Finding Your Voice as a Filmmaker or Screenwriter
Posted on: Apr 01, 2025
Photo Credit: nexusseven / Adobe StockIt can be misleading and easy to think Hollywood just wants more and more of the same old, same old, especially when phrases like “Familiar, but different!” are common.
However, the most valuable resource in the industry is a unique voice. Having a unique voice isn’t just something writers need to consider. Knowing your creative voice is just as important for directors, stylists, cinematographers, production designers—anyone lending their expressions to the finished visual product. Your voice blends your own experiences, perspective and artistic tendencies. It is an ongoing process to find your voice, and it can be one of the most confusing processes for evolving creatives. With that in mind, here are some tips for finding your voice.
Understanding the Concept of Voice
Before one can find their voice, it is essential to understand what that means. A voice in filmmaking or screenwriting is the unique way a storyteller presents their narrative. It includes tone, style, themes and the worldview reflected in their work. It is the invisible signature that makes a piece of cinema or a screenplay distinctly recognizable as belonging to a specific creator. Finding your voice will rely heavily on understanding who you are, what you stand for and what you are drawn to, and then learning to express those qualities.
Embrace Your Experiences
Your own experiences will guide you in developing your voice and give you plenty of insight. Spend some time exploring what makes you different from other people. You can explore heritage, culture, disabilities, race, beliefs—all the parts of you that make you uniquely you. All of these things shape your unique worldview.
Many creatives journal or keep notes on how they felt during certain experiences, or how they processed them, which allows them to draw on those moments later.
Keep a focus on drawing from your own experiences instead of trying to match someone else’s style. Or, create something you think will be popular or unexpected, and you’ll be sure to find and express your voice, giving the audience a new perspective to experience.
Explore Diverse Influences
Developing your voice is a never-ending undertaking. While it’s important to draw from your own experiences, it’s also important to get out and expose yourself to a wide range of other perspectives, cultures, art and influences. It’s all about discovering how you react to different situations and then expressing your own experience.
Experiment and Iterate
If you’re writing a screenplay or trying out cinematography or set design, experiment and play. Try different ways to express yourself and what the scene calls for. Rewrite, reshoot, reset. Take notes and allow yourself to make mistakes and learn from them. Every experiment will further develop your ability to blend your own voice and what technically works on camera, or speaks to an audience.
Trust Your Intuition
No one in this industry is their own boss completely. There will always be feedback, notes and criticism. That being said, you do need to trust your intuition and take a stand for the elements that matter. Knowing yourself and your voice well enough to know why they matter will help convince others. If a particular story, set piece, or shot resonates deeply with you, trust that instinct. Authenticity comes from staying true to your voice, even if it means taking risks, creating a brief moment of conflict, or deviating from conventional norms. You’ll want to avoid trends as well. Audiences are drawn to genuine, authentic storytelling. When you remain faithful to your voice, your work will stand out and leave a lasting impact.
Analyze and Reflect
Taking the time to reflect on your experiences and your work is integral to developing your voice. You’ll want to examine how you felt during an experience, or when looking back over your work. You can even ask others around you how they connected to your work, and what stood out to them specifically that they haven’t seen from others. A good way to recognize your style is to see what feedback you get consistently from others about your specific strengths, or what kind of work they are coming to you for and asking you to do regularly. What themes and motifs are showing up in most of your work? What emotional responses do your films or screenplays evoke in audiences? Reflection helps you identify patterns and understand what resonates most with you and your audience.
Embrace Vulnerability
Many people who have trouble finding their voice have some personal walls up and refrain from sharing too much about themselves, or keep very controlled emotions. Creating meaningful and impactful work often requires a degree of vulnerability. Knowing your voice will mean drawing from the good stuff and less pleasant stuff about yourself, like your fears and insecurities. Being vulnerable will help create raw, authentic and relatable work that audiences can connect to.
In a world full of so much noise and media, finding your voice requires a blend of self-awareness, experimentation and perseverance. Embrace your experiences, trust your intuition, and stay true to your vision. By doing so, you will create work that is not only distinctively yours, but also deeply resonates with audiences. Your voice is your most valuable asset as a storyteller, and nurturing it will lead to a fulfilling and impactful creative career.
Benjamin Hickson is an aspiring producer and production coordinator who has 4+ years experience working on various Film and TV projects. He has a background in Public Relations and served for six years in the military. He also has passion for travel and aims to increase LGBTQ+ representation in the entertainment industry.
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