Your Story?

J

JS25

Member
So, I'm studying to become a director/film editor and I was wondering how you all started. I direct and edit amateur films with my friends, but I have no idea how I'd go about doing it professionally. Do you apply after finishing college/university? If so, where?

I'm really interested to hear your stories.
 
Depends on what you call professional. LOL. I started out by reading several film books...then made up a fake resume and sent it in for independent films...just to start as a production assistant, but I stated I wanted to be working on the set not running errands. Then worked on tons of small no-budget films and started writing and shooting my own. Really depends on what type of films you want to shoot/edit as to what path you want to take.
 
I have found that most if not all artistic fields of work are "by invitation only". that being said, the way to get your invitation is usually to start working in what ever capacity until you gain enough skills to move on up the chain, then if you have proven to have talent at whatever part of it you are pursuing, then and only then will you find professional gigs (or if you're a good faker, and then you still have to deliver in order to get the second one).
rarely have I ever seen anyone getting a job due purely to their degree (usually means very little in an artistic field), but rather by their recognized talent and skills. As well as I have seen many with no formal schooling become successful at it.
 
Start trying to get gigs out there with people who have more experience than you - work for free if you have to.

Filmmaking is a craft and is thus learned by doing not reading. Don't get me wrong, film school can help you accelerate the learning process, but book learning alone won't get you anywhere.

I've had several younger people ask me if they should go to film school. Generally, I tell them if they are going to go to college get a degree outside of film that can get you work when you graduate (business, nursing, teaching, etc.) and while you're getting that other education go work on as many sets as you can.

Meanwhile, keep doing what you're doing. Working on writing directing and editing with friends will help you learn from mistakes. I can't tell you how many short films and/or skits I have on a shelf, unfinished, because I knew it would be crap when it was done. I did, however, learn from every single on of those experiences!
 
Wow, so would you guys say that it's all based on connections?

And Cliff, what if all you want to do is film (editing/acting/directing)? Should I still find something else to do?
 
JS25 said:
So, I'm studying to become a director/film editor and I was wondering how you all started. I direct and edit amateur films with my friends, but I have no idea how I'd go about doing it professionally. Do you apply after finishing college/university? If so, where?

I'm really interested to hear your stories.
Click to expand...

Started with a film-academy back in the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. But this was somewhat different from modern film-academies. They had the idea that you should have had some kind of education - from whatever walks of life you'd come - before you should attempt to become a film-maker. The idea was: Someone who has not made experiences in the real world has nothing to tell but will be in danger to repeat film-stories he has seen. Not such a bad idea they had. Then.

Academy started with what was called "jungle course": Shoot b & w material either with an old, hand-cranked Ernemann 35 mm camera from 1912 or a spring-driven 16 mm Bolex, develop it by hand in a portable "lab", print it with two old projectors turned to optical banks.... with rather interesting results, I have to say... The idea was: If you can not get something out with such equipment, you will crank out only even more terrible stuff with the better one. And: Filmbusiness is not for sissies.

While in academy everybody had to work on the films of other students in whatever functions and most of us worked - to finance their study - in the business as boom-men, camera-assistants, assistant-editors or assistant to the assistant director or stage hand or driver or coffee-maker or whatever came along and was loosely connected to film or TV-work. This very basic educational brew was peppered with some intellectually rather arcane theoretical seminars - discussing documentary film-work in revolutionary China with then already stone-old director Joris Ivens (great) or discussing "Proto-anti-feminist traits and structural over-authoritarian tendencies in Fassbinder's & Herzog's early work" (not so great).

Decided for myself though that it was possible to read "The Work of Art in the Age of its Technological Reproducibility" by Walter Benjamin and a book titled "The Art of Walt Disney" at the same time without suffering a nervous breakdown. After that: Start swimming in the shark pond and avoid getting eaten. If possible. After some years you get used to swimming with an arm and/or a leg missing.... And: Yes. Connections are important at some points. But first learn to become fast enough to avoid the jaws...

Only my 0.02 Euros of wisdom.
 
tipota said:
Started with a film-academy back in the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. But this was somewhat different from modern film-academies. They had the idea that you should have had some kind of education - from whatever walks of life you'd come - before you should attempt to become a film-maker. The idea was: Someone who has not made experiences in the real world has nothing to tell but will be in danger to repeat film-stories he has seen. Not such a bad idea they had. Then.

Academy started with what was called "jungle course": Shoot b & w material either with an old, hand-cranked Ernemann 35 mm camera from 1912 or a spring-driven 16 mm Bolex, develop it by hand in a portable "lab", print it with two old projectors turned to optical banks.... with rather interesting results, I have to say... The idea was: If you can not get something out with such equipment, you will crank out only even more terrible stuff with the better one. And: Filmbusiness is not for sissies.

While in academy everybody had to work on the films of other students in whatever functions and most of us worked - to finance their study - in the business as boom-men, camera-assistants, assistant-editors or assistant to the assistant director or stage hand or driver or coffee-maker or whatever came along and was loosely connected to film or TV-work. This very basic educational brew was peppered with some intellectually rather arcane theoretical seminars - discussing documentary film-work in revolutionary China with then already stone-old director Joris Ivens (great) or discussing "Proto-anti-feminist traits and structural over-authoritarian tendencies in Fassbinder's & Herzog's early work" (not so great).

Decided for myself though that it was possible to read "The Work of Art in the Age of its Technological Reproducibility" by Walter Benjamin and a book titled "The Art of Walt Disney" at the same time without suffering a nervous breakdown. After that: Start swimming in the shark pond and avoid getting eaten. If possible. After some years you get used to swimming with an arm and/or a leg missing.... And: Yes. Connections are important at some points. But first learn to become fast enough to avoid the jaws...

Only my 0.02 Euros of wisdom.
Click to expand...


Love it thanks for posting.


My story in short. Moved to Hollywood, started riding motorcycles in film, then went to acting a few months later. Two years later I made a short film with people I had met. A year Later I made my first feature with people I had met. Then did my 2nd full length 6 months after the first. We'll see whats next.
 
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