I need advice from experienced dvxuser....please.

Donald Moon

Donald Moon

Member
^I meant dvxusers

I'm 19. I live in Tallahassee, FL, home of FSU and it's famous film school. Now, odds are I'll never get into this film school. My problem is: I've owned a wonderful DVX100B for over a year now and got one good paid gig and shot a few random things with friends. Nothing special, really. I just don't know how to get myself out there. I can't think of anything to shoot, nor do I have anybody to shoot with (I just moved here).

I know I sound pathetic, but I'm crying out to dvxusers everywhere tonight. What did you do when you first started shooting? Advice from some vets would be awesome. Thanks in advance, this has always been a great community!
 
I go to UCF, and i'm in the cinema studies track which is B.A. The other program is BFA and you go over some directing and editing. The two programs intermingle with some of the classes. But, overall, i would say amost a complete waste of 2yrs. Had i not owed a camera and editing software, i would be screwed whenever i graduate.

I know this isnt an answer, but i feel you. I should've went to FSU instead.
 
nantnee said:
I go to UCF, and i'm in the cinema studies track which is B.A. The other program is BFA and you go over some directing and editing. The two programs intermingle with some of the classes. But, overall, i would say amost a complete waste of 2yrs. Had i not owed a camera and editing software, i would be screwed whenever i graduate.

I know this isnt an answer, but i feel you. I should've went to FSU instead.
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Damn, that's sad to hear. I've always wondered about UCF's film school.
 
Donald Moon said:
I can't think of anything to shoot
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Shoot anything and everything that comes to mind. And until you find other people, just do everything by yourself, act in them yourself. Make a movie about your pets, whatever. They don't have to be great, and no one has to see any of them (although posting them here and getting feedback could help a lot).
 
I speak for myself Donald

The only thing holding you back from creating work and learning this fine mad art, is you.

You gotta live it, breathe it, sweat it.

-

There are no real excuses (unless your wife screwed you and you lost your home) other than your own will and creativity.

Tell a story about ANYTHING. Just shoot shoot shoot and learn this damn art.
 
You may not be able to start shooting small narratives right away because of acting and crew demands, but you can start to experiment and explore the fundamentals of film making such as exposure, framing, effects of image juxtaposition (editing), etc.

For example: Late one night I was really bored, and I had just gotten my HVX. I was itching to use it but was away from film school at home in Ohio. Nothing happens in Ohio. So I went to the kitchen and with nothing more then a living room lamp, a t-shirt, a large vase and lots of condensed milk I made this little vid:

Poorly compressed (sorry): http://ryanpatrickohara.com/milkplosionsmall.html

I'm very happy with it considering it took me about 4 hours and cost nothing more then cans of milk.

Get creative, and you will find all you do and learn will benefit in the long run.

P:S: one of these 'milkplosions' actually leads in my demo reel! See what I mean? Practice and hands on experience will always benefit!
 
Shoot some freebie work for a good cause. Find a charity and do a web ad/commercial for them.

Find a local band whose music you like, and do a video for them for free.

Find (most of them aren't going to look for you) and free(without a track record it's going to be difficult to get a paid job), those are the key words if you are new and want to build a demo reel fast to get paid gigs. You need to have something to show people later on giving examples of your work. Word of mouth is great advertising. If the people you do free work for like what you did, ask them to help you out by spreading the word.

It's worked for me.
 
J.R. Hudson said:
I speak for myself Donald

The only thing holding you back from creating work and learning this fine mad art, is you.

You gotta live it, breathe it, sweat it.

-

There are no real excuses (unless your wife screwed you and you lost your home) other than your own will and creativity.

Tell a story about ANYTHING. Just shoot shoot shoot and learn this damn art.
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I second that. Hudson's put in some hard work and it shows. He's definitely a filmmaker. :beer:
 
Thanks so much you guys! I'm going to take all your advice, that's some good stuff. This may sound silly but when shooting a music video, do you film the band doing their song, then play their actual recording over it? I've always wondered how, in music videos, people sync up the words and lips so perfectly. I'm sure I'm over-thinking it.
 
If you pay really close attention, you'll notice they aren't always synced perfectly. As for me, I haven't actually done a storyboarded music video, just shoot the band live.
 
Find yourself some hot college girls and...
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