Advice for a fellow aspiring filmmaker/actor?

Firstly, I'm sorry if I put this in the wrong spot.

I'm 17 years old right now, I'll be turning 18 this summer after graduating high-school. I of course wanted to go to film school but have since realized that I lack the funds. I live in southeast Idaho. There are no schools in Idaho that even teach film so I'm kind of screwed as far as that goes. The closest school with anything film related is the University of Utah but it's a film studies course and I would be paying out of state tuition for something that isn't even really what I want.

Anyway, I'm 100% sure film-making is what I want to do, the only time I feel "in my element" is behind the camera or acting in front of one. I, like most people, would love to have a career as a director or even a DoP, but I also realize how unlikely that is. So basically I figured that there would be at least a few of you here that might have been in a similar situation who could send advice my way. I'm thinking about just moving to L.A. after I graduate but I'm not sure if that's a smart thing to do.

I realize I'll have to work a near endless stream of crappy jobs before I even come close to being able to live off of film. I don't mind that though, as long as I am involved with film in some way (even working as a volunteer PA) I think I'll probably be pretty happy.

In short, what advice do you have for an aspiring filmmaker skipping film school? Is moving to L.A. a bad/good idea? Is it hard to get jobs/film related jobs there?

Also, what kind of things do you have to do to get started up as an actor? Are headshots hard to get/expensive? This is way less important, but I figured I'd ask anyway.

Anyway, thanks in advance, and feel free to just post links or whatever. Any advice is appreciated.

Hopefully this makes sense :P
 
My advice to you is since you're young, (don't wait until you're 34 like I did) go find some work, anything. Mowing grass, picking up trash on construction sites, anything to make a paycheck. Save everything. Want that dollar soda? Forget it, buy a gallon of drinking water for .80 cents. It will last longer. Want that fancy ringtone that costs 2 bucks? Forget it. Get my point? Do that for a year. Yes, a year.

Don't rush off to L.A. just yet there professor. Check around and see what productions are taking place within an hour or two of where you live. Use the internet, it's a valuable tool.

When you find P.A. work, (which is a good place to start) take it. It may not pay anything if it's low-budget, but the experience and building your reputation is worth it.

Did I say it may not pay anything? Well, you'll need money to travel; so, remember all the money you saved by working and not spending it on Super Bling Soda or that latest ringtone from the hippest rapper? I rest my case.

So you make it to the set and get a job as a P.A. I'll make it simple from here. "Yes Sir" "No Sir" "Yes Ma'am" "No Ma'am". If they say jump, ask how high and how many times. If they say jump off a bridge, they're kidding.

If an 8 hour day becomes 12 hours, so what.

Good luck.
 
Anyway, I'm 100% sure film-making is what I want to do, the only time I feel "in my element" is behind the camera or acting in front of one. I, like most people, would love to have a career as a director or even a DoP, but I also realize how unlikely that is.
Why do you think it's unlikely? There are thousands of actors,
directors and DP's earning a living. Are you thinking it's unlikely
you will be come famous? Or unlikely that you can act, direct or
DP for a living?


In short, what advice do you have for an aspiring filmmaker skipping film school? Is moving to L.A. a bad/good idea? Is it hard to get jobs/film related jobs there?
It sure is hard to to get film related jobs here in Los Angeles.
But there are thousands who have them. There is more
opportunity here than where you're living now.
Also, what kind of things do you have to do to get started up as an actor? Are headshots hard to get/expensive? This is way less important, but I figured I'd ask anyway.
Head shots are easy to get. Any portrait photographer can take
your picture and every printer in the country can make prints.
You can even have a friend take a picture of you and use your
own printer to make prints.
 
"Yes Sir" "No Sir" "Yes Ma'am" "No Ma'am". If they say jump, ask how high and how many times. If they say jump off a bridge, they're kidding.

And if you don't know the answer, don't B.S. The admission of ignorance is the first step towards knowledge.

Always go above and beyond the call of duty; hard work will be rewarded.

The following is a true story. I have worked on numerous projects with a producer who has a way of attracting talent. In fall 2004 she put together a team to enter the NYC Midnite Madness Film Festival. The DP had done some indie film (real film), commercial advertising, etc. The lighting was provided and run by a local commercial photographer. I did production sound and audio post. The acting talent was local theatre-lo/no indie types. And there was our PA, Abram. This was 19-year-old Abrams fourth gig as an unpaid PA. Our producer met him at a screening and got a good reference. Two other PAs were on their first job.

Abram stepped in and took responsibility for all of the tape logs for the camera and the DAT. He spoke up whenever he saw a continuity snag. He held a second boom for me. He was a focus puller a few times. He helped move lights. On the second day he even suggested a shot, which we used. We all had a very good time with him during the shoot and the following weekend at the wrap party. Our second place finish was due in large part to Abram.

Because Abram worked his butt off he got a call from the DP a few weeks later; Hans needed a last minute one-day replacement for a job on his set. Six months later he was Hans' right hand man at all his shoots. He later ended up working on "I Am Legend" in NYC. He has been working regularly on major shoots ever since in increasingly responsible positions. When I last heard from him he was a focus puller and was up for 1st AD on a second unit team for another major film.

The point of this long story is that if you work really hard you will be noticed. Abram went from unpaid PA on an indie short to working on Hollywood films in five years. I've made some great contacts leading to paying gigs by doing select freebees and extensive networking. You don't have to go to school if you are willing to work your tail off and have a ruthless desire to learn. So here's Uncle Bobs advice:

1. You show up early and stone cold sober. In your backpack is a stack of your business cards, a quart bottle of water, a couple of oatmeal bars, a small toolkit, a roll of gaffers tape, a small first aid kit, a yellow pad, some pens, pencils and markers, two cotton towels, a pair of clean sox & underwear, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, some rainwear, a small flashlight, fresh batteries for your cell phone and a sleeve of AA batteries and a sleeve of 9-volt batteries. Wear a belt; if there is anything like a budget you'll have some place to hang things. If you drive get there with a full tank if you can. You now have potentially dozens of opportunities to save the day.

2. Do whatever job you are assigned to the absolute best of your abilities. Ask questions - there's no such thing as a stupid question. If you have some down time with no responsibilities offer to help elsewhere. If your help is not needed talk with someone else with nothing to do. Give him/her a business card, get one from them. If you have a moment or two make a few notes on the back about your conversation.

3. Eat the best food "health wise" that is offered (go for the bran muffin instead of the donut :lol:). Drink lots of water. Make sure that you dress for the weather, like, when it's 10 degrees out with a minus chill factor and you have to stand on a street corner for two hours or it's 101 in the shade.

4. Stay pleasant and stay positive the entire shoot.

4. Lend a hand wherever needed when wrapping for the day.

5. Drink soda at the bar because you're still at work: networking, weeding out the wannabees from the other hard workers, getting leads for more jobs, handing out more business cards. Oh, okay, after everyone else is well along you can have one or two.

6. Go home. Replenish your bag. Have a good meal (if it's not too late). Relax for a bit. Get a good nights sleep.

7. Repeat steps 1 through 6.

8. When you're not working go to screenings and networking events. Yeah, lots of the screenings are bad, but it's amazing how much money gets spent on bad. Network as best you can, observe rule #5.



First and foremost ---- you have to believe that you CAN be that good. If you can't do that, you're doomed to failure from the start.

Second, you have to have an insatiable desire to learn. "Every day you learn something hasn't been a total waste."

Third, don't be afraid to fail. A pro baseball player who fails 67% of the time at the plate has a shot at the hall of fame. Edison failed almost 2,000 times to make the incandescent light bulb; was he a failure? And he collected a lot of important information along the way.

Fourth, surround yourself with similarly like-minded individuals. You can't know it all, that's why some of us write, others act, some direct, some do cinematography, others do sound, or costumes or makeup or... you get the idea. A film crew is a team. Everyone has to be working as hard and professionaly as they can towards the same goal. Pick your associates accordingly.

Fifth, leave your ego at home. Just because you have a great idea or a great way of doing things doesn't mean its the ONLY great idea or a great way of doing things. See #2.

Sixth, stay away from drugs and hardcore boozing. Those two things have killed more promising careers than anything else, both literally and figuratively.

Seventh, make sure that your ass is covered in the legal sense at all times. Take all the chances you want with your art, take none with the legalities.

Good luck, and remember to have fun. As strange as it sounds, we're in a business where the harder you work the more fun you can have.

"Life has been made for you to enjoy, but you won't enjoy it unless you pay for it with some good, hard work; this is one price that will never be marked down." - Harpo Marx
 
Thanks so much for all the pointers guys. I guess I'll stay here, or at least move to Salt Lake City for a year or two and keep reading film books, writing screenplays, and making $0 shorts and saving every penny I get.

directorik said:
Why do you think it's unlikely? There are thousands of actors,
directors and DP's earning a living. Are you thinking it's unlikely
you will be come famous? Or unlikely that you can act, direct or
DP for a living?

I just sounds like with all the people migrating to L.A. to pursue the same things I want to pursue that getting a job, let alone paying jobs that are good enough to live off of, would be hard to find. I don't want to be famous per se, but of course I wouldn't mind :lol: .

Anyway, thanks for all the advice. This forum is a "treasure chest" of information.
 
My advice to you is since you're young, (don't wait until you're 34 like I did) go find some work, anything. Mowing grass, picking up trash on construction sites, anything to make a paycheck. Save everything. Want that dollar soda? Forget it, buy a gallon of drinking water for .80 cents. It will last longer. Want that fancy ringtone that costs 2 bucks? Forget it. Get my point? Do that for a year. Yes, a year.

Don't rush off to L.A. just yet there professor. Check around and see what productions are taking place within an hour or two of where you live. Use the internet, it's a valuable tool.

When you find P.A. work, (which is a good place to start) take it. It may not pay anything if it's low-budget, but the experience and building your reputation is worth it.

Did I say it may not pay anything? Well, you'll need money to travel; so, remember all the money you saved by working and not spending it on Super Bling Soda or that latest ringtone from the hippest rapper? I rest my case.

So you make it to the set and get a job as a P.A. I'll make it simple from here. "Yes Sir" "No Sir" "Yes Ma'am" "No Ma'am". If they say jump, ask how high and how many times. If they say jump off a bridge, they're kidding.

If an 8 hour day becomes 12 hours, so what.

Good luck.


Amen
 
I just sounds like with all the people migrating to L.A. to pursue the same things I want to pursue that getting a job, let alone paying jobs that are good enough to live off of, would be hard to find.
You’re right. It’s difficult.

But if you wanted to be a ski instructor you don’t move to Hawaii.
If you waned to teach surfing you wouldn't do well living in Kansas.
If you want to make movies, living where movies are made is an
excellent start.
 
Okay, just so I don't step on any toes I am going to start by saying this is my opinion and my opinion only.

I say, screw moving to LA. Don't think LA or Hollywood is the only way to break in.

My advice... You're going to be turning 18 in the summer, right? Save that money that you would be using to move to LA and put it towards a film... simple as that. Stay in Utah and make a film.

Step 1, take your time and really write a good story. You can write an artsy fartsy script but I would stay away from those. at least at first. Professional Indy films have a hard enough time trying to get those marketed. I'd stick to something people are familiar with. Something people always like to watch. Action/Horror or Comedy. Either way, write a damn good script. Keep it tight. Make the character relate with the audience and make them likable. Make the overall movie kick ass awesome!

Step 2, Step two is a continuation of Step 1. The glory of writing a script is that you can make it about anything you want. But, you have to set some limits for yourself. You aren't going to want to make a zombie film with 30,000 zombies attacking a group of people. Why? because it's going to be rough getting 30,000 extras to be dressed up in full makeup, etc... So my second piece of advice is to write something you're able to shoot. I'd stick with some kind of contained movie... Examples are movies like, TAPE or EVIL DEAD. Tape takes place in a hotel room. That's it. 3 characters in the confines of a hotel room. And to be honest, that movie is great. Little suspenseful drama! Evil dead takes place in a cabin. Minimal characters, etc.

Keep those elements in mind when you are writing. Make it so you aren't trapping yourself in a corner when you are ready to shoot!

Step 3... People might make fun of Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc. In all honesty, these social media tools are the most amazing tools any person has access to. A lot of people use them for pointless chit chat, but, if you use them right, you can market the heck out of your film.

10 years ago it was hard to reach 60 some people when you had something to say. Today, you can reach 60,000 in the matter of a few hours. Marketing, Social Media and the way we get information across is completely different!

Step 4... use craigslist, post an add asking for actors. Make them aware that you will not be able to pay them. But make them an offer and tell them you will be able to feed them and refund them for their transportation. That's what we did.

Step 5...As for a camera goes, you can use a 2 thousand dollar DVX 100 camera and make it look amazing. We used a DVX 100b with a lense adapter and a couple Nikon lenses and our war film turned out amazing. Hell, we won best in region at a film fest and placed 4 in the nation against the Hollywood bigshots. If you take the time and light the shots, production value will be through the roof! If you don't believe me, take a peek at www.theopusfuller.com, click on portfolio and watch the first film, GERMANITY... Check out our production value. We made that entire film for 600. Most of it went to travel and food expenses for everyone.

Step 6... Use those marketing tools I mentioned in Step 3. The truth is, nobody out there in the world knows your name. Nobody really cares about you and nobody cares about your film. People's time is valuable. ***Now, I know what I just said sounded harsh, but the fact of the matter is I am in the same boat. Nobody gives a shit about me and nobody knows who I am either. So, please dude, do not take what I said personally. It's just the truth. In order for someones trust and interest to be handed over we have to really hustle. So, give them a reason to WANT to check out your film.

Step 7... Make your film and sell the hell out of it. Throw it up on youtube. toss out tweets on twitter. Post it all over facebook. Use those social media tools to get it out to the world! It's completely free to advertise using those tools...

*** I'm going to give you an example of how to add value to your product, etc. I made an award winning short film. After I tossed it out to a couple of Film Festivals I sat on it. Did nothing with it. Never released it on DVD. Nothing. So, 3 years later I am giving that film a HUGE PUSH. I'm going to sell the shit out of it. Now, like I was saying. Nobody cares about my film. What reason does anyone have for checking it out!? Well, I could exploit the film and sell people on the idea that I made it for a mere 600 dollars and won awards with it... That could make them want to check it out and see what all the fuss is about. But that's not going to be enough. So, what I am doing to make my German War film have more personal value to someone is through my packaging. I designed my DVD cover all on my own as you can see here. http://twitpic.com/y7ki8
I'm also packaging every DVD with a set of Dog Tags... It will definitely go with the theme of the film and it will give it that extra little touch. On top of that I'm writing a personal dvd insert to each and every person who purchases my film. It makes it more personal. And finally I'm packaging all that into a worn envelope. It's going to appear to have water damage and have German writing on it. It little things like that that add value and gives people more reason to purchase it...

I can talk about this stuff all day dude, just e-mail me if you want to dive deeper into more detail. I didn't go to school for marketing but I know a shit load on the subject! :)
 
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