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WilliamHCasey1993

Whats up guys and gals, My name is Casey and I currently reside in The capital city of Illinois (Springfield). I am currently earning my degree in music but originally wanted to have a career in entertainment (specifically film making). But with much discouragement from myself and those around me I never even so much as used my camcorder or got involved in any projects. Now I'm 21 and I have that desire again. It never left really. All this has lead me to reconsider my career goals and my major.

So now I'm a full time janitor, paying my way through schooling. And while I love writing and performing music, I've never once had the same motivation or jolt that I get with the very thought of making movies. My job leaves me unfulfilled and unutilized, which in turn is motivating me greatly to get the hell away from it. Thanks for reading and I plan on using this forum often, seeing as there seems to be a lot of great advice floating around.
 
Hello, William,

I'm in the same situation, except I'm a few decades older than you. I have also been discouraged, because, even though I have been snooping around and asking questions for several years, I have not shot a single frame of film. But things are slowly and painfully coming together, so I may be ready to film soon.

That said, here's my advice to you. Concentrate on one thing at a time - finish that music degree, then see if you can compose music for film. If that is not viable, then get a diploma in, say, audio production or whatever part of film-making interests you. With that in hand, along with your first degree, you may be able to get a job and then you will be on your way.

Good luck, and I hope to see you here often. :)
 
Welcome, Casey.

Make a few short films.

You don't need top of the line equipment. You don't need skilled actors.
You don't need a great script. You need to make a few short films. Even
if you spent two days a month working on a short you could have one
finished by the end of July. Change that commitment to one day a week
and you could have two (or even three) finished shorts before school
starts up again.

It's not going to be easy. The commitment will be a challenge. The final
results will be frustrating. But you will be a filmmaker.
 
directorik said:
Welcome, Casey.

Make a few short films.

You don't need top of the line equipment. You don't need skilled actors.
You don't need a great script. You need to make a few short films. Even
if you spent two days a month working on a short you could have one
finished by the end of July. Change that commitment to one day a week
and you could have two (or even three) finished shorts before school
starts up again.

It's not going to be easy. The commitment will be a challenge. The final
results will be frustrating. But you will be a filmmaker.
Click to expand...

Hey, Thanks a lot. Encouragement like this really goes a long way. I appreciate the advice. Looks like I'm gonna start writing today.
 
Aspiring Mogul said:
Hello, William,

I'm in the same situation, except I'm a few decades older than you. I have also been discouraged, because, even though I have been snooping around and asking questions for several years, I have not shot a single frame of film. But things are slowly and painfully coming together, so I may be ready to film soon.

That said, here's my advice to you. Concentrate on one thing at a time - finish that music degree, then see if you can compose music for film. If that is not viable, then get a diploma in, say, audio production or whatever part of film-making interests you. With that in hand, along with your first degree, you may be able to get a job and then you will be on your way.

Good luck, and I hope to see you here often. :)
Click to expand...

Hey, Thanks man. It's great to see people from all walks of life share similar passions/struggles. And it's never too late to start. Let me know when you finish up your project(s). I would love to see what you end up creating.
 
WilliamHCasey1993 said:
I've never once had the same motivation or jolt that I get with the very thought of making movies.
Click to expand...

Seems to me like you have this backwards, and you have more motivation for music. Motivation is actually doing something!

Anyway the past is lost to us, we can only change what's to come.
The best thing is to start with as small of a project as possible!

It cannot possibly be too small. It could be 7 seconds and that's great.
It could be 1 page or 2 pages of script.

The smaller the project the faster you will get your first film under your belt.

Congratulations on working you way through school, I did the same thing and it's not easy.
 
sfoster said:
Seems to me like you have this backwards, and you have more motivation for music. Motivation is actually doing something!

Anyway the past is lost to us, we can only change what's to come.
The best thing is to start with as small of a project as possible!

It cannot possibly be too small. It could be 7 seconds and that's great.
It could be 1 page or 2 pages of script.

The smaller the project the faster you will get your first film under your belt.

Congratulations on working you way through school, I did the same thing and it's not easy.
Click to expand...

You're right. Music has always been a big part of my life and very accessible to me. There's many reasons why I've never shot anything. Most of those reasons aren't legitimate reasons, but rather excuses such as "what if my first film is crap". And if music has taught me anything it's that there is nothing wrong with imperfection and it is often the case that imperfections are the foundation of perfection (if there even is such a thing). Thanks for the advice! I assure you I will use it.
 
WilliamHCasey1993 said:
You're right. Music has always been a big part of my life and very accessible to me. There's many reasons why I've never shot anything. Most of those reasons aren't legitimate reasons, but rather excuses such as "what if my first film is crap". And if music has taught me anything it's that there is nothing wrong with imperfection and it is often the case that imperfections are the foundation of perfection (if there even is such a thing). Thanks for the advice! I assure you I will use it.
Click to expand...

Welcome!
And don't worry: I can assure you: you're first movie will probably be crap, but you'll feel proud you finished it and you will have learnt a lot from that experience.
I can tell you this from my own experience: my first projects weren't pure genius either.
Actually, almost everyone's first movie is crappy.
And that's ok, because that is part of learning.

Remember the first time you learnt to write?
It started crappy, right?
Cycling, sports, playing an instrument... it all starts crappy, but you felt great, because you did something new :)

So, don't pretend to be a perfectionist and use that to not make movies.
You can only be one by making things again and again and again until it's perfect.
:P

To encourage you a bit:
this was one of my very first attempts in movie making:
made in 2000, shot on a crappy webcam on a not that fast computer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jZYpSxssYc

It's not great at all, but the experience was really great!
I loved it.
And I still love making movies :)

So, go ahead!
Make something short, do your best and don't be afraid to fail.
You'll only get better.
 
Last edited:
WalterB said:
Welcome!
And don't worry: I can assure you: you're first movie will probably be crap, but you'll feel proud you finished it and you will have learnt a lot from that experience.
I can tell you this from my own experience: my first projects weren't pure genius either.
Actually, almost everyone's first movie is crappy.
And that's ok, because that is part of learning.

Remember the first time you learnt to write?
It started crappy, right?
Cycling, sports, playing an instrument... it all starts crappy, but you felt great, because you did something new :)

So, don't pretend to be a perfectionist and use that to not make movies.
You can only be one by making things again and again and again until it's perfect.
:P

To encourage you a bit:
this was one of my very first attempts in movie making:
made in 2000, shot on a crappy webcam on a not that fast computer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jZYpSxssYc

It's not great at all, but the experience was really great!
I loved it.
And I still love making movies :)

So, go ahead!
Make something short, do your best and don't be afraid to fail.
You'll only get better.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot, man. I really appreciate you sharing your first effort. Though you didn't have live actors, you made use of what you did have, and that's very eye opening to me. The webcam also gave it a very atmospheric look. Thanks again for the motivation, and hopefully I get to see some more of your work :)
 
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