Adam Johnson

And I'm including NYFA in this discussion. The reason I ask this is because I have a BFA in photography and every time Ive considered grad school for film (my main passion in life) its been very difficult to go from one BFA to a different MFA. So Im looking for any alternatives to NYFA's MFA program that may be cheaper but still lacks the BFA requirements. (I need the actual MFA program because I need do this with student loans, funding it out of pocket/private loans is not an option.) So, yeah, help.

Hopefully whrn I get to New York itll get better. Simply looking at meetup.com gives me hope, just so many more of "my" people. I'd like to get something done to show before I head over there, but Im not sure how to go about doing that in my little town. I tend to "dream big" and so the things I want to shoot are "what if John Carpenter did Dead Space" and "what if Batman had a fight like in Oldboy?" etc. Crazy poop that would take monumental effort and years of work. This is why Ive alwayas been a writer, I can at least express that on the page in a few weeks time.

Ugh Ok, so, I have a photography degree and want to pursue in filmmaking as a cinematographer. I took an Intro to Cinematography class last semester and left early because I was not learning a thing. (and due to personal reasons, unfortunately; I probably could've gained a lot from it had I stuck around.) Nevertheless, I have no friends/ally filmmakers, a decent DSLR but only 720P at 16fps, so not ideal by any means, no money for better gear and no money to finance a film. Plenty of ideas, plenty of scripts, plenty of storyboards... but not a frame shot. In short, I dont know how to get started. The things I wanna shoot, I just dont have the budget, experience, or skills to make happen. I do some toy photography every now and then to at least try and get some of those nerdier impulses out but I really wanna shoot this stuff for real and I just dont know how. I'm moving to New York soon and hopefully there'll be more opportunities for me to learn there. But yeah, what to do .

I have a degree in Photography and I've been writing script for over ten years, even had a few options. I was gonna be a writer for a long, long time but I don't think it's the life I want. I know I still want to make movies and want to put my degree/training to use, and I've decided I want to be a cinematographer. I don't have a film degree. I dont have connections. I cant go back to school, well, very easily. And I've got no experience. I'm planning on saving up and moving/transferring my day job to Los Angeles. I live in D/FW and there's nothing really here and if I'm moving I'd rather just go to LA than, say, Austin. If anybody can guide me to some resources or opportunities, I really want to just hit the ground and go fast. I know it's something I can do with a little practice but I cant seem to get any! Adam

After years of trying and many hoops jumped through, I'm finally taking my first cinematography course. Its at the University of Texas at Arlington. Really excited. I have a degree from there already, a photography degree. It was quite the challenge to let me take the course, not to mention having to save up for it. Anyway, any advice on how I can get the absolute most out of this course is much appreciated, since this may be my last foray into the education industrial complex. Thanks!, Adam

That's more what I'm leaning to. Go somewhere and get my mfa and focus on commercial photography, take/audit any film.video courses I can to get a basic-intermediate understanding of what's going on, and get to LA and work on some sets.

I shouldnt have said red. I should've said *pretty things*. Modern digital workflow. Anyway.

But certainly theres value to it. I didnt learn the most recent technology in my photo degree, and it hurt - a lot - later on.

You know, when I Watch movies , I understand all the elements, not just in shooting and acting, but the music and editing, all that. I pay attention to the whole thing and when one of them sucks, I think we all say "Oh, well, the score was the only weak part." Etc. You know I'm a huge movie buff - but I NEVER liked reading scripts, often times they read like stereo instructions. So I guess that's a clue I shouldn't be a screenwriter full-out. The biggest fear with cinematography has always been the technology curve, which is a big reason i'd want to go to school, and a very hands-on one at that. Somewhere with RED and a commercially-steered curriculum. With some practice and a little guidance, yeah I could probably toss together something that manages to work. I've taken a few courses and I've watched a ton of BtS special features (ha). But you'd know, I'd really want to not leave school before really learning everything and being confident I could step onto a set. Directing, yeah, I have opinions on a lot of directors and their styles. I know enough film history to have studied the masters and the really awful ones. I've soaked up every film documentary and behind the scenes I could. But i have NO idea how a set works. I have some knowledge about a couple things just from observation, but I don't know everything I know I would need to.

Ok now this is a revelation. I had never *really* wanted to direct before. But my background on both the story-side AND the visual-side seems to make sense as a director.

Cronenweth.

Austin is a great movie town. Denton is basically Austin-lite. If you're in Texas (Hello!) visit both. I've never been to UT but UNT is a nice school, nice town, cheaper than Austin but still "weird."

The NYFA is a for-profit "school." They accept anyone willing to pay. Yeah, you may learn something but you won't be getting a degree out of it.

Yeah, it's a bit weird. I doubt there's been many writer/cinematographers. I would probably keep my writing separate from any movies I was actively working on, UNLESS it was that passion-project script, but that I would just direct, yeah. But I could certainly see a benefit to being writer, director, DP on a low-budget student film.