How Amateurs Can Make Entertaining Films: Using Unorthodox Special Effects to Create Otherworldly Spaces

Accepting That We Can’t Compete Technically with Professionals

Let’s face reality.

Social media is full of people criticizing TV dramas and films—complaining about sloppy scripts or uninspired direction. But all of those works are made by professionals. No matter how hard we try, we can’t match their technical quality. You’ll understand this the moment you try making something yourself.

The truth is, most of the loudest critics have never made a film. If they had, they’d realize how much even flawed works can teach us. They’d also appreciate the sheer skill it takes to deliver a finished product under tight deadlines.

Having high ambitions is important, but I believe that recognizing our amateur limitations is what ultimately leads to better work.

Why Simplicity Isn’t Always Simple

Think about literature.

Some novels have remained on bookstore shelves for decades. Their plots are often surprisingly simple—sometimes just quiet stories about everyday life.

But don’t be fooled into thinking that means you can write a masterpiece with a plain plot. These works are crafted with extraordinary writing skill and literary technique. That’s professional-level artistry, and it’s not something amateurs can easily replicate.

So we need to compensate for our lack of polish. One way is to include twists or surprises—elements that generate interest without relying on prose quality alone.

There’s a famous anecdote: After watching a screening of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, director Yasujirō Ozu reportedly chuckled and said, “Kurosawa can’t make a story without an incident.” Kurosawa, apparently embarrassed, acknowledged the comment.

It’s a telling moment. Even Kurosawa leaned on dramatic events to make his films compelling, while Ozu had the rare ability to make quiet, uneventful stories captivating.

For amateurs, trying to depict uneventful daily life in a literary style—without a clear payoff—is usually a recipe for boredom. Some rare gems pull it off, but most end up dull.

If you’re making a private film just for yourself, go for it. I do that sometimes too. But if you want others to watch and enjoy your work, you’ll need a different approach.

Embrace the Unconventional

Are you familiar with Salvador Dalí?

His surreal, distinctive paintings divide critics, but for laypeople like me, they’re incredibly fun to look at. That’s why I love the 1979 American film Altered States. The story is fascinating, but I especially enjoy the sudden, psychedelic hallucination scenes.

I often find myself wanting to include similar supernatural sequences in my own films. These kinds of scenes—whether hallucinations, dreamscapes, or alternate dimensions—can add a playful, engaging layer to a project.

In my opinion, incorporating otherworldly scenes is especially effective for amateur filmmakers. When we try to depict realistic stories, our technical shortcomings become more obvious. But surreal scenes highlight the fictional nature of the work, making it easier for audiences to suspend disbelief.

It also helps reduce the kind of criticism that says, “This would never happen in real life.”

Building Other Worlds on a Budget

Simple representations of alternate worlds—like a pure white room—are common in animation and can be used for dream or hallucination sequences.

As DIY filmmakers, this is where special effects shine. Trying to build a real white room would be absurdly expensive. Instead, I’d create a miniature set using white construction paper and composite a green-screened actor into it.

This method isn’t just budget-friendly—it lets you prioritize your creative vision. Since it’s an “unreal space,” the artificial look of special effects won’t be a problem.

You might want to depict a world like the “Toxic Jungle” from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. If you can find the perfect location, great. But if not, special effects can help.

You could build a diorama, but that’s time-consuming. Instead, why not explore natural landscapes at a different scale?

Try zooming in on moss-covered ground and viewing it from an insect’s perspective. You’ll discover a whole new world—tiny roots, slime molds, fungal threads, and delicate vines. It’s like the Toxic Jungle already exists beneath your feet.

By compositing a green-screened actor into a close-up of this terrain, you instantly shift the scale and transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.

This kind of setting would be perfect for strange creatures like those in Nausicaä.

If It’s Fun, It Wins

At its core, cinema is spectacle.

Historically, that’s always been true. So when someone says, “That technique doesn’t count as real filmmaking,” they’re missing the point.

At most, they can say:

• “I don’t like that kind of film.”
• “That technique doesn’t suit this particular story.”

As amateur filmmakers, we should focus on making what we find fun. And if we have the bandwidth, we can also think about how to make it enjoyable for others—even if not to the same degree.

One way to do that, despite our technical limitations, is to create entertaining scenes using special effects—scenes that don’t rely on acting or directing finesse to be compelling.

Hope this was helpful.