I like improv stuff but im not gonna deny that i like stuff like breaking bad or better call saul were things are pretty neat and well crafted. But even there they go along with the story they dont have all the characters fate designed since the beggining they come with new ideas mid seasons and apply them so i think thats cool too. Anyways great video

This is so interesting to me! I love the personality and character based parts of an improv movie. The best comedy is always natural to me! At the same time I adore the hyper specific worlds of people like wes Anderson and David lynch, somewhere in the middle is where I’d love to be at :)

Joel you are so cool

been working in improv with outlines on the last few features. the plan is to use what we learn and apply it to our future scriptwriting (while leaving the door open to go off script.) i dont understand the point in limiting yourself to what's on the page. wish i had found your second channel a while ago, love these videos!

Joel, this was a really helpful one for me. I'm writing my next movie right now and, if I'm being honest with myself, getting a lot of stress and anxiety in this scripting phase. I decided to do your 2022 Oscar challenge at the last minute, an hour before the Oscars started, so I really scrambled to come up with something. And man, that was a great experience. I shot it alone and the final runtime was only 18 minutes and I didn't love how I ended it...BUT DANG I felt so dang happy that I at least made something and I was surprised how much was able to come out when I wasn't overthinking things. I'm going to finish out this script be being more gentle and not overthinking it, but this is really convincing me to try to shooting an improv film next. I think I might be able to enjoy the process more, especially if I'm working with a few friends.

One thing I've often heard people say about animation as an art form is how much control the artist has over it. You don't have to worry about the frustrations that come from shooting in the real world, and your animation appears on screen exactly as you intended it to look. Many writers on The Simpsons actually started out as mathematicians, which makes perfect sense if you think about it. It is so interesting then that, as someone who values improvisation, your style of animation is more naturalistic than anything else I've seen. You shoot real footage of actors and then draw over them, and you often include outtakes. It allows you to stay true to your philosophy as a filmmaker, whilst also allowing you to break free from the constraints of reality. That is absolutely genius. Sure, this approach means that the way the characters move can be janky at times, but you seem to be someone who embraces imperfection, so it suits your style anyway. I'm thrilled that other UKpostsrs have been inspired to use this method of animation too. I think this movement could only ever have been started by you, because it perfectly reflects who you are as a person.

Scripting a film and not scripting a film are two equally valid ways to make films. I personally enjoy the structure of a script - I think Joel glosses over the time, blood, sweat, and tears that are poured into a script when he says that improv films have more "problem solving." I don't think that's the case, you're just doing all your problem solving at one time instead of breaking it up into chunks. As someone who has a full-time job and makes films outside of that, scripting also helps me schedule with my team and actors. We can look at a scene and say, "okay, this should only take three hours! Can we do this on Saturday afternoon from 1-4?" And then our ONLY FOCUS is absolutely NAILING that execution - we've already problem solved the words of our script. Different methods will work for different people. All valid.

Joel, I would love to hear your thoughts on the film One Cut of the Dead, given all you've said about scripting vs improvisation in filmmaking. I think it really highlights how the latter is still a major part of any shoot regardless of how pre-planned the filming process is.

fart your brain out all you want, this stuff is really good to hear. i honestly feel legitimized hearing a lot of this; i've wanted to make movies like how you described before, and knowing the stuff y'all did was made like this is sincerely awesome. 🖤

I would love to see how your improvisational style would translate into an RPG setting, like playing D&D. Some people try to cling so hard to a pre-ordained plot and plan out events so far ahead that it stiffles the player and game master's creativity as a natural story tries to unfold.

I love movies

Watching you do talks about improv makes me feel bad I haven't had the opportunity to become a Patron of yours yet. The improv-filled, "Anybody can make a movie" style of filmmaking that you've opened up and encouraged is actually the reason I got a camera in the first place. When I made my first short film last year, I went in with an extremely simply idea: Wouldn't it be funny if you were playing basketball at the park, some random guy comes out of the woods, asks to play a game, then goes right back in the woods when you're done? From there, I took my single piece of equipment, a $90 camera mounted on a tripod, and moved around for an hour and a half, talking with my father - who was playing a very slightly exaggerated version of himself, as you mentioned - and my friend, freestyling ideas and hearing what they think would be funny. It was so freeing, being able to get the video out and see a finished product, since most of my works tend to get stuck in a bog of procrastination. In some ways, I think the fact that others had helped me on it gave me that motivation to sit down and power through the editing process. Anyway, I really like the kinds of videos where you talk about your style and your method, because it gives an insight as to how I can also film the ideas floating around in my head. Looking forward to any and all future Masterclass-style videos, as well as whatever else you do, Joel! et's Just Forget About Everything For Awhile is probably in my top 50 movies of all time.

I'm curious if do all your short films the same way. I assume they are largely improvised from what you've said before but there's some which feel more structured like Another Day In Paradise. It's one of my favourite shorts you've done and the repetition is obviously central to the concept but I would assume at least the scene-by-scene structure is planned since you go back and forth between locations.

I guess it was before my time but I could see how Hollywood has a better follow when a film is being examined to a new director like the first film a European actor like the action movie stars like J. Claude Van Damn. Thanks Joel good reviewed.

What an interesting take. I feel that film classes I've taken drill in this idea of having to plan so much, and if you try to break that, you get scolded for it like you're doing something wrong, when at the end of the day, filmmaking is supposed to be a fun way of expression. I also agree with being on sets and such. I've spent almost 12 hour days on some sets where we were just setting up a few short scenes, usually with some really complicated, expensive cinema camera and complex lighting rigs. On top of this, in film school I find that I spend so much time in classes learning about planning, that I never have the chance to actually make anything, because I'm so worried about what grade I'm going to get haha I wonder if so much of this philosophy is rooted in the Hollywood way of things, where they add all this extra, over-the-top planning, expense and deadlines to be able to turn a better profit. I'm not sure. This really opened my mind though. Great vid Joel. Love the content on this channel.

Now I want to watch drowning in potential.

I think I really want to work on more improvised films, I just find it's a struggle to convince others to just go along with the idea and trust an improvised process.

I totally dig your attitude on improv. It definitely makes things more interesting and fun. You're clearly passionate about capturing real life and all those "little feelings." The spontaneity is what excites you because life is spontaneous. I think Hitchcock said that the filming of his movies was the most boring part because he essentially already made the whole movie in pre-production through storyboards. I personally don't like the idea of storyboarding because I think a lot of my excitement about a shot would get diminished when it gets transferred to a little piece of paper. It's very valuable for preparation (especially for big set pieces with CGI), but it would never look as good as it does in my mind. I'd rather just keep it in my head and wait until I actually start filming. Not only does it makes it more interesting for me, but I also think the audience can feel when a certain shot has been begging to be let out of a director's head. One thing I recently found out is that Cassavetes scripted most of his films. Everyone just assumed he was the "improv" guy because that's how he shot Shadows. That might disappoint some people, but it REALLY impresses me. He was a fantastic writer.

Your point of view on this is really interesting, I never though about it from that perspective. I get that frustration (especially on student films) where the director/leader is almost tyrannical in following everything to the "t". One great thing about film is that, no matter the pre-production, nothing is final until you shoot, so the best directors have this flexibility (which you take an extreme, in the best way possible obviously). That's were I disagree with you slightly, that because something is planned out, that means a director will 100% follow that plan. For example you talked about how directors will write/cast a character with preconceived notions, like they are blind to other options, but there are always stories of how an actor's spin on a character changed the director's vision. The most recent one I can think of is that in NOPE, Jordon Peele had a certain "nerdiness" to Angel, but Brandon Perea auditioned that character in a new way, so Peele changed that character. More of a minor example, but that sort of collaboration is what makes film beautiful imo. It's something you do and it really speaks to a director if they cannot do that

I once did a minor part (an extra ?) for a tv show, and it was exactly as you described it Joel. The actors were playing the same scene, filmed at different angles, over and over again, it was tiresome ! At least the crew was nice to us :)

For me when I was making my first film for Film School, the only thing that was planned out was my shots since I storyboarded them prior to the shooting of my film, however the dialogue of my characters was completely improvised and even the editing I'd say a lot of it was also improvised. Prior to making that film my main experience when it came to film was just making animations, so naturally the storyboarding / the shot planning aspect of Film making was just what was natural to me since Storyboarding was just part of the animation process for me at least. Scripting a shot for me at least felt unnatural since I could never really put what I want into words but storyboarding allowed me to do that, plus unlike you I could never really improvise my shots because when I would the shot would end up feeling stilted to me at least but when I storyboard it, it just gets more dynamic so yeah that really is just how it works. Really it is just working with what you know really and taking, and making your film in your own way. The Dialogue as I said was completely improvised since the story was mostly visual but it allowed my actors to give their best performance and the spontaneity of their acting actually benefitted the film more than ruin the film and same with the editing actually since a lot of my editing was about getting around the inherit problems with my shots, and it allowed me to get super creative like to give example I made a mistake when it came to directing one of my actresses and what was meant to be a long scream ended up being a short scream, and I only realized it was a problem during the editing phase so what I ended up doing was looping a part of the scream over and over again, and it ended up being an effective scene because of it, and I feel like if it weren't for me messing up as a director I wouldnt have that scene, so yeah.

Joel, I like how your head works. It's interesting to me how you can start a project without the end in mind. I personally don't work that way but it goes to show that a different creative process will lead to different will often lead to a different product. I know that might sound intuitive, but the way you create movies lends itself to a very unique style of film that wouldn't be the same without the process. The takeaway for me is "if you don't like the product, change the process". On a related note, how do you compensate for the shortcomings of your process? How do you incorporate foreshadowing, overarching themes, reoccurring elements, setups/payoffs in a process that seems opposed to them? Or do you just embrace the process and throw those things to the wind?

I DM DnD, so i feel u bro

How are you not sweating bullets with the lights so close haha

no cap

Joel said they started with just the first scene Drowning in Potential and they "didn't know the ending" or "what their characters would go through" but I'm curious, do they have a general idea of the theme of the movie or more, what the characters are generally like?

Kinda reminds me of D&D

4:3 ratio, what a mad lad.

I think it's sad how much emphasis in films and filmmaking is on escapism, and so little on what or why we need to escape our own lives. I admire your work for navigating the latter.

Where are you located? I think it would be fun if you're near Connecticut to drop by your set.

Pretty much anything I’ve scripted out I hated the end product for (even tho I like scripting), so I really wanna try this and see what I can come up with. Do you give people lots of direction? I might attempt just setting up some focused questions for people and see where I can go with a concept. Most of my favorite stuff is just shooting on my phone with hardly any effort and getting in front of the camera to say some stupid stuff.

hey i have that shirt

i wanna see what joel comes up with if he could combine his creative process with a hollywood sized budget

Drowning in Potential is so great. I have a hard time rating your movies so I just don't. Ha. Letterboxd reviews can be harsh, that's for sure. I've been working on script writing mostly for figuring out structures of filming. I like improvising best, but I also like having checklists and some structure. I'm not a genius like you, Joel! Anyway, thanks. ❤️

Only two ring light?

Goat.

you didn't tell us you loved us this time? what's wrong babe🥺

hey joel i got a question for u. Since you don't use lighting, when your filming in low lighting is it just a matter of higher iso and white balance and grading in post or is ur camera/lens specifically better for low lighting or are there any other techniques you use?

Thanks for a great video. If you don’t mind me asking, was Pretend That You Love Me your one scripted film?

I don’t understand the logistics. If you have one camera and you are filming an improv, how do you get a shot of both actors to cut back and forth?

Which one of your movies is the one not fully improvised?

love this speech Joel . by saying what you prefer , you have explained everything wrong with hollyweird . everything is laid out , and ppl are just brought in to fulfill a role . your way is most likely how film making was in the beginning . i love movies too :)

You need to be a little cautious about improvising plot when you're making a movie. You're very good at it, but if a less talented filmmaker isn't careful about planning ahead, they end up making Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

It's weird to discover Joel is such an improv elitist when it comes to filmmaking. Scripts are not bibles that can't be rewritten or improvised, you know? Even acting itself is believing, it's not about "forcing people to play predetermined characters." It's about changing out the mask you wear and delivering a convincing performance about a character you are not. Improv has its place and time, just like how traditional filmmaking does. Nobody expects a set, script, and all the other bells and whistles from an improv channel that makes ~5 minute skits. But they do expect it when they're asked to commit to a creative work lasting longer than 5-10 minutes. Even just a skeletal outline of a script can go a long way than just saying "wing it, lmao". Like, imagine if some of the shows and movies of our day were wholly improvised. They'd all be a chaotic and disjointed mess. You're doing solid work and I'm glad your main channel's taken off, but your comments here really struck me the wrong way.