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STEPS
(can’t afford film school?)
By
Peter John Ross
www.sonnyboo.com
I
couldn’t afford film school. That costs money. In some
cases, USC, UCLA, and NYU - a LOT of money. There is a lot
to be learned in film school. There is also a lot to be
learned on your own. Going to film school does not guarantee
you a job, but the networking, relationships, equipment, and
the creative environment has a value that can’t be measured.
The whole point of film school is to come out of it with a
couple great demo reels. During my video and film career, no
one ever asked me where I went to film school, what my degree
was, or even if I went to school or finished college. All they
want to know is if you can do the job. Shooting,. lighting,
directing, sound, whatever....
So
what about us wannabe's with no way in? Are we doomed?
People like Kevin Smith (dropout), and Quentin Tarantino exist
on the mythology of their not liking film schools. There is
the famous quote of James Cameron's (later ripped off in the
movie Good Will Hunting) where he was quoted as saying, "I
got a $150,000 film school education for a $1.50 in late fees
at the public library."
Okay,
that’s great but what about us that don't do so good with
the book reading. Well, as was once told to me by the great
Richard Linklater - "buy a camcorder and make a movie."
Today's digital video and computers allow for a pretty
amazing amount of learning to be had for very little money.
Wanna
be a feature film director? Even without film school, you've
got to learn your craft.
What
often happens to overly ambitious people on their first
projects is they overshoot their abilities. They try to make a
movie that they don't have the skills for (yet). When
the final product is a disappointment, they quit, or get
discouraged. Filmmaking is an art, not unlike being a
musician. When someone sets out to make their first movie and expects to be Mozart the first time out, it probably
AIN'T gonna happen (but could, anything is possible).
Practice. Here's a cheap set of things to try, to make your
own self imposed Film School… it's just a set of options,
not an absolute.
A.
NEWBIES – Never made a movie before? Start
small. Come up with an idea something short. Now when I say
short, I don't mean 30 minutes, or even 10 minutes, but more
like 1-2 minutes. Learn how to effectively tell a short story,
much like verbally telling a joke if it's a comedy, or just
a moment in time. Even a dramatic "scene" that's brief.
Shoot
on video. Save $$$. Edit
on whatever software you have either for free or very cheap.
You probably don’t want to shoot on film your first time
out. Film is expensive and you will definitely make mistakes,
so why make them expensive mistakes? As was said to me by
Richard Linklater - which is more important to you - owning film stock or telling a
story?
Finish
the short. It can't possibly be too much work to finish a 1-3 minute short (that's why you start this small).
There's
something to be said about accomplishing something, no matter
how small. It's positive re-enforcement. Get used to
finishing your projects. It's a good habit to get into, as
it will be the difference between those that make a career of
it and those that dream about it and do nothing to make it
happen.
Show
your first piece to a lot of people. Get feedback. Get it from
film people, non-film people, but make sure to expand beyond
your family and friends. They may have an opinion they
withhold because of your feelings. You'll never learn
anything that way. You can always put your movie online for people to see and
get brutal, yet honest feedback. Not everyone will like your
movie, get used to it as early as possible.
Since
digital video is cheap, make several of these. Think of them
as exercises. Set goals for each movie and try to achieve
them. Learn by doing. Tape is cheap.
Waste as much as you need to, but learn as much as you
can.
B.
SOPHMORE MOVIE - Get bigger. Challenge yourself
on the next project. Make this one longer. Maybe try moving
the camera more, or make the scenes more complicated. Work
with more experienced actors.
For myself, I won't do a project unless I can learn
something new and there's ALWAYS something to learn. Whether
it be how to edit on a moving dolly shot, learning a new
aspect of framing and why, finding out what an ASA rating is,
or anything I don't know.
So
maybe a 3-10 minute long movie with several scenes, multiple
characters. If you want to step up to film, an option is Super
8mm film. It's pretty inexpensive, but still exponentially
more pricey than $4 for a 63 minute tape. You can start
learning the process of synching separately recorded audio,
the basics of film developing, telecine transfer, and simple
film stock/lighting choices.
Start
working with more people. Bring in a separate cameraperson.
Work with a separate editor, even if it's someone with less
experience than yourself. Delegating is what will happen on
bigger productions, so it's better to start learning how to
do this, regardless of what Robert Rodrieguz says. RR
is very inspirational, but it's very hard to pull off what
he has in the studio system (but not impossible). Most
important - help other talented newbies do their first films
so they will help you with yours...
C.
THE LONGER SHORT FORM - feel pretty good about the
movies you've already made? Mastered the basic of scenes and
simple storytelling? Now try something a lot more complex. Try
keeping the attention of an audience for 20-45 minutes.
Creating
compelling characters, shooting and editing them in such a way
that an audience cares about what your plot does to them - this is what we’re all trying to do. If you skipped the
first two parts, how exactly are you expecting to do this?
Well - some people CAN. Some of you have a gift and can
exert it. I can give several examples of first time filmmakers
that came out of the gate with amazing filmmaking skills (Steven
Spielberg, Robert Rodrieguz, Sam Mendes, Joel/Ethan Coen, and
many more).
Shooting
on film can be expensive. If you've practiced enough on
video, you may have picked up a bad habit of shooting a lot
more than you need. When shooting on film, you have to be
conscious of the budget, so your shooting ratio will be much
lower than video. A good thing to learn early on is how to
shoot what you need, without compromising your options.
Shooting on video often means shooting a lot more coverage
than you will ever use. Do you really need a close up of every
single extra in a scene? On video, it's a few minutes of
shooting, and 1/3rd of a $.01 worth of tape. On
film, it's extra lighting setups, $.30 a foot for film &
processing, and $50 for the 15 minutes of telecine time to
look at it and decide you're never gonna use it. Learning to
be conservative with film & coverage on a short will be
less expensive than running out of money on your first
feature.
At
this stage, there's a whole other can of worms to consider.
Film Festivals, promotion, and marketing. Things relating to
the "business" half of "Movie Business" become
important when you want to be a professional. Getting your
work seen and building relationships that will further your
filmmaking career aren't going to happen by themselves. A
limo won't be en route to your front door just because you
made a movie. It actually has to get seen by the right people
at the right place at the right time.
Learn
by doing. These are just options that just about anyone can
try. There are plenty of great books out there, but it's all
theory until you actually get off the couch and do it for
yourself. Not being able to afford Film School is a cop out.
Go make your movies.
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