what are some important things new filmmakers should know and understand?
Tips for new filmmakers?
- Thread starter laurenvictoria
- Start date
What i believe is the utter most important thing is:
You learn by doing!
What does this mean?
Go and make films, look at them, see what can be improved, make another film, show it to someone, get opinion on what can be improved, make another film, look at it, see what can be improved, make another film, show it to someone else, get opinion on what can be improved. Did you learn a new technique? make a film focusing on it. Did you buy a new piece of equipment? make a film that shows it off as much as possible.
and by the way, the term "film" doesn't mean it has to be 180 minutes. It can be just 2, 3 minutes.
Utilize what you have, don't think too much about buying fancy equipments, and just make films
You learn by doing!
What does this mean?
Go and make films, look at them, see what can be improved, make another film, show it to someone, get opinion on what can be improved, make another film, look at it, see what can be improved, make another film, show it to someone else, get opinion on what can be improved. Did you learn a new technique? make a film focusing on it. Did you buy a new piece of equipment? make a film that shows it off as much as possible.
and by the way, the term "film" doesn't mean it has to be 180 minutes. It can be just 2, 3 minutes.
Utilize what you have, don't think too much about buying fancy equipments, and just make films
I like rules. Learn and practice the basic rules of filmmaking and photography. Where to start? The rule of thirds is my personal fav (I use it, to the best of my ability, in probably 95% of all of my footage).
Rules, rules, rules.. You can learn them, but you don't have to.
I have never learned rules from a book, like the rule of thirds, I just use whats best looking to my eye, and I basically use the rule of thirds naturally
I think that you have to look at specific rules, like the 180 degree rule, with a dialogue and stuff like that!
Get familiar with your equipment, learn camera techniques and make as many mistakes as you want!
Then, someday you will look back at your work and will ask yourself, what you were thinking.
Now, stop reading on the forum and shoot some videos
Have fun
I have never learned rules from a book, like the rule of thirds, I just use whats best looking to my eye, and I basically use the rule of thirds naturally
I think that you have to look at specific rules, like the 180 degree rule, with a dialogue and stuff like that!
Get familiar with your equipment, learn camera techniques and make as many mistakes as you want!
Then, someday you will look back at your work and will ask yourself, what you were thinking.
Now, stop reading on the forum and shoot some videos
Have fun
Even if you can see an exposed image your shot is not lit. Use
lighting. Tip: light your background.
Audio is half the experience. In some ways audio is 60% of the
experience. People will forgive a less than excellent picture but
not forgive poor audio.
Make a movie you have passion for. Something you can show
without explaining it or apologizing for it. Even if it isn't perfect.
My number one important thing: Make several movies. Do NOT
put all you energy into one movie. Look at your filmmaking as a
long term thing. Your first one isn't going to be very good. Your
fifth one will be better. And number ten will be better still.
Ditto Rik's very good post.
Stop making excuses, stop trying to make the perfect film and just make a film. See what you did well in it, see what you did badly in it, learn, don't make the same mistakes twice.
Stop making excuses, stop trying to make the perfect film and just make a film. See what you did well in it, see what you did badly in it, learn, don't make the same mistakes twice.
Learn by doing. Try and try again. Get out there and do what you can with what you have. Embrace the process and have fun. It's not easy to make great movies, but with enough practice, patience and persistence, anything is possible. No one will fault you for trying your best and you won't know what your best is until you try.
(although questions have been raised as to whether or not this quote can be directly credited to Goethe)
Make sure to have at least one monkey in each of your movies.
Everybody likes monkeys.
Everybody likes monkeys.
Ahh Best tip i have ever recieved. Thank you wise man.
thanks everyone! these are great!
Create films with compelling contents, keep it short (including feature films).
People want to be entertained, not just watch your film.
People want to be entertained, not just watch your film.
Rules, rules, rules.. You can learn them, but you don't have to.
I have never learned rules from a book, like the rule of thirds, I just use whats best looking to my eye, and I basically use the rule of thirds naturally
I think that you have to look at specific rules, like the 180 degree rule, with a dialogue and stuff like that!
Get familiar with your equipment, learn camera techniques and make as many mistakes as you want!
Then, someday you will look back at your work and will ask yourself, what you were thinking.
Now, stop reading on the forum and shoot some videos
Have fun
I appreciate your sentiment, but I don't see anything wrong with learning from those who've come before us. If we all just learned everything on our own, without ever learning the lessons that those before us are teaching, we'd still be using stone tools.
The rule of thirds, for example, does not come naturally to the vast majority of people who take pictures. Most people follow the rule of putting the face dead-center in the picture.
The great thing about art is that you don't have to follow any rules, ever. But that doesn't mean it isn't a good idea to learn them, and then you can decide when you want to break them, and why.
"Sound is half of the experience."
While not exactly true, the thing you should take away from it is that sound is also very, very important.
Related: Don't buy cheap microphones, as decent quality mics will last you for a long time.
While not exactly true, the thing you should take away from it is that sound is also very, very important.
Related: Don't buy cheap microphones, as decent quality mics will last you for a long time.
It's a very binary thing, though, isn't it? Either your sound is terrible and people notice how bad it is, or it's decent and people don't notice it at all. I know, Alcove is going to jump on my case here, but only hardcore audiophiles or people who work on sound are going to notice the difference between merely adequate audio and truly outstanding audio. I think.
Unless your name is "M. Night Shyamalan" I guess.
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Consciously, yes.
Unconsciously, everyone notices the difference between adequate and outstanding audio. They may not know it but thats y they were so immersed in the movie and why they felt every punch on the screen and y the they cried at the end etc.
All of the above are good tips,
I'd add:
Build confidence in what you're doing, people start responding better once you are more confident, this just takes field experience
Learn about color correction, and how people use this $0 artform to get the most out of any footage
Connect with other people, and make your film a group effort
Buy a camera without a fixed lens
Learn the rule of thirds
Learn about establishing shots and set extensions
Post produce your own work for a while. Even if you'll eventually hire others to do it, you need to know what's easy and what's hard in post in order to compose your shots accordingly. IE a little too dim can be fixed, but a little too bright is tougher.
Just like guitar, learn your favorite riffs. If you see a scene in a film that you like, try and see how closely you can replicate it. Even if you think you know how to do it already, going through the motions of getting a great shot reinforces that skill, and allows you to begin creating high quality scenes more naturally.
Start from the very beginning trying for originality. You can remake Dracula and still be very original, but just avoid stringing together cliches, as this is often a curse amongst beginning filmmakers, that bores the viewers and reduces your chances of notice.
I'd add:
Build confidence in what you're doing, people start responding better once you are more confident, this just takes field experience
Learn about color correction, and how people use this $0 artform to get the most out of any footage
Connect with other people, and make your film a group effort
Buy a camera without a fixed lens
Learn the rule of thirds
Learn about establishing shots and set extensions
Post produce your own work for a while. Even if you'll eventually hire others to do it, you need to know what's easy and what's hard in post in order to compose your shots accordingly. IE a little too dim can be fixed, but a little too bright is tougher.
Just like guitar, learn your favorite riffs. If you see a scene in a film that you like, try and see how closely you can replicate it. Even if you think you know how to do it already, going through the motions of getting a great shot reinforces that skill, and allows you to begin creating high quality scenes more naturally.
Start from the very beginning trying for originality. You can remake Dracula and still be very original, but just avoid stringing together cliches, as this is often a curse amongst beginning filmmakers, that bores the viewers and reduces your chances of notice.
You're right, I am going to stomp all over you!
It's when your project is finally shown in a theatre - or on a really nice home system - that the flaws will jump out of the speakers. Since theatrical (or at least TV) is, hopefully, your goal you should always strive for that level of sound quality.
I am in no way a hardcore audiophile. What jumps out at me the most
in no budget movies is (in order) poor audio and poor lighting. I can
look past poor lighting (assuming the image is exposed) if the story,
characters, direction, audio and actors are excellent. I cannot get past
poor audio even if there is excellent lighting.
in no budget movies is (in order) poor audio and poor lighting. I can
look past poor lighting (assuming the image is exposed) if the story,
characters, direction, audio and actors are excellent. I cannot get past
poor audio even if there is excellent lighting.
This couldn't be more wrong.
Sound IS 50% of the experience of any movie. Whilst true that the average viewer may not notice great sound; the audience ALWAYS notices bad sound. If the room tone is different on each take of a conversation, even the most uneducated to film layperson will get ripped out of the moment. They may not know why, but the scene will lose impact as opposed to be enveloped by the scene.
This is just my opinion.
Wombat.
Learn about quality audio and what audio quality does to your film and then say that.
It's pretty obvious from your post you haven't had much of an education of audio and how it can enhance a picture.
That's like me saying to you: "I don't think people can tell the difference between a GH2 and T2i footage."
But, from your other posts, I can tell you've done your research and you know the difference between them.. Same thing with bad quality and good quality audio IMO.
My advice to the op:
"Learn everything you possibly can about writing scripts with audio in mind and how you can incorporate the soundtrack as a storytelling device in your film and you'll have it made".
Learn about quality audio and what audio quality does to your film and then say that.
It's pretty obvious from your post you haven't had much of an education of audio and how it can enhance a picture.
That's like me saying to you: "I don't think people can tell the difference between a GH2 and T2i footage."
But, from your other posts, I can tell you've done your research and you know the difference between them.. Same thing with bad quality and good quality audio IMO.
My advice to the op:
"Learn everything you possibly can about writing scripts with audio in mind and how you can incorporate the soundtrack as a storytelling device in your film and you'll have it made".
By "adequate audio" I'm not suggesting simply buying a decent mic and paying your best friend's cousin in sandwiches to stand around with it on a boom pole for a few days. You can use a skilled boom op and even do some basic mixing in post, but for most small scale, independent films that aren't super action heavy, I think hiring a very skilled professional audio guy is more of a luxury than a necessity (sorry Alcove!).
As an example, if I had to choose between professional sound mixing or visual editing, I would choose visual editing. I'm a believer in the primacy of visual impact in film, and while I completely respect the importance of sound, I'm also a pragmatist who understands microbudgets. Certainly if you have the budget you should hire someone like Alcove (we cool, rite) to make sure your film's audio is superb. Budget-awareness is always at the forefront of my mind, however.
Sorry for the ambiguity but I wouldn't consider mistakes like changing room tones or imbalanced volume or wind noise or any of the other no-budget/rookie mistakes to be 'adequate'. Excellent audio certainly enhances many genres (action films in particular) but for your typical indie comedy or drama as long as your audio isn't distracting it should be fine.
What you should take away from my posts is that audio is very important and shouldn't be ignored regardless of my specific points.
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