Building FilmShare: My First Community Platform
FilmShare was one of the first big projects where I truly stepped outside my comfort zone.
It wasn’t just about writing code — it was about creating a space.
A place for filmmakers, students, and hobbyists to share their short films, get feedback,
and feel like they were part of something.
🎬 Where It Started
The idea came from conversations with friends in film school.
They needed:
- A simple way to upload short films (under 10 min).
- A platform to get discovered without fighting YouTube’s algorithm.
- A space to connect with other creators.
I realized — there wasn’t anything lightweight, community-driven, and focused purely on short films.
🏗️ How I Built It
For the stack, I went with:
- Node.js + Express for the backend.
- MongoDB for flexible data storage.
- React for the frontend, styled with Tailwind CSS.
- Video uploads stored (initially) in the database, with plans to move to a CDN.
Some of the coolest challenges:
- User auth & memberships (free + premium tiers).
- Building a ranking system for top-rated films.
- Creating a follow system so users had a personalized feed.
🔥 What I Learned
The biggest takeaways?
- Building a community is way harder than building a product.
- Simple features (like search!) take real design thinking.
- People care about speed — especially when uploading video.
🌟 Looking Back
FilmShare taught me so much:
- How to think like a product designer.
- How to plan for scale.
- How to listen to users and iterate.
And most importantly — it showed me that building something people care about is the real win.
💭 Final Thoughts
FilmShare was more than just code.
It was my first real experience creating a product for a community —
and it’s still one of my favorite projects to date.