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Originally posted by Pure way

Hey Indies!

This is obviously my first thread here and it the first Filmmaking forum I ever joint.I hope my thread is in the right section.

Let me first tell u my story with films!

I studied Business Administration and Marketing and now studying Master in computer science and working in the field of marketing and customer relationship (and am not liking it much!)...

Just a year ago (am 27 now) I discovered my passion in cinema and filmmaking! I was late in that maybe because they don't give theater classes in schools my country!

Now that I discovered where my passion is I dream to come back on time to study Media/communication/filmmaking in university and to work in that filed! am working now so its impossible to study full time for a university degree in Media.. I just dream if I had fortune one day I will quit working and go back to university to study what I like!

However scene I discovered where my passion is, I started reading books and watching videos about filmmaking and attending Workshops. We did a documentary and a short in these workshops...

My questions is:
- On what age did everyone of you discovered his pasiion in filmmaking?
- Did u go to film school?
- Should I quit my day job in the hope of becoming a filmmaker? I mean does it produce enough money to live?

Cheers!

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My first question is what do you mean by "filmmaker"? That's such a meaningless generic term that it is essentially useless.

More importantly, what do you SPECIFICALLY wish to do as a job in the entertainment industry. EVERYONE who works on and off set is a "filmmaker," so the first thing you must do is define your specific goal(s).

Then, you can set about learning about what it takes to build a career in that specific function. Some jobs benefit from having a filmschool education while many don't at all.

While everyone needs to pay the bills, trying to hold a "day job" while also pursuing a real and viable career in the film industry can be very difficult. The reality is that you have to be available, often on very short notice, in order to get your foot in the door and throughout your career. So the key is to keep your overhead expenses down to the bare minimum so that you are able to NOT work a dayjob as you do everything possible to meet people and learn the job you wish to do.

It doesn't really matter too much when you get interested, except from a financial standpoint. Many older people have expenses as they have built their lives (house, car payments, kids, insurance, etc.) so it can be very difficult to work for very little or nothing. And make no mistake, for most people, building a career in the business at any level means working for very little money at first. The "big bucks" typically don't come for a long time if ever. The majority of people in the professional industry are firmly in the Middle Class. They work long days, long weeks...while they're working. There can also be long stretches of unemployment so any money that is made must be saved for those times.

So, there are a number of people here who can help you much better once we know specifically what job you wish to aim for. We have individual experience to draw on and can also recommend some very useful books and other resources that will help guide you at a FAR less expensive price than any film school tuition.

Brian Dzyak
Cameraman/Author
IATSE Local 600, SOC
http://www.whatireallywanttodo.com
http://www.realfilmcareer.com

Welcome to filmmaking.net!

I hope you have read Brian's post carefully. It's a good one.

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Originally posted by Pure way
My questions is:
- On what age did everyone of you discovered his pasiion in filmmaking?

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14

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- Did u go to film school?

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No

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- Should I quit my day job in the hope of becoming a filmmaker? I mean does it produce enough money to live?

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If you quit your day job what will you live on
until you are making enough money to live on?

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

Brian,

Most English dictionaries define the word 'filmmaker' as 'a person who writes, directs and produces films'. I have no doubt that you are correct and that within the industry, the term 'filmmaker' is meaningless and considered generic. Outside of it, one could argue that it is fairly precisely defined. I may have mentioned this; father of one of my daughter's classmates is a successful screenwriter with about a dozen major Hollywood pictures (writing credits), as well as some popular TV shows. I've heard him asked several times "So you're a filmmaker?", to which he would always answer"No, I just write scripts for the movies, and someone else makes the movie".

In general, I have noticed that on these forums, the term has consistently been used to define people who write the script for the movie and direct it, but also put together the financing for it. The 'Idiots Guide to Filmmaking' and 'Filmmaking for Dummies' both describe exactly how to write, produce and direct a film. I can't remember ever seeing anyone say: "I want to be a filmmaker; more specifically, I want to be a film editor (or a DP; or a gaffer).

As for the original poster and his questions, I started at the age of 46. I did a LOT of reading about filmmaking before that. No film school either, but many filmmaking books (including the '$30 Film School', and 'The Portable Film School'). It is remarkable how much you can learn about the business and process of producing and making films by reading books. Many of them are very well written and I have no doubt, you'd be asking much fewer beginner questions on forums such as this one.