Would anyone be interested in helping a young girl fulfill her dreams?

D

DreamBig

My name is Anna Turner, this morning my father decided he was going to help me start making films to the best of his ability. MY father has no experience in making films :) so I leave it up to the world of artists to help me. I need to know where to get filming equipment, how much that equipment costs, what it does, how many I need etc... the basics from the start really :) much thanks to all who read and my heart to all who help.
 
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Lucky Hardwood said:
Your package is on it's way. Unfortunately, the soft cases would not fit into the box. You will need to get a decent case, I recommend Pelican cases. You need a tripod that is designed for a video camera and has fairly stout legs. A good fluid head with drag control is nice. I use Bogen, but they are a tad spendy when you are on a budget. Since you have paid nothing for the camera and your brother can do the sound for you, you might be able to get your parents to pony up for a better set of legs (the tripod) and head (the part that the camera attaches to). I also included the owner's manual for the camera and a field user's guide. Study them both and experiment with the various settings.
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Thank you so much! The cases are not a problem, I think so especially if you recommend them. My parents probably won't need much convincing considering my dad is almost twice as exited as I am! :D
 
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DreamBig said:
How about this:
Write script,
Post it on IT,
Get constructive criticism,
Edit script,
Re-post on IT,
Get advice on how to shoot it,
Shoot it,
Post it on IT,
Get constructive criticism,
Edit,
Re-post it,
Have it praised.
What do you think about that to do list?
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I'm not sure why so many people are trying to help you when you seem so reluctant to accept that WE'VE ALL DONE IT BEFORE and that it's GOING TO BE TOUGH and that you won't just waltz into it.

Don't shoot your first script. Writing requires practice and experience. You don't get your driving license after one lesson, you've got to put the hours into learning and practising first.

My advice would be to sit down one day and write ten five-page scripts. And I'll bet that, even if they barely have any story to them, the tenth one is the best. Screenwriting only gets easier if you keep working at it.

I don't agree with people telling you that your first film will be terrible, but it really depends on how hard you're willing to work on it, and how much practise you're willing to put in beforehand. I wrote maybe 20 short scripts before I wrote my first short. And, before I made that short film, I learnt what I could about film production and directing. And I took it all seriously, and new it'd be hard and that I'd make mistakes. The film I produced isn't perfect by a long way, but it's not terrible. But I know that it would've been terrible if I hadn't taken the bother to work on everything before I made it/
 
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Alcove is right. It is possible that you will be that one ultra rare exception that is a true prodigy and begins making outstanding content right away, but don't count on it. Do not get discouraged by your failures because you learn more from failing than by succeeding. You will get seemingly harsh, even brutal, criticism, but remember that it is not personal and is intended to make you a better filmmaker.
 
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Alcove Audio said:
Trust me, when Nick says "Savaged" he means it. Here on IndieTalk "Savaged" means constructive criticism, but it's going to be harsh.

I'm going to remind you again, your first attempts are going to be bad. Maybe about 0.000000001% come up with something brilliant on their first try. There's just too much you need to learn.

If your desire was to be a great guitar player you would need many, many, many focused hours of practicing to be good, and then quintuple that if you want to be truly great. You're not going to blow Jimi Hendrix off the stage three days after you get your first guitar. The same applies to all artistic disciplines, and they are truly disciplines that require LOTS of practice.
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Lol, I know and I'm prepared just a little sarcasm on my part. When you started talking about guitars I laughed, everything I need to know about anything that has to do with guitars is chissled into my brothers mind XD
 
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Il agree and disagree with nick, yes you will have to rewrite, however your first ever script might actually be good, I'm filming my short based on my first ever script.. Iv had 10% critism, 90% praise.

Not saying it's perfect but it's managed to convince people this could be the start of something big, If you pm me your email il send it to you, I re-wrote it 6 times and I'm still changing the dialogue in rehearsals.

Again it comes down to talent, if you have it your a step ahead, if you don't then you need to work harder to gain the reputation
 
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DreamBig said:
What do I o if I have trouble with the actors and their dialog? What if they are to quiet and uncomfortable, or to loud and proud? Or put pauses in the wrong places?
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Tell them and explain everything how you want it, do not settle for less, I'm dealing with an actor with ADHD and I have him under control he performs exactly as I say..
 
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Sorry but you are asking very very basic questions that you can very easily find on the web.

Please education yourself by finding great information and then start asking questions .

There is a great information out there that will help you out a whole lot then just throwing random questions .
 
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Lucky Hardwood said:
Alcove is right. It is possible that you will be that one ultra rare exception that is a true prodigy and begins making outstanding content right away, but don't count on it. Do not get discouraged by your failures because you learn more from failing than by succeeding. You will get seemingly harsh, even brutal, criticism, but remember that it is not personal and is intended to make you a better filmmaker.
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Thanks and I know....
 
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NickClapper said:
I'm not sure why so many people are trying to help you when you seem so reluctant to accept that WE'VE ALL DONE IT BEFORE and that it's GOING TO BE TOUGH and that you won't just waltz into it.

Don't shoot your first script. Writing requires practice and experience. You don't get your driving license after one lesson, you've got to put the hours into learning and practising first.

My advice would be to sit down one day and write ten five-page scripts. And I'll bet that, even if they barely have any story to them, the tenth one is the best. Screenwriting only gets easier if you keep working at it.

I don't agree with people telling you that your first film will be terrible, but it really depends on how hard you're willing to work on it, and how much practise you're willing to put in beforehand. I wrote maybe 20 short scripts before I wrote my first short. And, before I made that short film, I learnt what I could about film production and directing. And I took it all seriously, and new it'd be hard and that I'd make mistakes. The film I produced isn't perfect by a long way, but it's not terrible. But I know that it would've been terrible if I hadn't taken the bother to work on everything before I made it/
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It was just a little joke I'm sorry.
 
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lightcameraction said:
Sorry but you are asking very very basic questions that you can very easily find on the web.

Please education yourself by finding great information and then start asking questions .

There is a great information out there that will help you out a whole lot then just throwing random questions .
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I've tried searching it on the web and that's how I found this website. Would you rather me search everything and go at it? I ask questions as I need them.
 
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I in no way want to promote myself, but I just want to show improvement.

This film was made in 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGqjLCVc5sQ&list=PL2D2EE6D093DB3898&index=4

I completed this earlier this year
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYJOsRWuEJg&list=PL2D2EE6D093DB3898&index=59

The first was me and my mate acting, next to no rehearsal, no script, no professional actors, one of the crappiest cameras ever made, a tripod that didnt even have a moving head + one leg was broken and just taped up. Made in just a few hours, the concept of color correction didnt even cross our minds.

The second film had weeks (not constant mind you) of planning, I had/have upgraded to a canon 600D which I borrowed for this film but now own my own one. If you happen to watch the BTS for it, all the sound equipment was also borrowed. Two full days of shooting. Actors with a little bit of actual experience. Days of planning some of the more advanced shots. A score actually written for it etc....
 
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DreamBig said:
Nah, my first ones my not be all that great but they won't be that bad!
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Here's mine... it's nearly unwatchable, we just didn't have a clue what we were doing and it's such a monumental task. Didn't stop us from pursuing it (for the record).

http://www.yafiunderground.com/Video/AJ-2007-05-25.mov

It's 45 minutes of "I give up, I'd rather claw my eyes out." (actually not that bad for how much we knew at that time). It's not completed, but there's cards in there for the scenes that are incomplete. This is an assembly edit that took 3 years to get to the point it is. I did the import wrong and didn't know it, made working on the footage almost impossible. I had to render everytime I wanted to make a cut... and there were alot of them. I'd re-import them... but it's 47 hours of footage (again, not knowing what we were doing)... no cuts between takes, no slates, no logging of the takes. Just unmanageable.

Your first few WILL be bad, that's not a bad thing, just something to be aware of while doing it.
 
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I liked your Short Fallen the cutting back and forth between the girl and the boy in the water was nicely done but where did you get that snake? Was that a family pet or something? I liked it especially the ending. I also watched your Parkour action film intro it was good but i do have one critique if you don't mind? I think maybe you should work on transitions a little better with the parkour stuff cause to me it felt as if it didn't flow naturally, that might only be me though. Either way i liked what i saw, I'll probably watch another short some time later in the week.


My first film was horrible i think, i made it for MSG Varsity class about a year and a half ago using us a handy-cam; a friend actually put it up so if you want too check it i suppose.... My friends were my actors and we had fun even though it was 30 degrees out. I've improved i think, I'm going to try and do a 5 minute zombie short in January so we'll see.

My First Short: If you're interested, I got inspiration from the Sting don't know if you've seen it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5gva1eRncQ
 
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I've tried searching it on the web and that's how I found this website. Would you rather me search everything and go at it? I ask questions as I need them.
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I'm going to give you a suggestion and I hope you (and the forum dwellers too) take it the right way. A big part of the learning curve is learning what the right questions are to ask.

You'll learn some things from these forums, but there are a wide and varied base of topics you'll learn over your time as a filmmaker. Some of that you'll learn from forums, some from websites, some from books, some from training videos and some from experience.

You'll need to read, read, read. Just when you think you've read too much, keep on reading until it feels like your eyes are falling out. The same goes for practical experience. Keep it going until you feel like your legs are about to fall off.

If your only source of information is this forum, you're going to get a rather unbalanced view of the filmmaking industry. Read a lot of books. If you can, watch a lot of training videos and interviews. Take away all that information and start thinking for yourself.

But your first step is learning the basics. Grab yourself a book like "Filmmaking for dummies" and start reading. It won't turn you into a Spielberg overnight and some of the information may even be poor advice, though it'll get you pointed in the right direction.
 
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DJFJEKETE said:
I liked your Short Fallen the cutting back and forth between the girl and the boy in the water was nicely done but where did you get that snake? Was that a family pet or something? I liked it especially the ending. I also watched your Parkour action film intro it was good but i do have one critique if you don't mind? I think maybe you should work on transitions a little better with the parkour stuff cause to me it felt as if it didn't flow naturally, that might only be me though. Either way i liked what i saw, I'll probably watch another short some time later in the week.
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There's a thread here discussing the film if you're interested
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43768

The snake was literally from a friend of a friend of my dad, if that makes sense. I got his phone number, organised it on the phone, rocked up to his place, filmed for half an hour then left, and haven't spoken to him since. I'm glad you liked the ending, my endings are sometimes 'infamous' of being either hated or loved...
I'm planning another parkour video at the moment
 
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Okay, now that you know you have a support system it's time to take a couple of steps back, take a couple of deep breaths, and regroup.

Mistake number one - wanting to get right to the shooting. As I and several others have pointed out the first couple of projects are terrible. This is one of the main reasons, you just can't wait to start shooting; it's the fun part, right? It's not fun if you haven't planned it thoroughly.

So, start with your script. Keep it short, under five (5) minutes. There are lots of fantastic one (1) minute shorts.

http://www.filminute.com/

LOTS of great shorts here.

Here's one of my favorites from 2007:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dteekbuCejg​

Once you have your script and everyone here has had a chance to critique it (savage it :D) then you (we) can all move on to the first part of preproduction, the shooting script.
 
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DreamBig said:
What do I o if I have trouble with the actors and their dialog? What if they are to quiet and uncomfortable, or to loud and proud? Or put pauses in the wrong places?
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That is why I suggested you make five short films (not “little videos”) with whatever
camera you have available right now. There is so much more to making a movie than
the equipment you use. Learning how to direct actors - even (especially) non-actors
who are willing to help you - is very important. Reading how will not help much - doing
it is what helps. Your question about how to work with actors will be answered over
time. The first time it will be rough and you will make mistakes. By movie number five
you have a much better grasp of how to communicate with actors - especially people
who aren’t “actors” but who are willing to help you by acting in your movie.


lightcameraction said:
Sorry but you are asking very very basic questions that you can very easily find on the web.
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This IS “the web” and a great place to ask questions. Are you seriously suggesting
DreamBig stop asking basic questions here on indietalk and go somewhere else? If
that’s your advice to people coming here to ask the most basic of questions, why
does indietalk even exist? Getting answers to very, very basic questions is what we
do here.

Alcove Audio said:
Mistake number one - wanting to get right to the shooting. As I and several others have pointed out the first couple of projects are terrible. This is one of the main reasons, you just can't wait to start shooting; it's the fun part, right? It's not fun if you haven't planned it thoroughly.
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I completely disagree. Get right to shooting. Why wait and read and listen to others
and plan and not make movies when you can jump right in and make movies. We
all know that the first ones are going to be bad - my first 12 were terrible - so even
if a beginner waits and reads and listen to others and plans those first films will be
terrible.

I'm glad I didn't take advice like this when I was starting. I just jumped right in and
made movies. I made a dozen before I made my first "serious" short film. And that
film won several awards in festivals across the country. I do not think that "first" film
(made when I was 16) would have been as good had I not just jumped and made the
dozen without planning. But then, I'm the type who learns best by doing. Some people
learn better by reading and planning.
 
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directorik said:
I'm glad I didn't take advice like this when I was starting. I just jumped right in and
made movies. I made a dozen before I made my first "serious" short film. And that
film won several awards in festivals across the country. I do not think that "first" film
(made when I was 16) would have been as good had I not just jumped and made the
dozen without planning. But then, I'm the type who learns best by doing. Some people
learn better by reading and planning.
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I completely agree with your disagreeance. I was similar; made a LOT of short video which weren't worthy of showing a large crowd, but I learnt some basic, but important things, besides I was 12-16, life's all about fun, not planning
 
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