To get serious about the craft of film

[Alex Ellerman]

Maybe this is a bit esoteric... but when I wanted to get serious about my writing, I decided I would write every day. And I do. It made a huge difference in my learning curve and my abilities. I'm curious if there was something that established cinematographers/filmmakers implemented daily or weekly, e.g. seeing several movies a week, buying a camera, film school, etc. etc. etc.?

 

I know that "writing every day" is often the first big step for a writer to becoming a serious craftsmen. I wonder if you could tell me what was the first big change you made in order to get serious.

 

Best

theturnaround

[Nate Downes]

Take pictures. I go out every day with my camera and snap off some pictures. I study my content, what I'm photographing, the lighting, everything. Cinematography uses much the same skills as photography, so if you want to get practice, go out and shoot some photographs.

[Alvin Pingol]

I don't know if I'm the only one that does this, but...

 

I enjoy watching movies and attempting to recreate what I see with what I have. And what I have isn't much. Just a pro-sumer MiniDV camera, a couple 1K's, a couple PAR cans, and some other odds and ends. One home-made diffusion frame, a few bounce cards. More odds and ends.

 

Then I watch a movie photographed by a legend. Conrad Hall's stuff is always a joy to look at. I analyze the scene, trying to find out what kinds of sources are being used (hard versus bounced/diffused), and where they are placed.

 

Doing this helps me gain knowledge with different lighting setups, and also helps me to find my limits - what I can and can't do with the equipment I have - and also, lets me know what I need to buy or rent for when the time comes that I need it.

[Bill DiPietra]

I enjoy watching foreign films from the Italian and French New Waves. It's always very interesting to see what techniques they used to tell their stories.

 

Pay special attention to Fellini and Godard.

[Michael Nash]

David Mullen once said something to the effect of, "watch movies, study, and practice. Repeat over a lifetime."

 

That pretty much sums it up. If it's really in your blood, you can't help but not eat, sleep and breathe moving images. It's hard-wired into your brain.

 

You can go through periods of immersion or intensive study if you have the opportunity, but it's up to you. I spent one under-employed summer reading and digesting Samuelson's manual during the day, and watching movies at night.

 

I practice as much as I can, taking stills, drawing, and doing plenty of day-gigs as an ENG videographer. Any "lens time" I can get keeps my brain engaged in the craft, and teaches me something.

 

Don't forget to concentrate on the different facets of the craft -- the artistic, the technical, and the "practical" (working hands-on with people, equipment, schedules and budgets). There are times when I'll delve into subtleties of composition, camera movement, and storytelling. Then I'll have to set that aside to tackle an engineering issue, for example

 

I guess what I'm saying is that to get serious, you end up treating it like a full-time job, even when you're not employed on a project. That also means trying to balance that job with the rest of your life, so that you stay a well-adjusted human being!

[Jayson Crothers]

That also means trying to balance that job with the rest of your life, so that you stay a well-adjusted human being!

Wait, we're supposed to be well adjusted human beings too?

 

Ah crap............. :D

[Michael Nash]

I often joke with my girlfriend that someday scientists will identify the gene that makes someone want to become a filmmaker -- because it IS a genetic defect! Otherwise an intelligent person would run screaming from this career... :P

[Elhanan Matos]

Go out and work. Get as much experience on a set as possible. I dont mean move out to Hollywood and waste all your money on your own production. Go to your local universities and see if there are any film students who need help, usually there will be "help wanted" signs posted around the film department. Now don't go out there and ask if they need a Cinematographer, take the lowest job available, get to know everyone and make as many connections as possible, you'll find that after working one student film it will lead to another, and another, and another. And once you have taken in as much information as possible, and learned from your mistakes on a set, and everyone elses mistakes, you'll understand how everything works, and then when you go to film school (if you decide to go at all) you'll be more than prepared to start shooting your own stuff.

 

It's all practice, practice, practice.

[J. Lamar King IMPOSTOR]

I don't know if I'm the only one that does this, but...

I do it too Alvin, I don't nescesarily recreate particular lighting setups but I will do things like trying out different ways to get "room tone" etc. I find doing table top setups to be extremely good practice. I've been amazed at just how many lights you can actually work into a shot. You know like, what if I don't use one big back light, but rather use four smaller ones at different angles? Where exactly is the point that a backlight becomes more of a rim or kicker? etc. You can really discover on a small scale some things that might work on a larger area.

[Bill Totolo]

Go to seminars sponsored by the union, they're open to non-union members for a fee.

 

Try to meet and talk to the professionals.

 

Look at light all the time and notice how it lights people and places throughout the day everywhere you go. Take 5 minutes and stop to look around every few hours.

 

Buy more books on cinema, read them slowly, outline interesting passages and make notes.

 

Work on films- short films, narrative films, documantarys, music videos, foriegn films, ENG and promos. Work as an electrician, utility, camera assistant, P.A...

 

Watch at least one movie a week in the theater and about 5-10 DVD's a week at home (if time allows).

 

Ask for criticism on your work. Try to have it viewed in front of an audience. Read their reactions.

 

Challenge yourself.

[Oliver Richardson]

First ask your self, "where do I want to be in the film industry" above the line, Producer, Director, Writer, etc or below the line, marketing, Compositor etc? Because the industry really is an industry, craftmens are being contracted.

 

If you want to be a filmmaker and want to direct, (above the line=creativity) my suggestion to you is to read as many short stories until you find a story that really moves you. Also, keep in mind if it's something you could do. After you find the story start breaking the short story down into a screenplay form, no more than fifteen to twenty minutes long. At least it's practice in hearing your voice within and adapting (good) literature. Or scratch this idea entirely and do you're own script. But if it's your own script make sure it's good. And the way to test that is to hand it out to several people you know (ones that like to read) and have them read it. If one doesn't like it, one opinion, but if two or more have read your script and don't like it, you might need to go to the drawing board. The script might need some work.

 

The most common things that I find in wanna be filmmakers is that they really have no strong conviction or strong opinions about the films they've seen. Look at Martin Socresse. Of course we all have our favorite movies that we enjoy seeing and have a reason, but an average audience, they see a movie and they either like it or don't like it. That's it for them. But you have to know why indepth why you like or dislike a movie. Don't be superficial about it, like the acting was great or the visual effects were wonderful. Find that personal thing about that movie WHY? Create the "objective eye". Appreciation for FILM. Film is the most expensive art form out there and everyones definition of art is different.

 

Oliver Stone said, "You can make a bad movie from a good script, but you can't make a good movie from a bad script."

 

Most bad movies are usually bad because the scripts or the content in it is uninteresting. Weak charactor set up or terrible pacing. I recently saw the movie "Cold Mountain". After seeing the movie my first thought was, "this is a producer's movie". Anytime a movie wins an awards on performance and nothing else, anyway the movie was just a subject matter that did not interest me, maybe because it was a period piece, but I liked "Gone With The Wind". Cold Mountain garrished on this long drawn out emotional distant relationship that was trying to be epic, but then came to a cliched conclusion and in the process have other charators that really didn't add anything to the overall scheme of things. That's my opinon in a nutshell.

 

Anyways, back to the short story. Now decide if this is something that you could do. Don't think of budget at all. Tell a good story. You're a filmmaker=Storyteller. Determine what genre it would be catorgized. Then, go out and rent three movies in that genre, (movies from your library) pick two that you've already seen, one you liked and one you didn't like. For your third, select one that you haven't seen. I have a list of questions that you can ask yourself as you watch those movies, I will post at a later date. (If it's Comedy I wish you good luck). Horror and Dramas are probably easier to do.

 

I'm tired. I'll continue my thoughts tommorrow. Goodnight