Read.
Nuff said.
Read everything you can get your hands on.

That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough! I'm going to clown college!

swordofdoom pretty much summed it up, For your age try internet research, you'd be surprised the amount of information you can find out there. Also decent film making books are available and they are a great start as well.

- Luke

Oh yeahhh....thats right...kudos for me!

That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough! I'm going to clown college!

I'm 13 and I already have a fairly good idea of filmmaking (not great). Read a book called Filmmaking for Teens: Pulling Your Shorts Off. It's great. It tells you everything you need to get started and knows that you don't have $2,000,000 to spend on your movies.

P.S. My name's also Nick.

Hey i read that book. Its really good.
I'm new to filmmaking too. If theres anything you should do its read, get out there with a camera even if its crappy and do research/ask a lot of questions.

There's only so much reading can do for you. Most important is to make films. Doesn't matter if they're crap- just keep making them. Also, make an effort to watch good films, and realise why they're 'good'; but also make an effort to watch bad films, and find out why they're so bad.

=========================
There's daggers in men's smiles

I would agree that getting out there with a camera and getting some shorts done is probably one of the best bets. You'll probably produce a lot of junk but hopefully you'll learn about editing and what makes a cut work from shot to shot.

(1) Start with silent movies. Watch some Three Stooges or Little Rascals with the sound off (some have sound, others don't) and watch how they establish locations (sometimes a title card, sometimes a newspaper, sometimes a door with name on it) and watch how they establish new characters. Working silent forces you to tell the story visually and it's cheaper than dealing with sound. When you're done you can either (a) add sound (b) put in a music soundtrack. Also bad acting is better when silent.

(2) Start with shorts. Very short ones. This allows you to complete a little film fairly quickly. If you bite off more than you can chew you might get burnout and then the dream is over.

(3) Shoot simple things and locations. Don't expect fancy props and SFX. That's for later. Start with stories about kids your age as your actors will be your age. If they can't act it doesn't matter because you're shooting silent and they are basically playing themselves.

Not only read everything you can but watch movies. Classics and new ones. And pay attention to shots and lighting. How they established a character and location. Notice how in a horror movie the camera moves so that our victim slips from center screen to the right side leaving an empty spot on the left to be filled by our killer in seconds. This can take the horror out of a horror movie but understanding the tricks is essential.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

As a youth filmmaker, get out there and do what you want to do! Do you know what you are more into? Do you like cinematography, or directing, or producing, or special effects? If you're not sure, try doing them all. There's all sorts of stuff out there for you to do. I just got finished with a couple different free youth programs I was taking.

1.You can take classes at
NYFA?url? http://nyfa.com/film_school/programs/index.php/url?, or
some other similar program.

2.You can check out your local community colleges and other local
organizations that sponsor/teach arts. They often have camps,
workshops for little or no charge.

3.There are national organizations the hold widely publicized events
that are great on a resume.?url?www.fresh-films.com?/url?

4.No matter where you live, there are bound to be filmmakers in your
area. You can cold call local production companies and offer
yourself as a Production Assistant. Be sure to tell them that you're
only 14, but that you are interested in film and want to learn more.
The worst they can say is no.

5.Go volunteer at your local community theatre as a techie or
backstage guy. I did this, and it was a great experience. I became
good friends with many of the actors, who I now get to act in my
films for free. I also learned how to run a light board and a sound
board, valuable skills. This is also great for highschool community
service hours.

6.Go make films. There's always more online contests going on than you
can count, and find something to enter into, or just make one for
the fun of it. Personally, I always enter them into contests,
because that gives me a goal and a deadline, and I always work
better with those.

Go to
http://whatsmyscore.org/contest/videos.php?displayVideo=71
to vote for the video by RansomFilms. I would greatly appreciate your support. Help a budding filmmaker get his break!

My skool is one stop away from NYFA. How was that program?
I also tried to join girls in the directors through fresh films.You should join the fresh films website, there are plenty of others. Like it was mentioned, try to find production companies. I'm fortunate enough to live in New York City so there are free programs for teens but alot of young people are getting involved in filmmaking so i'm sure you'll find something.

I live in a tiny town in Central Florida, not exactly filmmaker haven. But I used that to my advantage. It's easier to get press when you're the only filmmaker in the area, and I hold screenings often. I have some friends of a friend of a friend who are set designers, so they call me up whenever they're doing a film with who I can contact to P.A. I also did Fresh Films(can't do Girls in the Director's Chair), and I almost did NYFA, but decided to spend my hard earned money on a camera instead. There's also SOCAPA, and Interlochen, which is a really cool place. There's plenty out there if you look for it. I.D. Tech camps also has an awesome documentary film program in Spain.

Go to
http://whatsmyscore.org/contest/videos.php?displayVideo=71
to vote for the video by RansomFilms. I would greatly appreciate your support. Help a budding filmmaker get his break!

(If this makes no sense forgive me, its friday)
Living where i do has its disdvantages. Seems like everyone wan I was in a program last summer where most of the kids just seem to come because they were getting paid had nothing else to do and they think they're filmmakers and were way past the point of irritation, but i try not to think about it. A lot of teens are trying to get into this business but don't realize it actually takes work. I think most people don't realize how much work it takes because they think one film = hollywood. I figure if you learn as much as possible/really want this it will take you somewhere. At least that's what i say to stop from slapping all the teen/adult filmmakers who laugh in my face j/k
I'm gonna shut up now just do your thing and don't let dumb people get to you.