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New to film making

I

Imcoolyourenot

Hello everyone I am new to making movies and to this site. I have been wanting to try making movies for a while but I don't know where to start so I hope you guys can give me some good advice. Before I start I should let you know I don't have a camera but I have around $200 to spend on it.


Questions:

1:What camera should I get to start off with?
2:What are some things I need to know to make the movie( Editing, Types of camera shots/angles, etc)


I could also use some tips as I would like to start my own company for a bit till I get my reel built.
 
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Do you, or a relative/friend, have a smartphone with a camera? At $200 I would think it's not even worth dropping the money on a camera when smartphones create similar quality (and sometimes better) footage than a camera at that price bracket.
 
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Imcoolyourenot said:
I have a Galaxy s3. Would that be good enough?
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I don't know much about cameras in the sub $500 range, but I would guess yes. You're still at the level where you are very new and learning about shot types (as I see), framing, editing, etc. You are at the stage where you just need to be making stuff to learn these fundamentals without worrying about the tech stuff, and camera settings. Once you feel a bit better with this stuff, you'll want a decent camera (the Canon T3i is a good low budget option). Once you reach this stage, you'll have outgrown a $200 camera (which is likely no better than your phone - correct me if I'm wrong anyone), so it'll have been a waste of cash.

I'm pretty green myself, but I learnt by just paying attention to the films I liked, there was never a conscious or formal learning process for me. Then I just made stuff, and over time, figured out composition and so on. There are books and videos you can watch on the subject (I'm sure some folks here can recommend you some), but I found learning by doing worked for me.
 
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I'm the type to learn by doing as well. I already have a few ideas for some short films and stuff so I guess I'll just have to see what I can do with the galaxy s3 since it's a bit shaky when filming random stuff.
 
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Hello new dude :cool:

PLEASE READ

Anything that can record video is a good camera to get into filmmaking with. It matters how you shoot, not what you shoot with.

There's a lot about filmmaking you need to know. A LOT.

Write a story.
Get some actors together (friends and family)
Shoot your story with your actors with a camera.
Edit your film.
Post it here and get feedback.

Just play with your camera. Watch movies, and try to imitate scenes and your favorite shots from those films. You'll get an idea of how those films used camera techniques to enhance story.

Shoot anything. Go to a park. Go to a garden and just shoot.

Shoot events. School play? Ask your teacher if you can shoot it instead of being in it. Sports event? Shoot it, and share it with others.

Watch movies. Read books on filmmaking. Ask questions here. Go to youtube, and watch tutorials. Pretty much everything I've learned about filmmaking is from the internet.

Don't worry about gear and youtube subscribers, make films to improve.

Filmmaking is storytelling. Story > Everything Else. It's not about the gear, it's about telling a story. If you do not have a good story, you have nothing. Film is a way of telling stories. Think of it this way. You (the director) are a painter. Your paintbrushes and paints (cast and crew, gear) help you make a better painting. It doesn't matter what kind of paints you have, it matters that you paint well. A painter who can paint well with cheap paints and brushes is better than a painter who is bad and has good paints and brushes. The better you get, the better brushes and paints you get.

Here's a more advanced look at it:

I'd start by reading this Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmmaking

Here are some great youtube channels:

http://www.youtube.com/user/filmriot
http://www.youtube.com/user/indymogul
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBasicFilmmaker
http://www.youtube.com/user/danonabouncycastle
http://www.youtube.com/user/polcan99

There are four stages of filmmaking.

Development.
Preproduction.
Production.
Post Production.
Distribution.

Development is writing or finding a screenplay for the film, as well as knowing how you are going to make the film.

Screenplay:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplay

To write a screenplay, you will need screenwriting software. Since you are beginning, you probably don't have a ton of money. Here's two free programs:

https://www.celtx.com
http://www.adobe.com/products/story-free.html

Here are some helpful websites, articles, and videos.

http://www.screenwriting.info
http://www.writersstore.com/how-to-write-a-screenplay-a-guide-to-scriptwriting/
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Screenplay
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Script
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-Movie-Scripts
http://thescriptlab.com/screenwriting
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/how-not-to-write-a-screenplay
http://www.amazon.com/Save-Last-Book-Screenwriting-Youll/dp/1932907009
http://sydfield.com/products/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZszextv6yE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAWVRqASoYY

Next, you have create a storyboard for the film, which is basically creating drawings or animations to get an idea of what the film is going to be like. Below is a wiki link, and 2 helpful videos.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storyboard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUIZVzElDzc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux_Em1lVsjI

Next, you have to do schedules, shot lists, and other pre-production tasks for the film. Right now, that is not of important you since you do not have a large budget, crew, and cast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUIZVzElDzc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OESM_DK-x8Y

Then, you have to gather a cast and crew. At this level, you are just working with family and friends. Once you get into more advanced filmmaking, you get to work with more professional actors. So get together some friends and family, and shoot.

Next you shoot the film. Below are some links and videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYPrtXZ7HVE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK2IAEO-FUI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohpLsCq12Nw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQt5-Ns-Bfw
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematography
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSo_bMFT5YI

Audio is very important as well. As you make more films and improve as a filmmaker, you can invest in audio equipment and learn more about audio. There are many experienced audio people on this forum that are willing to answer your questions.

After you shoot your film, you have to edit it.

If you are on a Windows computer, you can use Windows Movie Maker, if you are on a Mac, you can use iMovie. Both programs give you access to basic editing tools.

Here are some good articles, pages, and videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U76MBDKQe8s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmvmQHvl9dc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzu9H-uXZ3w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X-okxBz4fU
http://www.wikihow.com/Edit-Movies
http://www.wikihow.com/Edit-a-Video-Clip
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editing

Next is distribution, which is sharing your film. You do not need to worry about that. Just share your film with your family and friends, and if you want to, post your film here, on IndieTalk, to get feedback.

Thanks for reading.
 
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Imcoolyourenot said:
I'm the type to learn by doing as well. I already have a few ideas for some short films and stuff so I guess I'll just have to see what I can do with the galaxy s3 since it's a bit shaky when filming random stuff.
Click to expand...

You can keep the camera steady by setting it on something like a chair or log to keep it still. If you want to, you can buy a tripod for $10 - $20, but it's best not to dive into buying equipment too soon.
 
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Imcoolyourenot said:
Thanks for all the info.. Though I don't think I need the story board and animation thing cause im not going to do animations.
Click to expand...

Storyboarding is pretty important in planning a shoot (sure, animators might use them - I don't animate either, so I don't know the process), but storyboarding is pretty useful.

You don't have to storyboard, of course, you can create shot lists (heaps of people do both, some do neither).

Either way, I think they're particularly important, especially for newbies, because it makes you consider each shot - why you're doing it, what it means, how it can be better, etc. It also will make a shoot run much smoother (as you know what you are shooting, you aren't running around like a headless chicken improvising everything - it's a visual median, so it makes sense to plan what you're doing, you wouldn't ask your actors to improvise an entire story if you were in theatre, I think not planning your shots is similar), and save you headaches in editing (as you won't ahve to reshoot stuff that you realise you need - it can get pretty overwhelming on a day of shooting with everything going on, it's easy to miss a shot if it's not written down)
 
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That makes since.. I also have another problem.. I bit scared of what family/friends will think when i tell them i want to get into film making. I've been in technology for so long and it just doesn't appeal to me and i've been wanting to do this i just dont know how to tell them. any advice on that?
 
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Imcoolyourenot said:
Thanks for all the info.. Though I don't think I need the story board and animation thing cause im not going to do animations.
Click to expand...

Storyboarding can be animation - or it can be simple stick figures. Storyboarding are drawings or animations used to give you an idea of how the film will be shot, and what camera techniques and angles will be used.

Storyboarding is done on pretty much all films. Have you ever seen the movie Ghostbusters?

Here is a scene from Ghostbusters compared to the story-board.

gb1_dvd1999_sbcompare01.jpg


Here's another example:

storyboard-comparison.jpg
 
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Imcoolyourenot said:
That makes since.. I also have another problem.. I bit scared of what family/friends will think when i tell them i want to get into film making. I've been in technology for so long and it just doesn't appeal to me and i've been wanting to do this i just dont know how to tell them. any advice on that?
Click to expand...

Tell them...

Hey! I want to be a filmmaker!

Be straightforward with it. Just tell them.
 
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It's ok haha. I hope I'll have some sort of video up soon.. I want to make tv show type thing. Would that be a bad idea to start with? And do you have a skype or something so we can keep in contact better?
 
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When you say TV show type thing, do you mean a web-series?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_series

Sure, you could start with that. But I'd start with making a short film. It doesn't have to be very long or advanced. Just get a friend or two (or yourself if you can't find anyone), and shoot. It's good to get used to your camera, camera techniques, how to tell a story, how to write a screenplay, and how to edit. Those are basic skills that need to be known before moving on to more advanced projects. You could even make a short film just using objects. There is a filmmaking group named "Film Riot", which does weekly tutorials on filmmaking. Right now they are working on a film, but usually every other Monday they'd do something called the "Monday Challenge". The Monday Challenge was essentially Ryan Connolly (creator of Film Riot) challenging his viewers to make short films with restrictions he gave. Why do I mention this? One of his challenges was called "Monday Challenge: The Emotion". The idea was to create a one minute short film using objects to express emotions. I'm not sure if that makes sense or not, so here's two examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0sSQQpPdH4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3Xgcc_20P8

The idea was to use camera, lighting, editing, music, grading, and other techniques to convey a mood or emotion. I'd start by doing something like that, then moving onto making a few short films by yourself and then with friends and/or family.

You want to understand the basics of filmmaking and storytelling, as well as being capable of creating high-quality and interesting content on a low budget. When you put your work up online, that is how people see you. That is what kind of quality people think you produce. You want to produce good content so that people keep coming back. When people keep coming, you get feedback and a following.

Quality > Quantity

So yeah, a few short films just using objects, then some short films using friends/family, then some more practice with the camera and current editing software, then you can move onto doing youtube web-series type things.

Just my 2 cents.

I'd prefer not to do Skype or video-calls. Although I am always happy to answer questions and give advice and feedback through threads and PM's.
 
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