Shall I follow my dream ?

L

lightcameraction

Hey!Am either showing my usual stupidity or following my dream but im not exactly sure what im doing so I would like an opinion. :lol:

So im sixteen years old and im a student now.2-3 years ago I used to be a pretty good student.Good marks,I was studying ,going on competitions and everything.I wanted to become so much things at the age of 12-13 like every other child.I wanted to become like Indiana Jones , then super spy like James Bond and basically I was following all these movie characters and they were my role models.

1 and a half years ago I decided to do make my own World of Warcraft clip.So I made it and I edited it.Then I was thinking - can I edit a real footage and tell some sort of story?So I give it a try.I started editing this footage.I loved it.At the time ( yes im just not gonna lie to you ) I just downloaded After Effects . I started learning different stuffs and I downloaded Zbrush and 3D max as well.I was just thinking of having fun.

Then a friend of mine asked me to make him a music video and I gave it a try.It worked very well,he paid me.Then a lot of my parents friends were invitng me to some sort of weddings and other things like that to shoot different stuff,I found a job and I bought After Effects and a Canon 550D.

I started doing shorts but I left school.( I mean,with my spirit )

It's just way too boring.People are teaching you stuff that you don't even use,they hate their job but they don't have a choice since my country is very poor and if they quit their job - no way they can find a better one.

I just started doing short films ,VFX - everything.Ofcourse,I was absolutely terrible at short films - I am terrible now as well , but im getting better and better with every little film I make.
I learnt to do really really cool effects in After Effects.Every time i just get creative and find new ways to do certain effect from some movie.


Last week I missed 3 days of school.I said to my parents that I don't feel well at all.And when they went to work I just started doing some effects.After that I finished a short film and I do this every week.I don't have time for anything else,I have so much passion about it.And a lot of people asking me for favours - to edit a clip , maby small short or some wedding video .I get money out of it and I keep on doing in because I totally love it.I just wanna kiss filmmaking in the face.

Im getting really bad at school , I don't study,but I don't even want to.I hate so much school and I just wait every day to go back from it to do films.And while Im in school I think what im gonna do.I though that it's just for a week or two like the Indiana Jones things but no ..It's more than a year - it's probably 2 years now.

Just .. The way you create your own world.Just think of it,you can do anything.Create your own creatures,effects.You find A LOT of nice people and all these things are just incredible.Last week we almost killed ourselves filming something in a cave , last month we went to a mountain to shoot something with like 10 people and almost felt in a river.

Oh god im jsut gonna stop now cuz its way too much..What shall I do ? I can't stop the filmmaking , I just can't .
But I'm becoming bad at school .. Is school that important ? Like Biology,Chemistry..you don't need that to become a director or VFX artist,do you ?And This is not that much of a question,I will follow my dream actually no matter if im gonna crash and burn or if im gonna be successful . But what are going to be the consequences ?
 
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I'd say follow your dream and pursue your passion.

However, I'd also suggest you do well in school. If you can manage your tiem effectively and go to school, at least pass and do film stuff in your downtime.
You don't necessarily need a degree or even high school certificate to make it in this industry, but think of how much better you will be viewed? If you can rock up to a vfx company, show them a great reel and a degree, you're more likely to be hired than the guy who rocks up with a similar quality reel but no degree.
 
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First off, welcome to Indietalk.

Now even I was in your situation last year. I was in my senior high school studying Higher math and science. I knew I wanted to become a filmmaker in life . I said the same to my parents. They were cool about it except the fact that the job had no reasonable security and advised me to finish by undergraduation in a college of my choice and in any decent Major. I like computer science so took up Computer Science engineering. While I attend my college, I joined a film club in the campus and I spend around 7-8 hours per week writing scripts, shooting video's, editing it. So basically, these 4 years, I dont want to waste my time. After I graduate, I'm planning to attend a film school in the US . Hope my story helped you :)
 
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Try to do both.

You're getting some money out of it, which is great for your age. So it's proof enough that you're work is worth something.

How much time in school have you got left ?
 
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You'll of course ignore the advice of your old Uncle Bob, but...

Stick it out and learn the "boring" stuff; it's sometimes astounding what you'll need later in life and even in your career. (BTW, I would like a few examples of "stuff that you don't even use.")

Get your schooling. You don't have to get a college degree, but learn a vocation other than filmmaking; it's always nice to have an income source when you need it. It's especially nice if your vocation can be applied to filmmaking. Any one of the various flavors of IT management can be applied to filmmaking as can programming skills; so can just a regular management or accounting degree - or even law.



"Life has been meant 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
 
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Hey bro,

Other sixteen your old guy here.

I am in my last 2 months now because i am just following my dream! And i know there is such a huge risk. People can say what they want and tell me to go to school, but i will do what i want! It feels right!

I am quitting in July, going to Vienna for 6 months in october to work with a well known DP there. Then in April it's to Amsterdam and hopefully that's enough to start off on my own. I get quite steady, well paid work here. Just made it all more serious by upgrading to a Sony FS100.

If it is what you think you want to do and it will make sense and you know where to go, do it!
 
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thank you guys,i appreciate that a lot .
Thanks for the "Uncle Bob" ..but yea,I will most likely not follow your advice :D Thanks though!

One more thing.Let me get this straight.Im in high school and i left studying,HOWEVER I will probably go to college and get a degree ,since in my country we have film school.In order to get there,you need to film,edit ,introduce a film,and work with actors.There's nothing else you need.Which is awesome.I mean .. i will quit studying,however Ill get better in films and probably my chances of going to film school in my country would get bigger ?Don't you guys think?
More opinions?
Thanks a lot btw :))
 
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I'm kind of the same as you at the moment, except I'm still doing ok in school :) I haven't thought of any other specific jobs that I want to do either as I just really want to focus all my efforts and energy into filmmaking.
 
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I'm of two minds... The dreamer in me says go for it! Drop everything and just follow your passion whereever it may lead.

The pragmatist in me now that I'm 40 years old, sees that I've used the stuff in real life that I thought I would never need when I was in school (I've even used it in filmmaking). It sees that there are little milestones that may seem like no big deal now that will come back and bite you in the ass later in life (no degree being a huge one that I ran into, it recently set my career back 20 years to when I should have gotten the degree in the first place).

However, I now have responsibilities that I cannot fail (kids, wife, house)... so my aspirations are now always based on the ability to support that foundation. 21 years ago (my son is 20), failing miserably would have been something I could recover from later on... if you're going to go for something that you might fail miserably at -- do so young when you have time to recover from it, but never forget that there are things you can do that are simple things that can help you climb back up once you've failed. Education is the most obvious one.

Finish primary school. At university, pursue something in film that makes you happy and a better filmmaker. You'll gain skills through mentorship and build a network of likeminded filmmakers that you'll draw on in the future. A job is something you do (passion or not)... a career is build from the foundation up. The foundation of filmmaking is your network of other filmmakers. Film School gives you a simple way to make a network.

I spent 10 years building my filmmaking network without school, that is just starting to pan out into projects... my school contacts, however, consider me when doing projects... that network panned out in 2-4 years.

You are filled with the hubris of youth, and most likely won't heed the advice from the other side thinking you're immune to whatever has befallen us old people... but you'd be the exception, not the rule... and in filmmaking, even the exceptions (successful indie filmmakers) built a foundation that they draw upon to be successful.
 
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Phil_UK said:
I am quitting in July, going to Vienna for 6 months in october to work with a well known DP there.
Click to expand...

That's the really old school route - an apprenticeship with an experienced pro. In my opinion even better than a couple of semesters in film school; real hands-on experience.


lightcameraction said:
Thanks "Uncle Bob" ..but yea,I will most likely not follow your advice :D Thanks though!
Click to expand...

Maybe your the one in a million, but I think that in the long run you'll regret it.
 
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I would go with Uncle Bob. Luckily your young enough to make mistakes and recover from them. While I think you should go with your dreams, a delay of a year or two shouldn't stop you. Sometimes you need to be able to get the job to pay for the equipment to pursue your dreams.
 
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I know when I was in high school half the stuff I thought 'I'd never use' and just wanted to get out of there and make my dream happen. Turns out you use a whole lot of stuff you learn at school in the real world, and getting decent marks at school allowed me to go to a better film school which allowed me to make better contacts, better networks and learn more relevant things.

edit to add*:
Math is one thing used heaps in the film industry - whether it's adding up budgets or calculating the exposure difference in filters or calculating the runtime depending on feet of film etc.
 
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