I Love Filmmaking...

For me, if any part of the process is tortuous, it's writing the script! I have great images in my head, great scenes, but how to connect them? How to make them work as part of a coherent story...that's the challenge!

The production process can be a bit tortuous, but it's good torture. Long hours, no sleep, ulcers, sweating bullets, everything close to falling apart, your vision collapsing as the real world seeps in with it's chaos and lack of money! But, to offset that, the comraderie of a good crew, the miraculous contributions of good actors, the simple joy of pulling off a cool shot, makes it all worth it.

Editing is playtime for me...it's just me and the footage. I can relax and see everything fresh. This is where the film really gets written. In the editing. Throw the script away. Discovering moments you hadn't noticed when on set. Color correction. Visual FX. Sound mix. Score. Good times.
 
seanmcleod said:
I think you may enjoy the process more than you know Pappas,
!
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Your right; it's the writing that I'm doing at the moment that makes me more cynical about the process..... Grrrr


seanmcleod said:
Anything easy to do ain't worth doing, or something like that.
!
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Isn't that the truth, or life's little law.



dvbrother said:
For me, if any part of the process is tortuous, it's writing the script! I have great images in my head, great scenes, but how to connect them? How to make them work as part of a coherent story...that's the challenge!
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Isn't that for sure........


dvbrother said:
Editing is playtime for me...it's just me and the footage. I can relax and see everything fresh. This is where the film really gets written.
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Agreed! This is were the fun begins, bringing it all together.




Michael Pappas
http://www.pbase.com/Arrfilms
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http://www.PappasArts.com
 
It's really interesting to see that people come to filmmaking from so many different directions. I know it's obvious because we're all individuals, but it's fascinating to see it confirmed in these posts.
 
My creative short coming is my negative demons. The one that says, "who do you think you are trying to make a movie", "My camera is not good enough", "My script is sh*t", "My audio sucks", "My life sucks" OK I guess I'll just pump gas the rest of my life.

When I set my demons aside and remember to be child like and "Play" I get things done.
 
I remember Robert Rodriguez said, "Every starting filmmaker has about 20 bad movies in him. It's best to get those bad movies out of the way quickly, by making short films and learning how to make them better, rather than pouring all that energy into a bad feature." This is only tangentially related to this thread, and I'm not implying that people here are making bad movies. What I mean is, like hepabst said: get past the inhibition, the pressure. Consider it playtime. A learning ground. Just start shooting! It's not a criticism...it's a call to arms! The GH1 produces amazing images. Let's get out there and make movies!
 
Actually, you guys and gals make film/movie making both difficult and joyous, at least for some people.

Honestly.

I mean, no matter what people say, when they join a community like this the opinion of their peers become sacrosanct. People come here and read your rants and your raves (as in the good stuff), listen to your grumbles and praises of equipment and software, watch you flame or praise a member, watch you completely ignore or quickly answer posts, watch your arguments about what works and what sucks, and dance the pee-pee dance around waiting for you guys to make up your mind about all of these things just for you all to say, "it doesn't matter any way, you just need to shoot- if you've got talent, the gear is only a tool."

I was one of those people when I joined here almost 3 years ago and today I still feel a little "whew" by the wealth of information here, but I have had my failures and my triumphs and have gotten over my intimidation, yet I still feel like an outsider here. Threads like this are very important to the people who skulk around and read overwhelmed by you guys. It makes you more accessible and gives intrinsic reasons to do the job which is what young directors, DPs, etc. need most of all.

Now you can negate this opinion but at least consider it; I still come here to check out opinions of gear before I buy to this day and even though I absolutely, positively know what I want and why, I still get thrown by the GH1 room, or the 7D room, or the HDSLR vs. the Scarlet debate.

Bottom line, you guys matter. You are some peoples studio execs, their mentors, their idols, their banes, and you have a profound effect on the craft for people who do not have an industry around them. At this point, I go and shoot what I want, how I want, with what I want, and have the knowledge and skills to tell a good story largely due to what I've learned here and, strangely enough, regardless of what you all say.

I love film/moviemaking- I love it, every part! I love it so much that I convinced the school at which I work to let me teach it here to middle school aged kids full time. I love it's dirty stinking underwear and I will for the rest of my life- but make no mistake I have come to understand my love for the craft because of this community...

And I assume it may be the same for others...
 
Writing is the part where you get to work with no limitations. You don't have obstacles every step of the way. Things like "will this light reach", "that rain cloud looks scary", and "has anybody seen the lead?" Writing is the place where you can move about freely in your story and explore anything you can imagine with no cost. Of course you will want to keep in mind the actual costs involved if you are going to make it yourself but if you are just sitting down to write a script you have everything at your disposal. You don't have people asking you a thousand questions a day or the level of stress involved if you are going to meet budget. It's the calm stage of filmmaking to me. It's the quiet part, well my 5 month old Daughter can hinder that but its nothing I can't handle. It's also the first time your visions of a scene or dialogue start to come together and take shape.
So at the same time I find it can be the easiest part and also the hardest. It takes a lot of will power to sit down for a long time and hash out your ideas and then rewrite them all over again. It takes a lot of creative drain on you just to think of that perfect line or that perfect scene. But the best part is once it is done you have a feeling of accomplishment and excitement to see if it really works on the set. ;)

A wise saying I heard once... "It beats digging ditches."
 
Nitsuj said:
Writing is the part where you get to work with no limitations. You don't have obstacles every step of the way.
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True.

Nitsuj said:
A wise saying I heard once... "It beats digging ditches."
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True again. Although I always wondered what people who actually dig ditches say to themselves to feel good about their lives?

When I write scripts, there is that freedom from demands of the real world...and it's FREE! But here's what happens to me: I can see it all coming together...I feel good, confident that I'm going to have a great script. Then I suddenly see one tiny element that doesn't work. I pick at that tiny element like I'm picking a scab, then suddenly the whole house of cards falls apart. I realize the story is crap and that I need to start over from square one. Repeat this process about twenty times as I re-write, re-conceive until I finally have something I feel is ready to shoot. In the meantime, my wife has gotten sick of my mood swings, of my being in the "Twilight Zone" while I'm writing. We'll be eating dinner but I'm in my head working on the story. This part of the process is toughest on my marriage because I become comically manic/depressive. When we actually make the movie, she's my production designer, so we're a team.
That's why the writing process is tough for me.
 
Each part as on it's own has it's own unique challenges and obstacles, as well as rewards and perks, but I think I can see without debate, and this is the reason we're all here, the good out weighs the bad every time. Even with some of the old stuff I think sucks and wouldn't put on my website, I still look back on it fondly because I know that's what made me better at this. I just strive to make every new project I do the best thing I've done so far.

And Pharpsied I'm glad you are going after it. I'll be honest I look at this forum sometimes and I think damn, I wish there weren't so damn many people trying to be top filmmakers, but at the end of the day, I think it's better that people try. I hate seeing people make the safe choice over their passion. And yes some will make it and most won't. But if I'm one of the ones that doesn't make it, at least I tried. I didn't just dig ditches to pay the bills. Matter of fact DVbrother, I think theres a comedy short about ditch diggers in here somewhere.

(PS I'm going to make it, see you at the top!)
 
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