Joe Tweaky Rickards

Advertisements and commercials draw thousands to those creating them. You'll need to find a company that receives many "bids" from clients. These will be marketing division representatives who contract projects for the exhibition of their product/service.

 

As for "Hollywood" productions, you might want to refine this endeavor. Is it narrative filmmaking you desire? Non-independent productions require a high tolerance for bureaucracy, at least from my personal observations.

 

Consider entering into a film school or media studies program. What position interests you most?

 

If you still remain dubious about the future of your filmmaking career, solicit your assistance to film students. They might allow you to help on their set in a creative or non-creative position. Float around in a variety of these "smaller" positions until you've found the area which sounds best.

 

Then pursue. And don't give up.

At the moment the position of DP interests me the most. I also like the editting of films - The whole process interests me really. I'm very much interested in advertising so If i were to film I think I would enjoy being a dp shooting an advertising commercial.

Ok, so I've had heaps of advice given to me from this forum so thank you to everyone that has given me an insight into a career in film. I am interested in films and movie production however Advertisements/commercial film production interests me more than Hollywood movie production. Obviously this area will still be competitive but am I more likely to create an income entering this area of film?

Any advice on this subject or additional advice is appreciated, thanks.

Joe

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Yes. Exactly. Here's the thing.

 

We don't have a film industry

 

I'm going to say that again, using slightly bigger type, just so it's completely clear:

 

We don't have a film industry

 

The idea that the UK has a worthwhile operating film industry is a fashionable fiction generated by people desperate to seem important. We don't have an industry because we don't have people going to see films where the profits are ploughed back into production. Look up what's on at your local cinema. If there's more than one film on at the moment which is not American, I will be very surprised. I wouldn't be that shocked to find that every single film being shown there, and every film that has been shown in the previous few weeks, was American.

 

We do not have a film industry. We have a few music videos and we very occaisonally service productions for the Americans.

 

I've mentioned this before, but the story goes thus: When J.K. Rowling was being chased for the movie options to Harry Potter, she looked around the UK for an indigenous production company that was capable of doing the show justice. Clearly it's an effects-heavy film, clearly it's a big deal, clearly it needed a decent budget. So, they looked around for a production company capable of doing it, and there wasn't one.

 

I should emphasise that this doesn't mean there wasn't one that could pay J. K. the money she was after, or there wasn't one willing to do it in a certain way: there just quite simply wasn't a UK production company capable of making Harry Potter in the way Warner eventually made it. The London industry was so parochial, so utterly pathetic and hopeless, so dependent on government handouts and self-congratulation, that it simply was not capable of putting up a decent showing when it came time to negotiate. This is one reason why many crew members hate producers, especially in the UK: they're often barely capable of doing their own jobs unless (what was) the UK Film Council is holding their hands.

 

The result is that we have a British author writing a series of fantastically successful novels, which are made into fantastically successful films by largely British crews in British sound stages, with British actors and British effects and postproduction people, and all the money goes straight to LA.

This is one really rather minor example of why we don't have a film industry. One James Bond film every few years and the occasional scraps the Americans throw us does not equal an industry. Sorry. It sucks. But, and this is important, it's the truth.

 

P

I know the UK doesn't have a film industry... Only 3% of films shown in the UK are British.

What I meant by "we" is if no one ever tryed to get a career in the film industry would the world (we) ever have a film industry?... The answer is no. Any place that has a film industry is made up of people who want to work in film. Surely if everyone gave up just because they knew it was going to be competitive these industries wouldn't exist?

Learn digital for sure as you'll be making movies pronto but also get yourself a manual 35mm SLR camera with some prime (not zoom) lenses - first either a 'standard' focal length 35 or 50mm or maybe a wide (they are fun for beginners), then a telephoto last... Try to get fast lenses, as in more than one way they'll allow you more freedom, after the focal length there is another number usually preceded by an f - e.g. f1.4 or f2 and so on the smaller the number the faster the lens, there is another number with a '$' next to it, you'll find out that smaller f numbers usually have larger $ numbers - all a part of the learning process

 

Don't go zoom - you'll learn less

 

 

Anyways, something like a Pentax K1000 or spotmatic, lots of lenses about and many will fit 16mm cameras like the K3 if you choose to get into 16mm cine -

 

With film you'll learn lots about exposure and having to think about your shots once there is a cost involved.

Would that camera be used just for still photography?

Thanks for all the advice people.

There was a time when Hollywood was cranking out movies so fast it would make your head spin. There was a labor shortage and it was easy to get a ob on a set doing something. Today there aren't as many films being made, there is runaway production and the price has skyrocketed. There are film schools that crank out DPs at an alarming rate. The competition today is fierce. All you can do is give it your best shot.

Thanks, what I'm saying is if you have a passion for something surely you should pursue it. Here in the UK theres thousands of graphic designers yet 95% of them are crap. My dads advertising company are having a hard job finding a good freelance graphic designer at the moment.

I think that knowing film gives you an edge in basic photography, and that stuff remains valid regardless. You probably won't ever shoot much film; I haven't, and I'm twice your age. In any case it isn't really about learning cameras, it's about knowing photography, and that can be learned on either. You'll probably end up learning specific cameras along the way, but especially with digital cameras they come and go out of fashion so fast that's a constant process in any case.

 

 

P

Thank you for the advice. So are you saying that I'll pick up the functions of certain camera's on the way - but I should mainly just focus on learning photography?

Hey, I'm fifteen should I invest my time in learning with film cameras or just stick to digital as they will most likely replace film in the near future? Would learning with a film camera and digital give me an advantage over young aspiring cinematographers who only know digital? Thanks

Joe

Thanks very much. I don't know anything about film :( - I want to learn about lighting etc. but I don't know where?

Ok, I'm going to ask one more question. If no one ever wanted to try and succeed in the film industry, would we even have a film industry?

Anyway thanks for all the advice.

 

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Wow man your cinematography skills are incredible. I'd love to be able to create films of that standard when I'm older.

I'm only fifteen so hopefully have time to learn.

But yeh really good well done.

Hey below is my first ever video/film - Its a minute long and is about freerunning/parkour an urban sport that my brother and his friends do. This was my first film, I realised I messed up some of the cuts and editting.

Thanks for your time

And cold you have a look at my other post in the student section.

Joe Rickards

15 years old

England

Hey, my name Is Joe I'm fifteen years old and interested in a carreer in film. I really love film and want to learn to make,edit,direct films. Im currently taking GCSE's but would like to know what is the best route to become a cinematographer/directer? Any advice would be really appreciated. Oh and I've never worked with actualy film before only digital so if someone could give me an insight to the different formats and why we still need them if we have digital (Silly question but I don't know. Also, the benefits of different formats.

Thank you for your time

Joe