I'm sure most veterans of this forum like answering to questions such as yours. Until they get to chime in, I'll do mine, question by question.

1. Is it a good investment to attend a summer school, like 3 week digital filmmaking?

The investment is certainly good, but ONLY if the school is actually good. I'm not sure what kind of film school is the one you mention (in Tallinn), so you'll have to carefully research this. In the US, for example, there are literally thousands of filmmaking courses at various types of schools, and they vary greatly from zero value (complete rip-off) to great value (reputable universities with excellent film programmes).

2. Is it possible to start filmmaking in such a non filmmaking oriented country?

Yes, it is possible. If you live in a large(r) city, you are more likely to find people with passion for film, who would be interested in joining you on your projects. There is (almost) a million people living in Riga and its surroundings. I'm sure there are others like you, interested in filmmaking. There are may ways to find them online. Hopefully, Latvia is as connected as Estonia...

3. Is it possible to do it without quitting job?

Many people (especially many here) have approached filmmaking as a very serious hobby, and have kept their day jobs. Actually, many independent filmmakers (even some successful ones) have started making films while still working other day jobs. Things get a bit more difficult with a wife and a family, but you can still do it if you have an understanding wife. You just have to be extremely well organised and plan carefully.

4. Has anybody started it in age around 30?

I've heard of people who started making films after retirement. No age limit, real or preceived, exists; it's all about the level of your own energy, passion and commitment. If there is a film in you, anxious to get out, and you simply HAVE to do it, you can be 75 and start doing it. Obviously the younger you are, the more energy you'll have to keep it all together and drive the process from start to finish. Having acted and directed will allow you focus your learning efforts to the things you don't know (lighting, audio).

5. Any other advice?

Well, try look online and read what you can about basics of lighting. Same thing about recording sound. I'm not sure how much help you can get from your local library (any books in Latvian? Russian?). You'll therefore be relying mostly on what you can find online. The problem with the internet is that it is disorganised. The massive amount of valuable information online tends to be of great value to those who already know the basics (and the not-so-basics). It's a bit difficult to find things that will help (and not overwhelm) beginners. Recently, I looked for some basics regarding lighting for film/video and came up with:

http://degreedirectory.org/articles/Free_Online_Cinematography_Courses_Where_Can_I_Find_Them.html
http://www.lowel.com/edu/
http://www.mediacollege.com/lighting/

I'm sure if you search for "how to record sound for film", Google will give something to start with. Just keep coming back with questions, if you don't have the time to dig through various forums for competent answers.

To paraphrase James Cameron, "I learned everything I needed to know about movie making for a $1.98 in late fees."

You don't need a formal school to learn nearly every "craft" and skill it takes to make a movie. Check out the list of books here http://realfilmcareer.com/forum/index.php?board=129.0 for lists of some of the better ones available.

But the FIRST thing you should do is to figure out EXACTLY which job you want to pursue as a career. Especially given your circumstances, you don't have the luxury of time and money to waste trying to figure that out. So, do some reading on the jobs that it does take to make a movie AND what it takes to get one of them (you can find many of them here: http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780823099535 )

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

I keep referring back to this amusing, yet so informative "rant" by Christian Dolan, regarding planning, recording and post-producing sound in film:

http://www.syncsoundcinema.com/2007/06/fifteen-drops-tabletten-ten.html

This one, too:

http://filmsound.org/production-sound/openletter.htm

Everyone who ever worked in any aspect of audio will be amused by these. Many will also learn.

Hello again,

Thank you very much for such informative answers, it really helps a lot.

"I'm not sure what kind of film school is the one you mention"

During my Internet research, I have found these opportunities:

http://www.brightonfilmschool.org.uk/courses_summer.htm
Approx. 2100 USD total

http://summerschool.tlu.ee/digital-filmmaking/
Approx. 1400 USD total

http://www.nyfa.edu/admissions/dates_tuition/program.php?courseb=4-Week Filmmaking&course=Filmmaking&application=app2&recnum=29
3.5 K course only

http://www.filmstudies.cz/film-schools-programs/summer-workshops/
3.7 K course only.

For example, my salary per month is 1200 USD

Any advice on this dilemma?

But the FIRST thing you should do is to figure out EXACTLY which job you want to pursue as a career.

Film director, no doubts.
It is iether this or nothing

Some more information

1. I have found a little "club of interests" (mainly for teenagers) in filmmaking here, in Riga. They have some courses, I have started to attend "Basic directing" right away. 6 lessons, 2 hours each, one lesson per week. Given by local film director. Cost 80 USD
When they have other courses, I will go there as well.

2. In the beginning of February, there will be a shourt course of Tallinn school. Make a short in 4 days. 200 USD.
http://www.bfm.ee/web/index.php?lang=en&page_id=452&mod_name=trainings&action=view&mod_id=100&navpage=1&mode

I have registered.

3. Shot a short film, but made a BIG mistake by recording the sound directly on camera by internal mic. So there is different sound from different angles. Now I am trying to record the sound apart, VERY DIFFICULT!

4. Read theory in books and Internet. Thanks for the links, by the way!

Some more questions...

The director, who is teaching us told, it is almost impossible to become a good and well known filmmaker without film school nowadays. Is he right or wrong?

As far as I understood, I will need a new camera soon after I learn something... I have read somewhere, that a start semi-professional digital camera is about 2000 USD used. Is it true?

Thanks to everyone for the support!

John

quote:

---

Originally posted by stavross
The director, who is teaching us told, it is almost impossible to become a good and well known filmmaker without film school nowadays. Is he right or wrong?

---

Of course a teacher is going to say its almost impossible to
become a good and well known filmmaker without film school.
He needs students to make a living so I would suggest he is a
little biased on the issue.

Many, many people have become good and well known filmmakers
without film school.

quote:

---

Originally posted by stavross
As far as I understood, I will need a new camera soon after I learn something... I have read somewhere, that a start semi-professional digital camera is about 2000 USD used. Is it true?

---

It is the poor artist who blames his tools.

The director doesn't ever need to own a camera. The director can - and
perhaps should - work with a person whose speciality is cinematography.
Do a little research on your five favorite directors. Look up the DP's they
have worked with - even at the very start of their career. If you want to
be a great DP then you should invest in a good camera. If you want to be
a great director you should connect with people who are just as dedicated
to their field as you are to yours.

But yes, a semi-professional digital camera is about 2000 USD. However,
a good movie can be made on a lower priced camera. When you are ready
to make a semi-professional movie you should seriously consider working
with a serious director of photography.

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

quote:

---

Originally posted by stavross
The director, who is teaching us told, it is almost impossible to become a good and well known filmmaker without film school nowadays. Is he right or wrong?

---

Let me chip in from my angle. I can understand why your professor would say that. If that school is anything like schools in my old homeland, that means it is a product of the old, Soviet-style system, which provided free and very broad higher education. It also means that the society expected everyone to have acquired a professional degree before ever even considering working in some professional-level capacity, regardless of the field of work. Even in the arts, it was simply impossible to work in some creative capacity without showing a college-level degree.

Much like in any field, you can become a filmmaker by studying on your own. We discussed this subject recently (a few months ago) here, and I said that a good film school will accelerate your learning process, but no school will teach you talent, without which you simply will never be an artist (be it a filmmaker, composer, sculptor, etc).

CI said it best - gather a team of people with the right skill sets, because you can't do everything by yourself.

As for the issue of the need for a semi-pro camera, this will really depend on whether it will be possible for you to find in Riga someone who 1.) owns a semi-professional camera and 2.) is a gifted cinematographer with good knowledge of what he can do with that camera. If you are forced to (or want to, due to your own desire) go the 'Robert Rodriguez' way (shoot, direct, edit by yourself), you'll have to either rent a camera every time you want to shoot something, or just buy whatever is the best you can afford.

I might suggest looking into buying from US (order online, for example www.bhphotovideo.com - they ship worldwide), for two reasons. First due to a rather weak US dollar, US prices are up to 50% lower than those in the EU for identical models (Example: Panasonic HMC-150 is EUR 4,204, or about USD 5,700 on Amazon.de, vs USD 2,795 on Amazon.com). Second, many camcorders have different frame rates, so EU models only have 25p/50i, while US models have 30p/60i, plus the movie frame rate, 24p. This is why American camcorders tend to be very popular among European independent moviemakers.