Hi, I've been reading these forums for a while, and decided I'd join in:
Stop me if I start to bore you.
I am 15 years old, and for 3 of those 15 years I have been lost in a strange world. The world of film. Making films, watching films, researching and buying anything to do with film. I'm one of those people who would much rather watch a 16mm print of 'Some Like it Hot' than a Blu Ray copy of 'The King's Speech'. I would rather edit a silent slapstick using a hot splicer and cement than on Final Cut. It's not that I don't like technology and what it's done for movie making, I just think that it's important that we not forget where we started.
I think it was 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' that got me into movies. After making a few films about Indiana Jones, I moved on to making some original shorts, a parody of old B movies, a hitchcock tribute, a silent comedy animation, and currently a silent slapstick comedy made using only the technology available in the 20s. After taking my hitchcock tribute to a few film festivals I started getting recognition and I was asked to help out on some bigger productions. I started as a P.A. on one production and most recently the 1st AC on another.
I go to a performing arts high school for technical theater, so I've learned how things are done on the technical side of film/theater. I can operate most cameras, build scenery, stitch costumes, hang lights, pretty much a basic understanding of every part of the technical and artistic side of the industry. My point is, I seem to have started a career in film. I have a pretty vast knowledge the art and technical side of film, but my knowledge of the business is very minimal.
After these experiences I have decided that I want to be a cinematographer. I love the visuals of movies, the ways they can only enhance the setting and mood of a film. The way they can make one film unique.
Is film school my best option, or should I jump in without a degree? What steps should I take now to further advance myself in this industry?
Here's one of my shorts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP8cvvGabbM
-Matthew
