Where do you hail from and what film-related experience do you have?

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LazerLordz

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Okay this sounds draggy, yet I'm curious as to where we all hail from, and our level of involvement in the film industry.I'll start the ball rolling.. :P

From : Singapore
Involvement : Production Stills Photography and being extras.
 
I'm originally from my mother's womb, but I didn't really do much during that time, so I just tell people I'm from Texas. In Austin I worked for a tv station, then started a production company with some friends, making short films, a full length feature, and industrial videos to pay the bills. I then took a loooooong break (started a different career) until I decided to get back into filmmaking and got a DVX. After posting many videos on this forum, I was told (by Jarred) that I would be banned (and possibly injured) if I didn't stop making the other members "look bad." So I sold my camera in order to help my fellow filmmakers.

Ok, the last part was BS. But the story needed something to make it more interesting.
 
My story is similar to PK's except different womb, I'm not from Texas (Arizona by way of Seattle) and I've never worked at a television station and I no longer have any friends.

But everything else is very similar. OK, maybe not.

I was the writer/producer/director of a feature film that was distributed (never saw a theater) back in 2002, but I've done little since until I started a production company with some guys two years ago. We did a couple small projects, bought a lot of gear including a DVX and then creative differences knocked me out of the game. I'm working my way back to another feature this winter.

I'm trying to focus on directing and producing as I realized I'm not shooter material.
 
PK Gillock said:
Ok, the last part was BS. But the story needed something to make it more interesting.
Click to expand...


You could always tell the part about the rabid monkeys and the flaming tennis balls. That always is good for getting interest.


Me, I was born in El Paso, moved to PA, and then to WV some 20 years ago. I was a late bloomer into the video world, having only played around with skits hand edited by use of the pause button on our camcorder (also, computer technology didn't exist in the practical form for filmaking I was in my late 20's). Once I got a computer, it was off to sound effects design for 3D animator friends online. THe led to video editing which led to simple shoots with borroed equipment, which led to creating a small Multimedia comapny and the purchase of a DVX, and more equipment, and more equipment.
 
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I'm from Mankato, Minnesota. I've worked at all sorts of crappy production companies, and now I have my own crappy production company. I've done a lot of corporate stuff, but I'm trying to do more of my own stuff. We've shot a couple of shorts and we're working on the script for a feature (only 20 pages to go!).
 
I'm from Kelowna, BC. Started in the film business doing animation with my brother in LA...20 yeaes ago. Worked as a commercial editor for 10 years. Slowly moved into shooting, directing and producing. Now doing more animation.

But now make my living as an exotic dancer....the blue hairs go CRAZY!!!Really...
 
born in Japan (G.I. baby) moved to RI then FL. last 2 years of school, then put my backpack on and guitar in hand and hitchhiked with $62.00 to SAN DIEGO CA. i came out to further my studies in the martial arts and become a world champ at kickboxing and then use that status to get me in the door for acting. well no one can say i never had high expectations, but i became #8, not a champ! i was riding with the boys (a group of motorcyclist) and one of the girls riding with a guy asked us if we wanted to ride on set because they needed bikers for this show well we said yeah we'll do it. well i was the only one that showed up(everybody was hung over) i got lucky and got an extra job playing standin double (pays better)cause i happened to look like the guy. so i worked for a season (i was an ironworker, laid off that is) so i started to attend acting classes again for film. my teacher told me, you got to move to L.A. if you're serious. then i landed an agent thru a another actor i had met on the show, and started acting here and there. i've yet to make a living at it but i did make enough for medical insurance for 2 years. then i quit acting in 96 then got back into it in 04. now i'm interested in making a film and directing lord knows i've been in some bad films and bad directors. wait a minute i can do this! so i started to audit student films for practice cold readings and to see what they do while i'm acting in their project and i would ask questions about camera work and lighting and i started to get phone #s from people who i worked with, now i got a team of actors and crew that i can put together for my own project! some of my auditions were funny, i was asking them questions what kind of camera and locations and so on they were very confused, i even told a few of them i didn't really care if i got the part i was just in here practicing. now i'm going to try and film my auditions for a possible documentry on what actors put up with;there's no pay but you will get a reel and food and lodging? i've yet to get a reel you got to hound them down(i threaten one guy i'll break his legs if i ever see him again) and the food ? potatoe chips soda, bagels and doughnuts is not a meal. lodging couches,4 to a bedroom and they were guys! screw you too! now it's my turn to make fools out of them! ha ha it's funny when people say actors "yech" you should see my point of veiw. some so called directors are morons! but of course there's the other half! oops i think i went over my time limitt, sorry.:love4: KIMKO
 
Grew up in Wisconsin... want to the UW:Milwaukee film program for two years... spent some time at Florida State (paid more attention to football than film). Eventually ened up in Orlando as a video/3D freelancer and made the move
to LA in '97.

Spent most of my time at Disney Feature Animation and Dreamquest
Images/The Secret Lab... worked on like 9 films there. Went to Lucasfilm
for Ep2 then pretty much semi-retired to Key West where I'm indie once
more. Still doing a touch of vfx freelance and a whole lot more work on
my own specialty video projects. I'm also involved in the local indie
narrative film scene.
 
From NYC, started filmmaking with a super 8 at 12 yrs old. Involved with a 'proposed' major movie studio in NJ, edits wedding videos, (yuck!) for a living...I also have a 'series' under my belt entitled 'The Mind's Eye', our version of "The Twilight Zone". Currently getting our first 'budgeted' feature film off of the ground...Close to buying my first DVX!! Although it has treated me well I have to say...Goodbye VX2000...
 
from little rock, ar.. at the of age 19; aliens obducted me and i landed in dallas, tx.. freelane music video/ commercial director.
 
born in 1974. started putting on plays for my parents at 12 using my little brothers and their friends as the cast. then, started making shorts (usually set during the Vietnam war, loved Platoon and Full Metal Jacket) at 14. at 19, went to film school for two years in Pittsburgh. moved to Los Angeles in 1997. since then I've worked my way up from PA to "Preditor" (producer / editor). i've cut trailers (Sideways, Hitch, etc) and featurettes for DVD (The Longest Day, Chicken Little, Stay, Two for the Money, etc). this year i've started my own company, Sabi LLC and began stealing clients (universal, warner bros, new line, fox, etc) from my old employers.

the purpose of this company is to make enough money to seed feature films. made "Blue in Green" a year and a half ago on three DVX100s, shooting two HD features later this year -- hopefully on the RED camera system, but on F900s at the very least.
 
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From California pretty much my whole life. Got interested in filmmaking/writing at the age of 14. Worked on my first real short at 16. Started working for a small production company at 17. Since then I've finished two other shorts (shot and edited one, wrote, directed, shot, and editing another) and I've been hangin' on DVXuser learning my craft better. Looking at shooting my first fully funded project this summer.
 
From New Zealand.

I've shot about 3 minutes of film in my life (That was 16mm too)
3 very mediocre, digital short films. 2 for 48 hour type compo's.
Acted in a music video, documentary and short film

I'm a software engineer by trade, but that's boring as all hell now; not enough creativity, and too little personal interaction, so I'm in the process of working out how to migrate into video/film fulltime (And cope with about 1/3 the salary). Aim is to make a couple of doccos, more short narratives and I would like to do a feature, or 5 at some point.
 
Born in El Salvador (smallest country in central america for those who don't know where it is) I had no ambitions to become a filmmaker back there because I didn't get to see anything that sparked my interest. However I started writing when I was 12, so my imagination has been active ever since.

Came to LA 12 years ago, saw about 200 films in my first year here and fell in love with it. I been teaching myself ever since, playing with super 8mm, some 16mm and found this cool forum and decided to get myself a dvx and started making films.
Went back to El Salvador last year where I am shooting a trilogy(1 1/2 already in the can) on social problems (i know boring :S) so myself and some other film enthusiast are trying to boost filmmaking in El Salvador and the Central American region.
 
Greggl said:
Grew up in Wisconsin... want to the UW:Milwaukee film program for two years... spent some time at Florida State (paid more attention to football than film). Eventually ened up in Orlando as a video/3D freelancer and made the move
to LA in '97.

Spent most of my time at Disney Feature Animation and Dreamquest
Images/The Secret Lab... worked on like 9 films there. Went to Lucasfilm
for Ep2 then pretty much semi-retired to Key West where I'm indie once
more. Still doing a touch of vfx freelance and a whole lot more work on
my own specialty video projects. I'm also involved in the local indie
narrative film scene.
Click to expand...

Wow, you worked at Dreamquest? I was just reading an interview last night with Hoyt Yeatman, and it seemed like they were doing some pretty cool stuff back then. He was talking about the Zebra motion control system designed by Mike Sorenson that was used on Mighty Joe Young. Really cool stuff!

As for me, I've been involved with creating things since I was 14-15, been drawing even longer. Got involved with recording music, which gave way to video, which in turn gave way to visual effects. Right now, I'm trying to set up a good freelance operation here in Jax, FL and provide some much needed creative energy to this "dry" town.
 
i was born in Ohio in 1986. I got interested in filmmaking around 13 years old. I made a few short films for my French, History, and English classes, and helped with a couple of short films for a friend of mine for her History class. The project was pretty cool. We had to take any prominent person from history (e.g. JFK, FDR, so on...) and do an "interview with them". I directed and played JFK in the film (i did my best Boston/New England accent for the role). We ended up getting my friend above an A+ on it which I don't know how that's possible... all of my own school projects got A's on as well, and all my teachers said I had potential and was very creative.

I'm in college now, and I'm in an editing class and we go out and shoot shorts for the class.

I'm still in Ohio, but want to be in California. I haven't saved up enough for the DVX yet, but I'm getting there. I shoot on a Panasonic PVG-S250. That's my camera but for class I use the XL1, which they haven't upgraded to the XL2 yet, but they will soon....
 
I was born in the prairies, Winnipeg, spent almost ten years in Toronto working on features and TV shows in the camera department. Became a burnt out Focus Puller. Moved back home for a bit. Now I live in Minneapolis, where my wife is from(another new market, ug) and spend my time between Docs and cooperate stuff. I have been producing, shooting and editing all my own stuff for the past few years, and have not had to use my tape measure for a couple of years.
 
Now I feel like a rank amateur, which I am. Currently adapting one of my plays into a screenplay, and it's quite a challenge.

nice to meet you chaps though! :)
 
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