What every newb filmmaker should know. (My Top 5)

[Andrew Luczenczyn]

Here is mine

http://andrewthedop.blogspot.ca/2012...onal-film.html

[William_Robinette]

You don't build a team with one movie, you build it with comment interest and lots of side by side warfare so: If you want to build a great team, tackle easy, cheap 'one afternoon' projects and do one every weekend if you can!

I can echo this! If you can find a good group of people who you work well with and enjoy the company of, keep at it and soon you will be able to do wonderful things.

[iamWZA]

This seems so wrong to me. Filmmaking shouldn't be about pleasing an audience, or tailoring your film to meet certain criteria, or even having critics on your mind. That's ridiculous. Film is an art form. Of course you hope people enjoy your work, but you don't change anything or do things a certain way so that they do enjoy it. And if you do, you're missing the point. I don't need to have made a film to say that. Your reasons for making a film shouldn't be to make money or to please an audience, it should be to get across what you want to say. If that pleases an audience and makes money for you then that's a bonus, but if that's your motivation then you're not going to make anything ground-breaking. It pisses me off when people say the most important thing in filmmaking is the story and to be creative in telling the story, and then they make their film following some sort of conventional, recognised recipe, perhaps with a few extra ingredients to make their film 'unique'. Section 2 is such bulls*%t.

[j]

> 1. Tell your story to OTHER people

+1, I'm gonna borrow this.

[mail4joeg]

This is an interesting rant:

"This seems so wrong to me. Filmmaking shouldn't be about pleasing an audience, or tailoring your film to meet certain criteria, or even having critics on your mind. That's ridiculous. Film is an art form. Of course you hope people enjoy your work, but you don't change anything or do things a certain way so that they do enjoy it. And if you do, you're missing the point. I don't need to have made a film to say that. Your reasons for making a film shouldn't be to make money or to please an audience, it should be to get across what you want to say. If that pleases an audience and makes money for you then that's a bonus, but if that's your motivation then you're not going to make anything ground-breaking. It pisses me off when people say the most important thing in filmmaking is the story and to be creative in telling the story, and then they make their film following some sort of conventional, recognised recipe, perhaps with a few extra ingredients to make their film 'unique'. Section 2 is such bulls*%t."

Can you say, “can of worms?”

The people making the big bucks are going to do what they’re going to do. Those at the bottom, however, enter a brave new world of cheap “film” making. It used to take an army to make a movie (Welles), but not so anymore. I think we’re seeing the results of this democratization everywhere, and are flooded with content – much too much for any mortal to watch.

I find most of it pretty unwatchable, but that’s me. I see most of the no-budget stuff as a learning exercise. Once you get into the realm of budgets and investors though, they’re going to want something recognizable for their money. They’re going to want something that can be described and communicated.

Audiences too are only going to be enticed to spend their valuable TIME, as well as money, on things they believe are going to offer something they can relate to in some way. They tend to be fickle that way. Hence, the prevalence of genres and genre conventions. Of course genre does not mean formula, but is a looser framework to operate in (some may disagree).

There is a bottom line at the end of the show, though, after the credits roll. Will those people recommend to others to watch the thing or not? A yes means success. A no means obscurity and death.

By way of confession, I am (slooooooowly) recutting my short film because the first cut did NOT win the local film festival, or even get showed, which threw me for a loop. I've decided to put the razor to it and really make some changes to the edit. Hopefully for the better, all I know for sure is that it will be different.

[Patryk_Rebisz]

1. Don’t fall into the mythology of the field routine. If something is said it’s done certain way then simply because people can name how it’s done already belong to the past not the present - and definitely not the future. Studying the craft IS important but not as important as many (including at some point myself) would want you to believe. You have to get to the point where you are capable of following what interest you and not listen to people around.

2. Watch films to learn what NOT to do not what to do. If it has been done successfully then there is no point for you to repeat it again. Read books, go on walks, look at photographs, paintings, listen to music etc to get ideas.

3. Collection of information or learning - even if necessary step - is NOT substitution for idea creation. You have to say something important and when you say it have a point of view. You don’t need to make sense to everyone as people are at various stages of mental development. Likewise don’t attempt to make something that will interest everyone at every point in their life - it’s simply impossible as people grow, evolve, change.

4. Nobody know everything for sure. Certain patterns of “what worked in the past” can be successfully applied if you have a wealth of $ behind you otherwise your main weapon is invention and uniqueness.

5. Define success. There are many many definitions and you really don’t have to stick to the most obvious one.

[MichaelP]

I think it's an interesting balance of art, business, and what kind of living do you want to make at it? And maybe age has something to do with too... ;) Now that i have kids, mortgage, college tuition, etc. making a living from my art would be nice... which is why I also make a living with technology development for this industry.

But if you look at Steve Soderbergh, his "art" or personal films did not really make their money back - "Bubble" for example. But films he has made with studio backing and/or distribution, have made money and he is in the unique and enviable position to be able to do both. That's a luxery not a lot of us have.


Michael

[j]

> If it has been done successfully then there is no point for you to repeat it again.

eh?

[Barry_Green]

I thought that was a brilliant line from Patryk. If it's already been done, then -- it's been done, so if you spend efforts chasing after what someone else has already done, then what's the point of that?

It's the ultimate way to avoid cliche in your work too. Basically, if you've ever seen it done before, don't do that. Try to do something different, something new, invent something new, innovate instead of imitate, and all that...

[yoclay]

It takes half a lifetime to learn a craft, and a whole lifetime to have something to say.
Better start soon.