My friend is probably going to be coming over this week and we want to film a movie. Problem is we don't have any idea how to do it! I went to camp and learned Final Cut Pro, but I haven't edited any videos yet. I have a JVC GR-DA30US and a rough script. It's going to be my first short film so do you have any tips for a noob who wants to make their first film?
What a great way to learn!
I used to do this almost every weekend from the time I
found my dad's 8mm camera in a closet when I was 12
until I got "serious" at 16. My friend and I would have a
rough idea for a story, if that story needed another
person or two we would call them. We would shoot until
we ran out of film or ran out of light. With the last minute
or so of film in the camera we would come up with an
ending - quick. If we ran out of daylight we would finish
on Sunday.
What YOU have that I didn't was pretty much unlimited
media to shoot on - you aren't going to run out of "film".
I didn't go to camp to learn to edit, I just did it. And I was
editing film - actually cutting a piece of film - if I made a
mistake or didn't like my cut I had to take it apart and try
it again. All with either glue (at first) or tape. You'll be
able to try all kinds of different way to cut your movie
together. I envy you.
A few tips. Don't forget to get plenty of close-ups. Shoot
a scene four or five times from different angles, not just
from one. Us a few lights. Sure, the image will look fine
on the viewfinder, but if you put a light behind the actor
and one on the background it will look better.
Experiment. Pay attention to sound. You're going to get a
lot on noise using the on camera mic and there isn't a
whole lot you can do about that. But using headphones
and listening carefully will help.
But the most important tip:
Make short film number five. Learn from numbers 1, 2, 3
and 4 and plan on making a good one for number 5.
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
If you have the time (and the will) to read a short book, you may be able to prepare yourself much better for the weekend shoot. There is a massive amount of information about filmmaking out there. A lot of it is available on the web, for free, such as:
http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Filmmaking
http://screenwriting.4filmmaking.com/
http://actioncutprint.com/
The shortest complete and reasonably comprehensive book that I found about the entire filmmaking process (from formulating an idea for a movie, to writing the script, selecting the cast and crew, scheduling principal photography, working with cast, crew and equipment, to postproduction work, including some ready-made ideas for a few shorts) is Moviemaking Course - Principles, Practice, and Techniques: The Ultimate Guide for the Aspiring Filmmaker (Patmore, 2005). There is a chance that a good library may have it (it's 5 years old already), it is barely 140 pages long, and practically EVERY page has a lot of illustrations. You can finish it in about three hours, and it covers the basics very well. You can 'preview' it here: http://www.amazon.com/reader/0764131915?_encoding=UTF8&page=random#reader_0764131915
If you have an idea for a movie, this little book will help tremendously to formulate that idea into a script, as well as to prepare well for Saturday, so that you actually know what you're going to do.
I found some articles that may be helpful to you. Here's the link... http://www.ehow.com/search.aspx?s=First+Short+Film+Help&Options=0
Peace,
Shane
www.FilmMakingOnaBudget.info
