In filming, what are you good at?

L

Libby

I was thinking of this today. How I have a nac for camera placement. Be it still or motion. I have always taken great pictures because I know where to put the camera at any angle. I am also quite creative. Can create a fictional story while driving so yes I daydream quite a bit.

I stink at electronic stuff. I stink at the computor. I feel like I need to be in kindergarten class to understand some really basic stuff. So the filming part is fine with me and the creative part but after that I am in land of the lost. But it doesn't stop me from learning, even from my little chair and table in the kindergarten class.
 
I stink at electronic stuff. I stink at the computor. I feel like I need to be in kindergarten class to understand some really basic stuff. So the filming part is fine with me and the creative part but after that I am in land of the lost. But it doesn't stop me from learning, even from my little chair and table in the kindergarten class.
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We all go through a stage like that. There was a time where I didn't even know that the "back" button on a web browser made you go back to a previous webpage you were visiting. There was a time where I thought you could only view one page at a time (this was true up until several years ago when multi-tabbed browsing was invented). I learned as much as I could, just from Googling a lot and asking questions. Now I do basic game programming in BASIC and some really basic web programming. It just took motivation and time. Computers are pretty easy to navigate once you know the basics. :)

Anyway, to answer your actual question, I have to say editing is the part I do best. I like how the editor in any project gets to be the one to set the rhythm of the shots, the music that goes into the film (for the most part), the way they can manipulate anything they need to to make the scene or sequence fit into the rest of the project...it's just fun. I enjoy all parts of film making though. That's probably gonna be the death of me someday; I'll want to do it all and won't be able to! :P
 
I'd be better at camera work if my "level" on my tripod actually was accurate lol.

I'm pretty good at editing, able to work stuff around if some shots weren't the greatest.

Really need to work on lighting ;)
 
I don't really have any desire to be "good" at lighting, or camera operation, or to learn the mechanics of editing. I want to absorb the rudiments of those (and I have somewhat, with a long way still to go) just so I can speak the same language as the those technical people to better communicate with them. How to edit in the sense of "you need this shot to be able to transition to that shot", very important to me. How exactly to make that happen in FCP or Avid, couldn't care less.
 
Gonzo_Entertainment said:
I don't really have any desire to be "good" at lighting, or camera operation, or to learn the mechanics of editing. I want to absorb the rudiments of those (and I have somewhat, with a long way still to go) just so I can speak the same language as the those technical people to better communicate with them. How to edit in the sense of "you need this shot to be able to transition to that shot", very important to me. How exactly to make that happen in FCP or Avid, couldn't care less.
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That is a great thing. It shows you can use other people and put trust in them to help you out for the good of the film. So many people now a days want to do it all. The want to shoot, direct, edit, score. It is a shame that they don't realize that the only thing they are doing is hurting their own film. Glad to hear that Gonzo.
 
I havn't rolled any film in several years now.
My specialty in video is post and when out in the field, it's comforting/disarming folks who are not use to being on camera. I like making documentary/non-scripted content and enjoy one-man-banding projects.
 
I'm just a frothing cauldron of pure potentiality.

One day, I will master it all and then I won't need any of you anymore!

:lol: Muahahahahahahaha :lol:
 
Brooksy said:
That is a great thing. It shows you can use other people and put trust in them to help you out for the good of the film. So many people now a days want to do it all. The want to shoot, direct, edit, score. It is a shame that they don't realize that the only thing they are doing is hurting their own film. Glad to hear that Gonzo.
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As indicated in my venting thread last week. The whole having another investor, and having a producer, has been hard, but having a DP I trust, and a sound guy I trust, and an editor I trust, that's the only way to fly.
 
I'm good at learning anything that's needed, then teaching my learning in an approachable manner, even the complex stuff.

I'm currently unravelling 3d modeling and animation using Blender. Before that, I taught myself to use Shake to do compositing, before that, lighting, camera movement... all the technical stuff is easy and if done right, can be taught in a relatively short amount of time by getting the student to learn the mindset rather than the nuts and bolts (usually much shorter than it is usually taught if reduced to simpler concepts rather than trying to teach everything at once which seems to be the current state of online tech teaching).

I'm currently struggling my way through learning to be a better director - the technical comes easily to me, the artistic, not so much... getting the pictures in my head to end up in the camera is difficult.
 
As I mentioned, I suck at the technical stuff. I am lost but have an idea of where I want to go. This is what I am doing about it: There is a local tv station nearby that charges $20 a year to join. They offer classes in pre/post production of a show both in studio and out. They loan out Canon gl 2 cameras to learn from. They give you an assigment to make a movie that will be the final test. Outside of the initial $20 I will have to buy tapes for this camera. This is one day a week for six weeks. After that I can go in on a one and one basis. I am hoping to get something major from this but I have to wait 'till May to start.
The second thing I was thinking of doing but this means finding time, is volunteering at the local playhouse in the lighting department. Don't know if that would help much but it couldn't hurt.
 
Libby said:
As I mentioned, I suck at the technical stuff. I am lost but have an idea of where I want to go. This is what I am doing about it: There is a local tv station nearby that charges $20 a year to join. They offer classes in pre/post production of a show both in studio and out. They loan out Canon gl 2 cameras to learn from. They give you an assigment to make a movie that will be the final test. Outside of the initial $20 I will have to buy tapes for this camera. This is one day a week for six weeks. After that I can go in on a one and one basis. I am hoping to get something major from this but I have to wait 'till May to start.
The second thing I was thinking of doing but this means finding time, is volunteering at the local playhouse in the lighting department. Don't know if that would help much but it couldn't hurt.
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Both of these are fantastic opportunities! 20 bucks? What a friggin deal! I would take that course if I were there (speaking of, what's the station and is it just a local thing or is it something the whole network offers?)

Volunteering at the local theatre is a great idea. And if you don't know anything about lights, it's a good place to start. But beware of a couple things. The termonology is different so if you're sure you're going on to film then don't bother any more than you have to learning the stage terms. Or here's an idea, why not every time you learn a piece of stage jargin, go and find and learn the film equivalent.

There is a great book called Technical Film for Non-Technical People and it's actually written by a guy who worked in theatre first. An easy good read/reference.

I would also say that while you should pick up as much information as possible being a stage hand, just be ready to un-learn and re-learn a lot of things when you go to film (actually now I think about it, it'll be great doing the classes and this at the same time). For instance, while lighting in some ways is universal and the basics hold, stage lighting is different. It tends to be a lot brighter (make-up is also more intense so that the combination can make the audience even in the back feel like they can see the actors' faces). Stage lighting also has to play the role of the cinematographer and color grader but live, so you may not use as many of the techniques in film.

But yeah, sorry for the long post. I'd say go for it and learn everything you can. Good luck :D
 
Libby said:
As I mentioned, I suck at the technical stuff. I am lost but have an idea of where I want to go. This is what I am doing about it: There is a local tv station nearby that charges $20 a year to join. They offer classes in pre/post production of a show both in studio and out. They loan out Canon gl 2 cameras to learn from. They give you an assigment to make a movie that will be the final test. Outside of the initial $20 I will have to buy tapes for this camera. This is one day a week for six weeks. After that I can go in on a one and one basis. I am hoping to get something major from this but I have to wait 'till May to start.
The second thing I was thinking of doing but this means finding time, is volunteering at the local playhouse in the lighting department. Don't know if that would help much but it couldn't hurt.
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Wow! I wish my local tv station did that! I'm jealous!;)

Seriously, sounds like a good way to get to know the camera and get to know some basics. Don't discount the local playhouse or theatre troupe-ANY experience with lighting or other things like blocking, pacing, ect, is all very helpful. It doesn't cost anything except maybe yearly "dues" from the theatre. I did amateur theatre for years(still yearn for it), and learned alot. Some groups will let you film rehearsal, which is more practice with the camera.
 
The local tv station is just that, local, I mean really really local. It airs shows in about five towns. They have their own versions of everything but reality tv...a cooking show/talk show/news. They have four small studios where different shows are aired. At the end of the program the class not only has to film their own movie using their Canon cameras but they have to orchestrate one of their shows from begining to end.
The loan of the Canon also includes a tripod and mic - so gosh yes I was shocked about all this.
This local station has no affliation with any larger scale station that I am aware of.
My guess as to why and how they do this is purely for some sort of tax break reasons.

As far as the local theater goes...I have family members who are really into local theater and so they know the fellow that runs it. Getting in is no issue - considering I am not looking for pay but volunteering. My dilemma is time. They run many shows all summer long which is my busiest time at work. I will have to figure out what days work best for me because once I commit to this - I will stick to it. I also have to be ready to tell this guy what days I can go in.

I don't know any stage or acting terms. So assuming I volunteer at the theater, the idea of learning the film name for the stage name is a good idea.

Gotta start somewhere anyway.
 
Tinalera said:
Wow! I wish my local tv station did that! I'm jealous!;)

Why don't you ask them if they do? Or if they look for volunteers?
My biggest mistake was assuming...I pass by this little station once a week and at the back of my head I would think 'I wonder if....' but thought no way. By checking them out online one day I saw they had a page that said 'classes'.
I seriously would give any and all local stations within a certain radius a call. Why not? You can just say 'I know someone who is taking production classes at a local station near their home and was wondering...
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