Okay so I really want to be a director. I want my vision on the screen. BUT where do I get started? How do I direct my first movie? Ask them to if I can direct it for them? I am confused how they pick directors. 
How do I start out as a Director?
- Thread starter DesperadoMan17
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Hummm. Let me see if I understand the purpose of this forum. So we should say mean things to the noobs to weed them out so they don't spend their family borrowed money? Then the world of film will be better and we won't have to watch bad movies. What was I thinking coming on this forum for useful tips and resources to make better films. I had it all wrong. 
Value is very subjective. As someone who has marketed a feature, which is very much like starting a business, you should understand this.
At least you're confident in yourself.
Don't know if it's about tempering responses versus realizing that we really don't have the right to tell someone else what they should or should not be doing.
Maybe that's the path they have to walk. Who are we to tell anyone otherwise?
If some of us said what we really thought about the work of others I imagine a lot of people would stop visiting the forum and posting material. It's true, there's a lot of back-patting going on, that's just what you get in a room filled with people whom want-to-be, because they think that they would like the same if the tables were turned.
I don't encourage it, and I think it's destructive to progress. But, in some ways it has to have been constructive to someone's progress, giving them a small push to keep going until they could break out of their own stupor and really do something nice/decent.
I admire your resolved attitude and confidence in your work... there are so many questions racing through my head right now that I'd like to ask you, but they would all come off the wrong way. The kind of humility I'm suggesting to you and everyone else is to look at your work, then look at the work of the machine we all tend to criticize from the far far outskirts looking in...
And see that, at this stage, our work may not be any better than the "garbage" or "crap" on the forums we're referring too.
Okay wow. Thanks for the advice. And by the way I am 19. directorik i am asking how do i get my first directing job. Thanks. I will definitely look on craigslist for volunteering
i luvv holliewood movies so for me i can never imajin making a better movie then holliewood. steven spielberg is my favrite directer! i also luvv the cone brothers and lars von trier. honestly most indi movies are shitt 
i ask grips on big movie how do you be a directer? they tell me u need a lot of money
no one higher u unless u establisht. best way to get establisht is make a movie but u cen also be a acter or a river
u need distribushion feechure or festivle short to get establisht but i cn never get it all the festivles say no to real peeple i spend more $$$$$ on festivle then make movie so i want to sell a script get $$$$ to make more movies.
u go to film school to make a short or u make it ur-self when sum-1 seize it and says "WOW$" then u get highered to be a directer
source: my friends are directors!
i am a directer of a short movie.
i ask grips on big movie how do you be a directer? they tell me u need a lot of money
no one higher u unless u establisht. best way to get establisht is make a movie but u cen also be a acter or a river
u need distribushion feechure or festivle short to get establisht but i cn never get it all the festivles say no to real peeple i spend more $$$$$ on festivle then make movie so i want to sell a script get $$$$ to make more movies.u go to film school to make a short or u make it ur-self when sum-1 seize it and says "WOW$" then u get highered to be a directer
source: my friends are directors!
i am a directer of a short movie. 
I'm not sure that I pat someone's back, so they won't tear my work apart. Most of us tear each others work apart any way. What I find particularly distressing about the way filmmakers treat each other is that sometimes I find sympathy lacking.
When they critique another filmmaker's work, they show no mercy, and it's not like s/he is some expert. That's what bothers me. It's not necessary to destroy somebody to make them better. It's possible to just point them in the right direction, treat them kindly, like you would treat a younger sibling, even if they're 60.
Who the hell am I to tell somebody what is 'right' or 'good' anyway? What have I ever proven? I can say "I liked this," or "I couldn't follow that," or "I felt you could have lit it differently," etc, but it doesn't make me right. It's just my taste. Maybe the other guy made his decisions deliberately.
I think we can be civil to each other without having to pat each other on the back.
But I would like to pat YOU on the back though Kholi
. I like your stuff :high five emoticon:
i luvv holliewood movies so for me i can never imajin making a better movie then holliewood. steven spielberg is my favrite directer! i also luvv the cone brothers and lars von trier. honestly most indi movies are shitt
i ask grips on big movie how do you be a directer? they tell me u need a lot of money
no one higher u unless u establisht. best way to get establisht is make a movie but u cen also be a acter or a river
u go to film school to make a short or u make it ur-self when sum-1 seize it and says "WOW$" then u get highered to be a directer
source: my friends are directors! i am a directer of a short movie.
I'm definitely not trying to be a jerk but you should try to use spell-check. I can't understand half the words you are typing. Anyways, you don't need a lot of money to direct. You need some networking skills, motivation, and organization skills to get a project lined up. You can direct a short film for virtually nothing except a camera and an onboard microphone.
Some film festivals are free!
The new youtube film festival coming up is free. I'd check that out!
I'm definitely not trying to be a jerk but you should try to use spell-check. I can't understand half the words you are typing. Anyways, you don't need a lot of money to direct. You need some networking skills, motivation, and organization skills to get a project lined up. You can direct a short film for virtually nothing except a camera and an onboard microphone.
Some film festivals are free!
The new youtube film festival coming up is free. I'd check that out!
I think he was trying to be facetious
edit: i take it back. he seems to write like that in all his posts. but it has to be on purpose. he has to have developed that style himself. Cause I've never seen it anywhere
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I think he was trying to be facetious
edit: i take it back. he seems to write like that in all his posts. but it has to be on purpose. he has to have developed that style himself. Cause I've never seen it anywhere
I love IndieTalk haha
Job as in your first paid job as a director?
Or are you asking how to get started directing your first movie?
FWIW, what little bit I offer to forum members seeking feedback I try to suggest technical solutions to their cinematography on a fantastically limited scale.
If it's too dark or has stupid vignetting I suggest common sense solutions and say "don't vignette. It looks stupid".
Maybe if their audio sucks get some off camera audio or blankets. Something.
But other things... Nah.
If the acting is... poor I won't say squat. That's not a technical thing. I can't suggest to someone to make their actors act more actorly any more than I can tell them to make their 720p HandyCam look like T2i or 2K. That'd be just retarded on my behalf.
I can generally see what a person's asset limitations are, both in front of and behind the camera.
And then there's story construct.
If it makes sense then it makes sense.
If it's 3/4 of the way there maybe I/we can help on the weakest leg.
But then there's some folks that we can all tell they are just batting foul ball's left and right.
I don't think I can help these people. They've almost got it, they just need to keep swinging until they're putting them down-field, so I best shaddap.
I imagine they see what I see.
No sense in telling them "D@mn, Bob/Pete/Betty/Sam! That was ALMOST okay! When you get a little better that'll look GREAT!"
WTH's the point in that?
So, I try to keep my "observations" technically objective.
Maybe as a... what was the terminology Cracker Funk & I were going round 'n round over a few weeks back... ? "Film student"? "Aspiring filmmaker"?
Maybe as an aspiring filmmaker if I or others accumulate enough technical proficiency enough pieces will gel together and before you know it - Boom. We done gone nu-klee-er.
I know my work is cr@p by professional standards.
I aspire to be "less cr@ppy.
That's all.
And offer the same to others.
Kholi, around the time I was approaching "final cut", there were a few folks in other venues (not here) who instead of back patting, pointed out some flaws (for instance, inconsistent final grading) with my feature that wasn't so obvious to me. At the time, it would have passed muster in many venues (youtube, some film festivals), but to reach a higher level, I decided that they were right, and went back to redo every single clip in the film. I'm grateful that some people along the way pointed out this shortcoming.
Besides, if we don't point out crap here, you can bet your next paycheck that somewhere, somebody else (likely many) is (are) going to tell that filmmaker publicly what a load of crap he/she has. When this happens it makes this forum look bad -- the time for that to happen was behind the scenes here among peers, not on the screen for the whole world to see.
We can agree to disagree.
Besides, if we don't point out crap here, you can bet your next paycheck that somewhere, somebody else (likely many) is (are) going to tell that filmmaker publicly what a load of crap he/she has. When this happens it makes this forum look bad -- the time for that to happen was behind the scenes here among peers, not on the screen for the whole world to see.
We can agree to disagree.
To answer directorik's question, did I ever ask, "How do I start out as a director?". Technically, no. I did however, enroll in a filmmaking class, and that's the same idea, but to a greater extent.
To answer the OP, I can't really say much that hasn't already been said. Just get a camera and start making movies, dude. Do your research. Learn the basics, and keep learning. Hone your skills. Alcove gave some great advice, as well, and I don't think what he said is mutually-exclusive from what others have been mentioning. You can and should volunteer to work on other people's projects. Try to get on bigger projects. Work your way up. But don't let that stop you from doing your own thing at the same time.
I would say that if you have to ask the question, "How do I start as a director", only one thing is for sure -- that is exactly what you need to be doing. This art is an absolute blast. Jump in head-first, and have fun!
To answer the OP, I can't really say much that hasn't already been said. Just get a camera and start making movies, dude. Do your research. Learn the basics, and keep learning. Hone your skills. Alcove gave some great advice, as well, and I don't think what he said is mutually-exclusive from what others have been mentioning. You can and should volunteer to work on other people's projects. Try to get on bigger projects. Work your way up. But don't let that stop you from doing your own thing at the same time.
I would say that if you have to ask the question, "How do I start as a director", only one thing is for sure -- that is exactly what you need to be doing. This art is an absolute blast. Jump in head-first, and have fun!
You're talking about two different things, if not three. Constructive Criticism is a completely different idea than Discouraging Advice. Third, the humility thing... that should come from just looking at your own work and comparing it to a major motion picture.
I don't understand how a lot of filmmakers can't do that and realize that we are nowhere near that level, and we all have a lot to learn, a ways to grow... I just don't get it.
Again... I admire and am actually jealous of the confidence you display in your own ability and product.
i luvv ur atitude acshully
i luvv hollywood craft. even n a bad film i love beutyful liting or sets or a grate actor. i can never make it but no one can ever make it a-lone! that is y they higher a crew and it is beutyful all of the talent together and when the story is grate too.... it is magic 
my favrit movie is close encounters of the third kind
u need enuff confidence to say go! but too much u never go far becuz u cannot see how hi road goes and live at rest stop
also u shuld all ways juj performances. it is a directers job to get good acting! be honest and be real
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Maybe I just miss it, then. I rarely ever see anyone outright comment unless someone else does it first. And, nobody wants to be the bad guy.
Any examples? I actually prefer it that way, for myself... but, I can also see how that can be destructive to someone's progress.
Agree on this, for sure. Criticism can only be given subjectively, and it should always be noted that it's opinion not fact. More people should subscribe to that, but I do know some simply do not.
I think we can be civil to each other without having to pat each other on the back.
But I would like to pat YOU on the back though Kholi
Haha thanks, sir. But, pat me when I start making money... the transition from DP to Director has left me pretty broke, and I'm not sure how long I can survive now.
I've got like three dollars to eat with. Wendy's!