So how do I get started? Just buy a cell phone and start shooting?

Buy a cheap video camera. I'd get better than a cell phone but you don't need anything fancy to start with. Start filming silent movies. Try to tell a very short story without sound. You can layer over music if you want but the point is to tell the story in pictures. Edit it using moviemaker or imovie. You don't need anything fancy or expensive yet.

If you don't like it, toss it. Do another. Improve.

Then by the time your money is ready and you're starting your business you'll know the lingo, you'll know the why things are done a certain way. You'll be able to do it yourself if you want, or hire people and know the lingo so you can tell who is b.s.-ing you and who knows their business.

RJSchwarz

Ah so deska.

I understand. But where would I get feedback? I attended a local film club many, many years ago, and the people there were just hanging around badmouthing each other's work, and, the more dedicated the filmmaker was, the more they tried to tear him down. I'd like something more upscale.

This could work - maybe I'll post my pre-business plan/hobby in another thread. But thanks, both of you. 🙂

well you could get feedback here. i have never seen anyone on this forum bad-mouth anyone else work. we offer constructive criticism to films and get everything from first timers to seasoned veterans. although i know you want to produce from a studio and such it is a good idea to make some shorts and test the waters.

"They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But a film? Well, thats worth a thousand pictures."

-(Own3d Studios)-

www.own3dstudios.com

How about this.

I have two weeks of vacation per year, and I can make them into working vacations, where I shoot my shorts in this time period. The rest of the year would be pre-planning.

My interest would be
1) science fiction ala Star Wars and Star Trek,
2) also comedies that are subtle social commentaries, like Mr Mom, Same Time Next Year, My Fair Lady, and in a certain way, Blues Brothers, and
3) I can also do documentaries in areas for which I have substantial expertise.

But this will have to be next year, because I've some projects to deal with at the moment.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Aspiring mogul

But doesn't a short film cost $30 to $50 grand? I don't want to do something cheap and off the cuff - if I do something, I do it properly or not at all. And to make four films a year would cost quite a bit.

---

A short can cost $50. So four films a year would
cost you $200.
A short can cost $1,000. spending $4,000 in one
year to learn and practice and meet crew and
actors doesn't seem like a lot of money to me.
You're a working professional. Investing even
$5,000 in your potential new career as a mogul
seems like a reasonable investment.

There is nothing wrong with shooting something
cheap and off the cuff. It's about learning - not
about having the perfect, finished product to show.
You're just getting started, you have never even
made a movie yet. You can do it properly even if
the final product isn't perfect.

Take a look at this film - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjLQy3CXFAk

I made that when I was 16. Cost me $800 (I shot
on film) and was shot in one day. You don't need
to spend an entire week making a short film - you
can do it in a weekend.

quote:

---

The way I look at it, in five years, technology will be making filming far, far easier and cheaper, so I was going to bide my time.

---

And five years after that (in 2020) technology will be
making filming far, far easier and cheaper. Why not
wait until 2015?

And I'm not sure you're correct. Right now you can get
a camera with all the essentials for $1,000 and spend
a total of $50 feeding your cast and crew. Do you
really think that in five years making a movie will be
much cheaper than $1,050? By how much? 50%? 25%?
And is it worth it for you to wait for five years to save
$500?

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

Good point. As you said, if I wanted to wait while technology improves, I might as well wait until the 22nd Century.

The thing is that I've been preparing myself over the past several years. I've studied the biographies of Walt Disney, George Lucas, Akiro Kurosawa, Steve Jobs, Arnold Schwarzennegger and Martha Stewart; I've also studied the company histories of several big companies; and I've learned quite a bit. But I'm quite busy with my work, so I'll have to wait awhile, until the current projects are done.

That said, you're right. Sooner or later, I have to make the jump, and I might as well start thinking about a short.

Start shooting shorts over the weekend. I'm talking really short. Use yourself as the initial judge of quality and all that. Post the better ones under a pseudo name on Youtube (or some other video site) for feedback. Expect a lot of harsh feedback as the internet can be even more hostile than that group you described. Look for the feedback that is actually helpful.

Link the youtube (or other video site) to this forum and other movie-making forums and ask for feedback and you'll probably get it. At least more useful feedback. If you are having sound problems find a forum dedicated to film audio. There probably is one. I know there is one that specializes in cinematography and a few on editing. Find them.

I think the idea is for the first year or two is to just make some movies, have some fun, get your feet wet. I think you'd be shocked how many little films the big guys made that nobody saw or heard of before they made the break-out first movie. Most autuers started out with a Super8 camera (or whatever) filming friends in their backyards growing up and just got better and better and fell in love with the process.

RJSchwarz

quote:

---

Originally posted by Aspiring mogul

Good point. As you said, if I wanted to wait while technology improves, I might as well wait until the 22nd Century.

The thing is that I've been preparing myself over the past several years. I've studied the biographies of Walt Disney, George Lucas, Akiro Kurosawa, Steve Jobs, Arnold Schwarzennegger and Martha Stewart;

---

Then you know they jumped right in and
did their thing. None of them waited for
technology. None of them spent five
years building a plan - they just did it.

Disney created the technology to make
great animation. Iwerks did most of the
creating, but you know what I mean.

If Lucas had waited to make Star Wars until
the technology caught up with his vision
we would have never gotten that amazing
1977 film.

Arnold jumped right in - acting before he
was good at it. I suspect if he had spent five
years studying acting and planning his career
he wouldn't be as successful as he his.

But since you are busy with other things I
understand why you want to wait.

Walt Disney's first company went bankrupt. Arnold had a tough time in LA, and he was a body builder - he also had a bricklaying business, so he was getting experience as a businessman. Martha Stewart did NOT jump in. In fact, she got her experience first as a stock broker, then as a caterer before she went into multimedia.

That said, Steve Jobs dropped out of high school and George Lucas was a whiz. I'm not. That said, you're right. As soon as my work is done, I'll be moving my schedule up. But that will be for the next thread. Chapter Two. 🙂