How to Start

Basically in my experience (I'm 19, been doing film for a year and a half) making film doesn't so much teach you what to do as to what not to do. For example, in my first film ever I discovered to my chagrin that I should not write or act in my own film. Now I leave the writing to the people who can actually do it and just focus on the directing. And even then I've figured out that I'm not cut out for directing actors; I prefer being a director of photography and concerned myself with how the film looks.

So basically just as everyone here already said, grab a camera and jump right in. Your first few efforts might come out like crap. Eventually though you'll notice that in your later films you just don't screw up as much (less shots that are out of focus, badly framed or just plain uninteresting). You'll develop some kind of sixth sense that tells you when something is bad (but not necessarily when something is good). I think that a good film is simply a film where the right artistic choices outweights the mistakes, and as you practice making films, the odd of you making a right choice really tips in your favor.
 
don't be afraid to just film to film.

take your camera everywhere.

talk your friends into acting into little funny shorts you guys come up with on the spot. spontaneity can be hilarious. especially since oyu will just be showing them to your friends. and also try to talk your teachers to give you extra credit for making films for their class. i did this numerous times in high school and since your teachers arent expecting too much, they are very pleasantly surprised when they see your film is actually pretty good.

and its always a fun time hanging out with your friends.

i hope that helps good luck.
 
thematthewbone said:
don't be afraid to just film to film.

take your camera everywhere.

talk your friends into acting into little funny shorts you guys come up with on the spot. spontaneity can be hilarious. especially since oyu will just be showing them to your friends. and also try to talk your teachers to give you extra credit for making films for their class. i did this numerous times in high school and since your teachers arent expecting too much, they are very pleasantly surprised when they see your film is actually pretty good.

and its always a fun time hanging out with your friends.

i hope that helps good luck.
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I don't know... this all sounds like the easy way out. I believe that if you go this route, you will only continue making those "little funny shorts" and stuff like that all throughout your life. These kind of films are watched once and tossed into the trash. You don't want to get comfortable with making these type of movies, which will end up happening if you take this route. You need to get out of your shell. Yes, you need to make yourself uncomfortable and jump to the next level.

If I had to give one piece of advice, I would quote Werner Herzog.

"Actually, for some time now I have given some thought to opening a film school. But if I did start one up you would only be allowed to fill out an application form after you have walked alone on foot, let's say from Madrid to Kiev, a distance of about five thousand kilometres. While walking, write. Write about your experiences and give me your notebooks. I would be able to tell who had really walked the distance and who had not. While you are walking you would learn much more about filmmaking and what it truly involves than you ever would sitting in a classroom. During your voyage you will learn more about what your future holds than in five years at film school. Your experiences would be the very opposite of academic knowledge, for academia is the death of cinema. It is the very opposite of passion."
 
Everyone has advice on how to start... where to begin..

When I started.. I didn't have this forum to tell me where to start.. I started where I wanted to.. I just jumped into making a short film with some people collaborating with me.

what an experience.

you want my advice?

don't listen to anyone on this forum, and do what you want to do. I am not saying the people here don't have good advice, but this is advice on how they would go about it if they were you.

How would you go about it?

(And yes, I realize the irony of posting this type of message on this forum..)
 
hey that's great you're interested. here is my advice. learn to write! i think that'll help you a lot. write short stories. they don't even have to be scripts. make comic books. do animation. just learn different ways to tell stories. you don't need a video camera. you can make short films with just a digital camera. la jetee was a short film made using just black and white still pictures, and that was the movie that 12 monkeys was based on. make little short videos with your cell phone. but let me repeat, learn to write and tell stories. otherwise, you'll just be a technician, not an artist.
 
I would agree with the people who said to jump right on in, but I will add that always strive to make the next film better. After every movie you make, learn/explore a new aspect of filmmaking. This way you are growing as a filmmaker and not just making those dumb funny shorts forever. Start off and focus on story, maybe next time read up on different camera angles or something new. Eventually you'll be adding concepts like lighting , camera placement, blocking, and editing 'friendly' sequences. Remember to always strive for improvement, this is key.

The best way to learn is to experience. Go out and find student films or interest groups. You'll learn alot. Best of luck

Watch movies and look at how they edit, how they place the camera, and how they light.
 
Stolen from David G. Smith's tagline:

"To me the great hope is... people that normally wouldn't be making movies will make them and suddenly some little fat girl in Ohio will be the new Mozart and will make a beautiful film using her father's camera-corder and the "Professionalism" of movie making will be destroyed forever and it will finally become an art form."
-Francis Ford Coppola.

Maybe David Lynch read that somewhere, I read he's doing a feature (Inland Empire) with a PD150!
 
I'm going to go sit with all the people who say go make films. Go out and shoot. Learn what not to do by doing (very well put jade). You want to be writer, be a writer and read a lot. You want to make films, go shoot stuff or join people who are already shooting and watch lots of movies.
 
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I'll throw my 2 cents in here...

Filmmaking is about telling a story. It's about getting an audience to feel for the characters and the situation that they're in. Get to know how to make your characters real - how to give them a life and a passion... There are so many different aspects to this. Cinematography is important, but that's not going to help the story or the character development. Get yourself a camera and work on getting a true and honest performance from the actors. Make that your goal. That is, first and foremost, the most important thing that you can do. Don't worry about how it looks. You can always find a DP to work with you and help with lighting and lenses later on. Yes, it's important to have an understanding of cinematography, but there are many filmmakers who rely heavily on a DP who really knows his or her stuff. Filmmaking, to me, is about the story. And if you look around at 90% of the independent stuff floating around, the acting, characters, and the script are usually crap. Learn how to work with the actors and how to get a good performance from them and you'll be a whole lot further ahead of the game.
 
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