How to start making movies

So you have an idea for a movie or a video?

But you don't know the first thing about how to make a movie or even make a video for YourTube?

I have a friend who recently got fired up with an idea and emailed me with questions about cameras and the filmmaking process. She had no film/video experience and didn't know where to start. Inspired by her idea, she wanted to get started filming soon, and didn't want to take "a six month course."

Here's what I wrote back to her. I thought I might share it with other brand-new aspiring filmmakers:

Glad to hear you're fired up to do the film/video idea. That's the most important part, since without that passion, all the hard work (and money) needed to make it happen won't be there either.

I have two main answers for you (and others that want to quickly start making movies):

1) It takes time to be good at any discipline. I've heard it takes ten years to change careers (i.e. move from being a beginner to a pro). Thus, six months of classes would be just the start of the pathway, not the long road.

There are no short-cuts to excellence in any field and filmmaking is no different. I'm still VERY new as a filmmaker (esp. as a director) and definitely learning a ton every day. IWW is my directorial debut (not counting my horrible student films), so I'm no pro. I'm particularly ignorant about many of the technical aspects such as using a camera, editing, video format conversions, audio mixing, etc.

I would strongly recommend taking a course in hands-on filmmaking, as soon as possible. If not, then at least get your hands on a camera and start shooting ASAP to gain experience. Work on other people's films as a PA. There are plenty of opportunities to get experience.

Movies, in particular, take a ton of different skill sets to do right (writing, directing, producing, camera, sound recording, sound mixing, editing, effects, titles, distribution, fundraising, etc.). No one person can be an expert in all of these and certainly not overnight. Be prepared for a learning curve. As in most things that you want to last, it's a marathon, not a sprint.

2) The good news though: it may be a marathon, but it's a team sport too. You don't NEED to be an expert in all these areas. You just need to assemble a team of people who are.

That's the essential job of the producer (or, in DIY filmmaking, the producer/writer/director).

The basic bare-bones crew for any project are: cameraperson (director of photography), location sound mixer and editor. Together, they will figure out the gear you need (camera, sound equip., etc.) based on what you're going to do with the footage (aiming for YouTube distribution is different than aiming for a Sundance premiere, which is different than aiming for a 1000 screen theatrical release, etc.), what your available funds are and what gear they have already or can get.

So, you just need a team of experts to help you out.

How do you get these pros on your crew?

You become a producer first.

How do you do that?

Well, how's this:

Congrats! You're now a producer!

Okay, next you get a group of advisers -- people like me who are filmmakers and/or already are producers. We can't and won't produce it for you, but you can run ideas by us and we can give you advice. Sometimes we'll be too busy (and you don't want to annoy us with too many questions anyway), but that's why you have multiple advisers.

People like us will have referrals and other ideas on how to recruit crew and produce the project.

And then follow the advice, go your own way when necessary, and generally keep moving forward. You'll screw up a ton along the way, but that's how you become a pro and start producing great work.

Okay, now on to my direct answer to your question about cameras:

- Use only 720p or 1080p HD cameras. Do NOT use 1080i, since they are much tougher to edit with. The "p" stands for progressive, which is better than the "i" which stands for interlaced. If the camera is 720p or 1080p, then you should be fine for virtually any use. 1080p is best.

- As for specific cameras, I'm no camera guru, but at minimum you want something that you can plug an external microphone into. You do NOT want to use the onboard/existing mic that is part of any of these cameras. For docs (and, honestly, most narratives), the most important part is usually the AUDIO not the video. You only get good audio with good audio equipment and that means a boom and a mic and a mixer. Again, if you have an audio pro, they can help you ensure you're on it. Just don't record using a camera's existing mic. That's the most important lesson and probably why you want to avoid the flip camera and similar low-end (i.e. cheap) consumer HD cameras.

- On the other hand, if you only want it to be amateur video (i.e. not for big screen or broadcast on TV or for distribution via DVD) and YouTube is your target, then you're fine probably with the onboard mics. Even then, you'll notice the difference on YouTube too. But at least the audience expectations will be low if it's there.

Audio is king.

I hope that's at least semi-helpful. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

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Comments

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