The 7 Deadly Sins New Filmmakers Make

[Visual Typist]

1) Neglecting Sound
2) Hiring Friends
3) No Script
4) Using Music without Rights
5) Making Blockbusters that Aren't
6) Writing Outside of What They Know
7) Ignoring the Art of Filmmaking

I've just posted the names of the 7 sins here. The entire article with details is on behindfilm.com (It's longish).

What do you guys think? Agree or disagree?

 

[sonnyboo]

I think the biggest sin of every beginning filmmaker is not understanding that movies are a SHOW ME medium, not a TELL ME medium.

Most beginners add obvious dialogue that could have been better told visually without the words. Using the words when they are most potent.

That's usually true because the words being said by beginners aren't as interesting as they think. This is why Kevin Smith's CLERKS is a great exception. The dialogue was incredible. Most beginners (and even some professionals) are not writing incredible dialogue.

 

[ItDonnedOnMe]

Where I do agree with you is that at some point a filmmaker will
need to work with experienced, qualified people. But beginning
filmmakers shouldn't wait. They should be making movies. Even
crappy ones

I absolutely agree - except I'd go even further and say probably the worst 'deadly sin' a beginning filmmaker can make is not making films with whatever resources they currently have available. There are plenty of reasons people seem to come up with for not making films - they need a better camera, or better crew, or more money, or more time. The problem is as a beginning filmmaker you suck anyway, your first films are also likely to suck and you aren't getting any better by not making them. The sooner you start making them the sooner you can get to making better ones, the more you make the better you'll get, the better you get the better you'll be at judging what really is worth waiting for and what isn't. At some point you may in fact decide you need more professional crew - but if you've been making the films with your friends you may find that your friends have been learning and improving right along with you.

 

[RicGrayMovies]

Directorik, you couldn't be more correct in your previous post.

I know that I have a long way to go as a filmmaker but I've already come a long way from starting out by filming with very little idea of what I was doing. And like all aspects of life, the more you do it, the better you get at it. Even if your friends or yourself cannot act, it is through the mistakes that you learn how to not do the same thing again.

If I had waited until my degree started before experimenting with film, and worked in a professional environment, I would have absolutely no clue what I was doing, or trying to achieve. Or what I was trying to achieve would be far above and beyond what COULD be achieved, because that's what new filmmakers struggle with! I'm only just getting to grips with it myself!

I think that having too much ambition with little is what can make a filmmaker grow into a resourceful person over time. You can't just wait for it to happen, you've gotta go out there and do it as much as you can!

 

[directorik]

I think that having too much ambition with little is what can make a filmmaker grow into a resourceful person over time. You can't just wait for it to happen, you've gotta go out there and do it as much as you can!

Same wavelength, my same-name friend.

I learned so much as a beginning filmmaker by having too much
ambition - by breaking Visual Typist’s fifth and sixth deadly sin.
I tried to make films way beyond my means, my knowledge and
experience. I failed. And that failure is what helped me become a
better filmmaker.

I fully acknowledge that my method isn’t for everyone. Many people
don’t like to fail so they do as Visual Typist suggests and they
wait. There is, I guess, some advantage in that.

 

[Visual Typist]

I agree with pretty much all of your points. It is important to make a lot of film as practice. However when you begin to make films that you would like to release to the public and post on the net don't just put your friend Joey in it just because he's available.

Everything you put on the net and release to the public can be seen by potential employers, producers, etc....

 

[chilipie]

I agree with pretty much all of your points. It is important to make a lot of film as practice. However when you begin to make films that you would like to release to the public and post on the net don't just put your friend Joey in it just because he's available.

Everything you put on the net and release to the public can be seen by potential employers, producers, etc....

I disagree. I think having feedback - both congratulatory and critical - at that stage is crucial to progressing as a filmmaker. The web just makes it even easier to have your work reviewed by people who are, if not at the top of the business, a few steps up from you. As long as you've improved, why would anyone care what your first work was like?

 

[2001 Productions]

course, if you're like me and have neither money to hire a crew nor friends, you just do every damn thing yourself

 

[ItDonnedOnMe]

I disagree as well. Filmmaking is about communicating something to an audience - how can you practice that without an audience? Relying on your friends for criticism and honest feedback on your film could could be one of the 'sins' - especially if they are the same friends who are making the film with you. Putting your films online is a really valuable way of getting that feedback and growing as a filmmaker - and you're going to hear it if your friend Joey really was a terrible casting choice for the lead.

As for potential employers, etc - there are lots of people out there with great reels. You know what's impressive to me? To see someone make a 'bad' video, get some feedback, and make a better one - and keep doing it. If I'm looking to hire I want someone who's good at incorporating feedback into their work and that's an easy way to see they can do so.