I Want to be a DP!

Harvey,

Tall order...I see you just joined. Set aside a few months and search through this site every day. The laundry list you want is to big for simple answers. It will help when you can define what kind of work you want to do...Docs, shorts, features, events, etc. including camera format.

When you see a post that helps you, search that member's other posts. Then you'll know what the right questions should be and how to ask them to get a good response.

Remember: The best questions get the best answers.

Best of luck!
 
shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot then edit what you shot to learn how to work with footage and build a story. Try making a short silent film by yourself. If you can tell a story with just images you are on the right track.
 
a few lessons in cinematography is a good base for you if your starting out. Look into classes before you look into DVD's. Dont depend too much on this stuff though. Remember they are only teaching you the normal cinematographer style and that can make you less creative. You should subscribe to american cinematographer as well
 
Find someone who wants to be a director and then start making movies with them. You have to realize what your responsibility on set is and you have to make sure the director understands his responsibilities. The relationship may not be smooth but that's something you are going to need to manage since its a day to day fact of the industry. I wouldn't start by making your own movies, you'll spend so much time worrying about the other stuff that you won't have enough time to spend on cinematography.

Pick up a camera, it doesn't matter what camera, and just make something. It doesn't matter if you don't have a clue how to do it. Just do it. Focus on something in every movie you make and master it. You won't start out making masterpieces but you can work step by step. First movie, worry about actually finishing it and being able to tell a complete story. The next movie focus on continuity and making the shots match. Then worry about lighting etc.

Learn as much as you can about photography and look at tons and tons of pictures. I have found this is the best way to develop your eye. Go to a bookstore and look at photography books. Study how the pictures are composed and why they are composed that way. Don't bother with theory books, you don't need theory, when you are making a movie you don't have time to think about theory, things have to be instinctive, you just have to KNOW! Watch lots of movies, on mute and study how they look. If you find a scene interesting, break it down shot by shot. It's tedious but it shows you a lot. Look at every shot the way you looked at the photographs but always remember HOW DOES IT HELP TELL THE STORY?

Once you've made enough movies that people say you are getting good pick up Five Cs of Cinematography by Joseph V. Mascelli. This book is an incredible resource but I don't recommend it from the beginning. You really need to have made a good number of movies before you can really appreciate this book. Its a good idea to first make the mistake and then learn how to correct it than to never have made the mistake in the first place. I would say avoid every other book on film making though, its mostly useless. You need to learn the hard way, it's the only way to develop a personal style. There are thousands of competent cinematographers out there and really you can teach a monkey how to light and get basic coverage. What will set you apart is the ability to tell stories with style and sophistication. It's what makes guys like Christopher Doyle so in demand even though they don't care about the technical aspects of the craft.

As far as lighting goes ignore theory here more than ever. There is no such thing as good lighting theory. The trick to learning how to light is to master the technical aspects of lighting (Set Lighting Technicians Handbook written by Harry Box should be your bible) and then apply it using basic tools. Look in the lighting forum here and you will find tons of good information. Don't get caught up on gear, gear is useless if you don't know how to use it. If you do buy gear make sure you invest money and get good stuff... don't bother with crap since it will just cost you money in the long run to replace it.

Essentially you would follow these steps, make a lot of movies, make a reel, and then continue making movies. The other option would be to move your ass over to LA and then peddle for gigs until you landed a union job then work your way up the ladder to DP. It's not going to be easy either way.
 
There is the way it is done in the industry, and there is the way people in forums like to think it is.

PA a film or two. (A REAL film.) Get to know a DP, Operator or 1st. Keep in contact with them until they have a loader opening. Load on as many films as it takes to either move up in your own crew or network with another crew that has an opening. Then 2nd for a while. Work your way to 1st. Then to Operator. Then DP on a small film. Work your way to bigger films. In the industry, it's about a 10-15 year journey from PA to 1st AC, depending on opportunities and openings.

You can shoot all the stuff you want on your own, it's not going to make you a DP except on your own stuff and on other no budget internet stuff. You can go to film school, but even after graduation your are going to start the exact same 10-15 year journey through the camera crew. And that's just to 1st. Not to Op or DP.

It's not something that you read in a book and then put on a business card.
 
I have to agree with Gage, there are other ways to go, as well, you could start out as a pa, then grip, then gaffer and jump over to dp as well, same 15 years or so if you're fast and good,

other way do the same on smaller films, the time is cut in half, work your wa to dp on smaller films, pick the films you work on, and if you pick well and work well, you may catch the eye of someone in the Big.

other way, buy your own cameras, lights, and other grip and expendables, hire yourself, and your gear out, and again hope to catch an eye or two, and enjoy the trip even if you don't get called up to the bigs,

the key here in all these routs is to take what ever film jobs you can get, big or small, free or paid (for now) then after you start to get bitter, just take the paid gigs.
 
you are pretty young, is film school out of reach?

People will argue whether it is *really* worth it. In honesty, you can learn everything they teach at film school, but the connections you make and the experience is invaluable.

Other then that, do as much as you can, and read about it in between.
 
Film school is a good way to see if DP is where you really want to be. You may find your talent is better suited to a different department.

If you pick a good school, you will find yourself surrounded by the future of the industry. If you keep enough eggs in enough baskets, you should be able to stay busy with work after college.

You don't have to choose one path or the other. I'm going to school and working on smaller paid projects at the same time. I'm permanently tired, but I feel good about where I'm headed.
 
My opinion is to skip film school. Read books, take a few classes and volunteer on shoots until you can get paid. Buy a camera and shoot, shoot, shoot. It doesn't have to be an expensive camera...just a camera to learn with. Cameras change so fast I wouldn't spend a lot of money because most prodcers/directors will want some other camera than the one you own. Film school can be a great supporting environment, but if you are a self-starting aggessive person you will blow right past most film grads. If you are extremely lucky you might meet a contact in film school, but most of the film grads will never get very far. You'll be better off hanging out with the business school students, because they will have the money to make the films. It's the money side that usually dictates what happens in the film business. Unfortunately film grads never have any money to make the film they want to make.
 
People aren't exaggerating when they say that connections in film schools are incredibly important. A large majority of working DPs these days got to where they are because of the connections they made in school. For example Eric Steelberg who shot Juno and is now an established DP got the gig on Juno because he went to high school with Jason Reitman and shot his movies. When Reitman got a studio deal, he brought his buddy along. Zack Snyder directed 300 and brought along his pal from film school Larry Fong. Darren Aronofsky filmed Pi and Mathew Libatique his fiend from AFI tagged along, now Libatique is shooting movies like Iron Man. The example carries through for many big name DP/Director relationships. Just remember if you do go down the film school route, be nice to people and do the best possible job you can on every project, you never know when they may be saving your ass in the future.

However film school is not going to teach you how to be a good DP. It will help you succeed but you should never rely on it teaching you everything you need. If you go to film school treat it as an opportunity to make mistakes, experiment, and play with equipment. Make all the mistakes you want to make in school so you never have to make them in the real world. Film making is about making lots and lots of mistakes and learning from every one of them. You are your reel, so use film school as an opportunity to build a damn good one.
 
Go to a film school where you have access to a ton of grip, lighting and camera equipment. You'll learn much more actually working with these tools than you will by searching this site and reading about them.
 
I don't disagree with the fact you can make contacts in film school, but your are talking about 1 in 100,000. There are approx. 10,000 film grads each year and few of them will be heard from again. There aren't too many instant connections in film school so I think the money is better spent getting out there and making films...making connections by being in the right places. Film school is a place to make connections, but not by the magnitude possible by being in LA or NY or..... and being on sets networking...being intown networking. It all depends on how aggressive a person is and how quickly they want to get to their goal. Get out there and shoot and schmooze. Spend that $50,000 tuition shooting and schmoozing. But of course the most important part is finding that script. That is the gold. That can take you from A to Z in an instant.
 
Hang out at film school campuses. Act like you go there, or know people who do and start to network. Walk through the halls and respond to all the ads on bulletin boards looking for PAs and additional hands on set. This will at least save you the tuition fees and you'll still get the best experience of going to film school, meeting people.

Shoot some terrible stuff. Then shoot more terrible stuff. Then look at the terrible stuff you shot and never show it to anyone. Bury it. Forget about it. Learn from it. Then shoot some decent stuff. Show that to a few select people in order to get a few more gigs when you can shoot decent stuff. At this point, you'll probably start getting better with each and every new project.

As a DP, you may go through various stages which might start something like this...

You think equipment is the key to success. You think you need the ultimate camera. You think having the ultimate camera will make you the ultimate cinematographer. This is the procrastination stage. You look for excuses to not take things seriously. You chalk up poor cinematography for your inadequacies related to lack of gear. Eventually, you discover that a camera is just the first of many steps to being any good. This is when you start to shoot and take some responsibility for how it looks. This is when you shoot some terrible stuff :)

You then think lighting is the key. It'll be first and foremost on your mind before anything else. Play with anything and everything you can get your hands on. Little by little you'll start to see how powerful and important lighting is in your arsenal as a DP.

The next stage might be framing and comp. You can have great lighting but who cares if your framing/comp isn't working. You'll spend more time pondering these questions as lighting becomes more second nature.

Next is movement. You start thinking outside the frame. The camera becomes an active participant in the process. You start going hand held. You start using dollies. Cranes. Steadicams. You use motion to highlight and elaborate on story elements. You start to understand where style comes into play. You can argue to death the motivating reasons for why you might shoot something in a particular manner and why it absolutely will not work in a different manner.

You start looking at the big picture. You stop stressing about getting that particular shot right. You stop stressing about getting that scene right. Instead you're looking at the entire project as whole; building connections, bridging moments, etc.

After this you start thinking, I need the ultimate camera again. But for different reasons.

After this you start thinking, I need to find the ultimate gaffer, the ultimate camera crew. Because you realize that your best work is accomplished only with the best and brightest of minds surrounding you.

After this you start getting frustrated when shooting in boring locations because you realize locations allow for creative cinematic opportunities.

You start to realize how important a good director is.

Of course, this is all very hypothetical :) and everyone's path is different.

The most important aspect of all is really to go out there and shoot some terrible stuff... You suddenly realize you're not a natural Kaminski or Deakins. You stop putting so much pressure on yourself to be 'great'. You realize you've got a lot to learn. You stop stressing and start enjoying yourself instead. To me, that's the key to true growth and ultimate success. And it all begins with shooting terrible stuff :)
 
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Kess, I couldnt agree more, and Geoff, your first paragraph follow up is great. I was out at CalArts last year (just wandering around) and when I saw the bulletin board I though of doing exactly what you said. I never followed up on it, though. Although I was looking less for a set to work on and more for bodies for my set.
 
Geoff nailed it. It takes hard work...never giving up...no matter what some knucklehead like me says. The ones who make it through have that passion to keep on going no matter what stands in their way. Whether you start out by getting a film degree or by making films...it's a matter of moving forward every day and making progress. Every day has to be a day forward. If that passion burns inside of you then you will know it. My friend calls it "The Curse." No matter how many things you do to get away from filmmaking you can't! It keeps coming back at you until the day you leave the planet. We either make excuses or we make progress. I've got to go shoot some footage...just to keep the curse alive!
 
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