Costa's Weekly Fix
So you want to be a filmmaker, huh?
[Disclaimer: The following entry includes thoughts & opinions from my personal experiences and do not reflect the opinions of IndieTalk or any of it's affiliates in any way.]
Before I begin, I am going to assume a few things to save time.
-Common Film Abbreviations (DP, AD, DOF, AC, SAG, etc)
-Common Film Lingo (Strike, Stinger, Dirt, Dolly, Boom, etc)
If you come across a word you don't know, you can always google it. There are vast numbers of sites that lists common film terms, just google 'Film Lingo' or 'Film Terms'
Because there isn't any true place to start being that everyones film journey is different, I'm going to start off with an assumed situation;
You are either in High school or a recent grad with an interest in film. You are wondering what is the best step to take? Film school? Just shoot a short? Should I buy my own Equipment? Should I rent it?
Probably one of the most debatable subjects: Film school, or no Film School.
If you are in High school, or you just graduated High school, you should consider Film School. -But for the right reasons-
-Your family will be able to help you get loans
-You have a scholarship
-You live outside of a large city (LA, NYC, Orlando, Chicago, etc)
-You learn everything you can, and make as many contacts as you can.
There is a pretty close ratio of those who have gone on to Direct A-list talent who went to film school, to those who did not.
You will most likely only learn for your first 2 years in Film school, the rest is up to your own experiences. (Getting on student sets, shooting your film projects, etc.)
But if I don't go to school, how will I learn?
It's going to be a lot harder if you don't go to school, and know little to nothing about film making. But there's some upsides:
-You will learn Fast.
-You will work on a variety of projects from different schools, and indie filmmakers.
-You will save up wards of $100,000-$200,000 in debt.
-You will learn Fast.
The thing about working on student sets going to film school is; You work with mostly the same people, which can be a good thing, but your stuck in a 'box'. You work on the same types of films, with the same people, over and over. You don't get a good taste of what sets are actually like.
The most important thing is; getting yourself out there.
You need to push yourself to get on sets, even if they are student sets. Try to get on student sets as a PA, or Boom op. Learn from them.
ASK QUESTIONS.
Asking questions is how you will get a lot of your technical knowledge. Pay attention, do your best, make contacts, make sure they can see you are not a slacker.
Not going to school means your going to be a freelancer of sorts. You will always be looking for that next gig.-And you will be working for free most of the time-
Keep going until you feel like you have a good knowledge of things, and then shooting your own short will come.
If you don't live in a big city, and can't go to film school; Move.
Move to the closet city, or right outside it, this will up your odds of finding gigs. Search craigslists, or mandy, or other local ads in your area. Make friends, tell them you would be happy to work on their next film, or if they work or hear of anything coming up.
You are not going to get major studio jobs with no experience, not even as a PA. It's incredibly hard especially if you don't have any contacts.
What about internships?
Some internships can be good, but most are not. You work for free or next to nothing a couple days a week for a few months, and will only learn a tad bit, and most of them are office based.
The intern will end, they will say 'Thanks' and now your out 3 months you could have gotten on-set experience from.
I'm not saying they're all bad,(A DP friend of mine had no job, was out of money to pay rent, and his Free internship just so happened to loose a staff member and moved him up to a paying position) they are just not a good first choice.
I'm going to leave you on one more thought.
Decide what you want to do,(Direct, produce, DP, etc) then choose a second thing you'd like to do.
This will help in 2 ways; You won't always be doing your main focus on set, especially if your a director. And the film industry is very hard, and you most likely wont become what your striving for; a second goal is always good.
"Four Hundred new FILM STUDENTS turn eager faces to the senior PROFESSOR, who rises to speak.
PROFESSOR
Put up your hands if you want to direct.
Four hundred film students put up their hands.
PROFESSOR
Now everyone put down them down except one.
Four hundred film students don't know what to do.
He pauses before the kill.
PROFESSOR
And that's if your lucky."
-WHAT THEY DON'T TEACH YOU at FILM SCHOOL
You want to be able to fill your resume with a bunch of AD experience, or a bunch of Gaffing experience, and not a little bit of everything.
People want to know that you are good at what you do, that's what you do, and that's how you'll get payed gigs.
Make Contacts.
Do you want to hire someone with 5 1st AD credits, or someone with a 1st AD credit, a boom cred, PA, Grip, Gaff credit?
*If you have any questions DIRECTLY relating to what was said, please feel free to ask, I will be going into other topics, so save those questions for that article
*
So you want to be a filmmaker, huh?
[Disclaimer: The following entry includes thoughts & opinions from my personal experiences and do not reflect the opinions of IndieTalk or any of it's affiliates in any way.]
Before I begin, I am going to assume a few things to save time.
-Common Film Abbreviations (DP, AD, DOF, AC, SAG, etc)
-Common Film Lingo (Strike, Stinger, Dirt, Dolly, Boom, etc)
If you come across a word you don't know, you can always google it. There are vast numbers of sites that lists common film terms, just google 'Film Lingo' or 'Film Terms'
Because there isn't any true place to start being that everyones film journey is different, I'm going to start off with an assumed situation;
You are either in High school or a recent grad with an interest in film. You are wondering what is the best step to take? Film school? Just shoot a short? Should I buy my own Equipment? Should I rent it?
Probably one of the most debatable subjects: Film school, or no Film School.
If you are in High school, or you just graduated High school, you should consider Film School. -But for the right reasons-
-Your family will be able to help you get loans
-You have a scholarship
-You live outside of a large city (LA, NYC, Orlando, Chicago, etc)
-You learn everything you can, and make as many contacts as you can.
There is a pretty close ratio of those who have gone on to Direct A-list talent who went to film school, to those who did not.
You will most likely only learn for your first 2 years in Film school, the rest is up to your own experiences. (Getting on student sets, shooting your film projects, etc.)
But if I don't go to school, how will I learn?
It's going to be a lot harder if you don't go to school, and know little to nothing about film making. But there's some upsides:
-You will learn Fast.
-You will work on a variety of projects from different schools, and indie filmmakers.
-You will save up wards of $100,000-$200,000 in debt.
-You will learn Fast.
The thing about working on student sets going to film school is; You work with mostly the same people, which can be a good thing, but your stuck in a 'box'. You work on the same types of films, with the same people, over and over. You don't get a good taste of what sets are actually like.
The most important thing is; getting yourself out there.
You need to push yourself to get on sets, even if they are student sets. Try to get on student sets as a PA, or Boom op. Learn from them.
ASK QUESTIONS.
Asking questions is how you will get a lot of your technical knowledge. Pay attention, do your best, make contacts, make sure they can see you are not a slacker.
Not going to school means your going to be a freelancer of sorts. You will always be looking for that next gig.-And you will be working for free most of the time-
Keep going until you feel like you have a good knowledge of things, and then shooting your own short will come.
If you don't live in a big city, and can't go to film school; Move.
Move to the closet city, or right outside it, this will up your odds of finding gigs. Search craigslists, or mandy, or other local ads in your area. Make friends, tell them you would be happy to work on their next film, or if they work or hear of anything coming up.
You are not going to get major studio jobs with no experience, not even as a PA. It's incredibly hard especially if you don't have any contacts.
What about internships?
Some internships can be good, but most are not. You work for free or next to nothing a couple days a week for a few months, and will only learn a tad bit, and most of them are office based.
The intern will end, they will say 'Thanks' and now your out 3 months you could have gotten on-set experience from.
I'm not saying they're all bad,(A DP friend of mine had no job, was out of money to pay rent, and his Free internship just so happened to loose a staff member and moved him up to a paying position) they are just not a good first choice.
I'm going to leave you on one more thought.
Decide what you want to do,(Direct, produce, DP, etc) then choose a second thing you'd like to do.
This will help in 2 ways; You won't always be doing your main focus on set, especially if your a director. And the film industry is very hard, and you most likely wont become what your striving for; a second goal is always good.
"Four Hundred new FILM STUDENTS turn eager faces to the senior PROFESSOR, who rises to speak.
PROFESSOR
Put up your hands if you want to direct.
Four hundred film students put up their hands.
PROFESSOR
Now everyone put down them down except one.
Four hundred film students don't know what to do.
He pauses before the kill.
PROFESSOR
And that's if your lucky."
-WHAT THEY DON'T TEACH YOU at FILM SCHOOL
You want to be able to fill your resume with a bunch of AD experience, or a bunch of Gaffing experience, and not a little bit of everything.
People want to know that you are good at what you do, that's what you do, and that's how you'll get payed gigs.
Make Contacts.
Do you want to hire someone with 5 1st AD credits, or someone with a 1st AD credit, a boom cred, PA, Grip, Gaff credit?
*If you have any questions DIRECTLY relating to what was said, please feel free to ask, I will be going into other topics, so save those questions for that article
*
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