Aspiring filmmaker - Where do I begin?

S

Socks

New member
Right, just to make it clear from the offset, I have no delusions of grandeur. I'm a long-time movie buff and quite simply just wanna try my hand at amateur film-making in some capacity. Be it a 5 minute short film or 5 second clips where i'm pissing around with lighting, it really doesn't matter, the point is that I just wanna take a crack at this stuff and experiment a little and see where I end up...

My main issue however is that I have absolutely no foundation of knowledge for it what-so-ever (at least from a technical POV). Seriously, i've never really touched a video camera in my life (bar home family videos and some drunken antics), I've never studied film-making or media at any time in school and I know NO ONE who's connected or into film-making at all.

So... going back to my original question, where do I begin? And I mean that in technical sense. Because the practical side is to get a camera and just go out there and use it.
But what camera do I get? What software/hardware do I need? What books/articles should I read to get a grasp of lighting, angles, cinematography, audio, directing, etc?

I mean I stumbled upon this forum by complete fluke and i've only had a quick gander around the sub-forums, but there's obviously a wealth of detail to this craft and it's a little overwhelming.
Furthermore, for the life of me, I can't find anything that I would consider a good starting point... I just see countless threads about a thousand different cameras and so much film-making jargon that it sounds like a foreign language.

Anyway, I think i've made my point clear enough. So basically i'd be really appreciative if anybody can point me in the right direction and provide some good basic, nub-friendly sources, sites, books, articles (WHATEVER) to start out with :)

Thanks
 
I would suggest looking to see if a local community college has filmmaking or video production classes you could take. I took a few filmmaking classes back in the day to get my hands on the equipment and to learn the basics. They were great fun, and I made some friends in those classes that I am still very close with, some 24 years latter. As an alternative, maybe there are film clubs or cooperatives that offer classes in your area. I would also check with your local cable TV provider and see if they have a public access program available. Most of the ones that do have a little bit of training that goes along with it. I suggest these kinds of ways to get into it because you will probably have access to equipment that is probably more expensive than you would want to go out and purchase yourself to learn on. This will give you a reference point if and when you do want to get gear. Classes also offer interested ready made collaborators, which is important in filmmaking.

Good luck.
 
Work on sets as a PA. Yes, it's "grunt work". But you can see every other position in action. And you learn by experiencing faster.

Read all the "stickies" here on DVXUser. They contain gold.

Be patient. A great director/dp/actor/crafty/audio guy/camera op/grip/gaffer/editor/UPM/producer/transpo captain/scripty/wardrobe/MUA/SFX/VFX/Armorer/prop master/animal wrangler/PA/Sparky/carpenter/setbuilder/accountant/stunt guy/etc........... was not made overnight.

Find out what your real passion is for film-making is first. It does sometimes change once you have been on the other side of the screen.
 
PA to grip to gaffer or camera (possible to do both well). Learn lighting, interview setups... watch everybody and everything. Being on set is free film school if you treat it the right way.

Best advice I can give. JUMP on the opportunities when they come, even if it feels a bit of a stretch.
 
buy a panasonic gh2 camera - (if ya got the funds - under a grand ) a real mule kick of an image. it comes with a kit lens of 14-42. tons of tutorials on youtube about that camera. start shooting with yer instincts - as regards framing, angles, etc - once yer doing it - you'll be more conscious when watching other work. download the new final cut x from the mac store - $299. Start throwing stuff you shoot together - tons of great tutorials how to use final cut X again on youtube - check out izzy video for free tutorials. as far as a book get the 5 c's of cinematography - a really great book.
 
Socks said:
Right, just to make it clear from the offset, I have no delusions of grandeur. I'm a long-time movie buff and quite simply just wanna try my hand at amateur film-making in some capacity. Be it a 5 minute short film or 5 second clips where i'm pissing around with lighting, it really doesn't matter, the point is that I just wanna take a crack at this stuff and experiment a little and see where I end up...

My main issue however is that I have absolutely no foundation of knowledge for it what-so-ever (at least from a technical POV). Seriously, i've never really touched a video camera in my life (bar home family videos and some drunken antics), I've never studied film-making or media at any time in school and I know NO ONE who's connected or into film-making at all.

So... going back to my original question, where do I begin? And I mean that in technical sense. Because the practical side is to get a camera and just go out there and use it.
But what camera do I get? What software/hardware do I need? What books/articles should I read to get a grasp of lighting, angles, cinematography, audio, directing, etc?

I mean I stumbled upon this forum by complete fluke and i've only had a quick gander around the sub-forums, but there's obviously a wealth of detail to this craft and it's a little overwhelming.
Furthermore, for the life of me, I can't find anything that I would consider a good starting point... I just see countless threads about a thousand different cameras and so much film-making jargon that it sounds like a foreign language.

Anyway, I think i've made my point clear enough. So basically i'd be really appreciative if anybody can point me in the right direction and provide some good basic, nub-friendly sources, sites, books, articles (WHATEVER) to start out with :)

Thanks
Click to expand...

Spend a few weeks reading through this forum. All of the questions you asked have been discussed at length around here, and the answers will be far more complete than anything you'll get in a single post reply here. Pretty much the answer to everything you asked is "depends." :) But there are many threads which will tell you what it depends ON and how to make the decisions you need to make to answer these questions for yourselves.
 
Thank you to everyone who replied. You've all near enough given me an idea of how I can get started... Tbh, since posting this, i've been browsing the forum every day and some semblence of understanding is SLOWLY starting to trickle into my brain. I think the only thing I need to keep in mind is to be patient, as Bernard suggested.

Thanks again :)
 
buy a DSLR with video function and you will accelerate your cinematographic learning curve exponentionally

dvxuser.com (particular "filmmaking" section)

wikipedia.com (articles about video, 35mm film, lenses, aspect ratio, exposure, field of view etc)

get on twitter

cinematography.com

the ONE single most important thing nobody can help you with or read into: What you are actually interested in. A lot of people are "just" interested in making films, but that won't cut it. You'll have to discover for yourself what is your area of, maybe not talent, but what you LIKE doing. Bit difference between a gaffer and a screenwriter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top