What can I do to learn more about the world of film-making?

January 21, 2009 12:08 PM

I want to learn more about film/cinema. What are my options?

I really enjoy watching movies, and would like to learn more about techniques, lighting, and all that work that goes into creating film, but I'm not too sure on my options.

I have a degree and a full time job, so "going to film school" isn't exactly that easy. Plus, I don't know if I want to take out huge student loans.

Any advice would be appreciated.

posted by phrakture to sports, hobbies, & recreation (13 comments total)

The first thing would be to check out these two books:

How To Read A Film by James Monaco
Film Art: An Introduction by Bordwell & Thompson

Both are readable and packed full of technical and theoretical film knowledge. They were immensely helpful when I started out with my own cinematic studies.
posted by meerkatty at 12:14 PM on January 21 [1 favorite has favorites]

Keep up to date on current cinema and film criticism!

Film Quarterly
Cineaste
Cineaction
Sight & Sound
Kamera

Also, I highly recommend the Short Cuts series from Wallflower Press.
posted by mattbucher at 12:20 PM on January 21

Don't underestimate the value of good DVD extras and commentary. For example, for the early era of cinema, Kino DVDs are invaluable fonts of information (as well as amazing restorations of old films). Many Criterion DVDs will have commentaries from film scholars and famous critics. For modern films, the extended editions of Lord of the Rings has documentaries on everything from digital effects to costume design.
posted by Bookhouse at 12:29 PM on January 21 [1 favorite has favorites]

Another good film podcast to check out is Filmspotting. The two guys that do it are both deeply knowledgeable - one is more into the Fellini/Bergman school, one is more modern/less arthouse, so you get a good discussion of both current films and some classic films. Periodically they'll do a "marathon" where they'll pick a genre and watch four or five films from that genre and discuss them.

Plus they're funny as hell.
posted by pdb at 12:32 PM on January 21 [1 favorite has favorites]

You're in Chicago - a great place to be if you want to learn about movies without going to film school!

Just going to screenings and striking up conversations with the people you see at them is a great way to learn more about movies (especially if you go to places like Bank of America Cinema or Doc Films, both known for their hardcore film-buffery). And the Siskel frequently has post-screening lectures by people like Jonathan Rosenbaum which are totally worth it.

(I'm sort of self-plugging here, because I now work for Doc and BAC, as well as the U of C's Film Studies Center - but when I started out I felt the same way you do. I ended up with the jobs because I hung around so much).

Online, the forums at criterionforum.org are probably a good place to hang out. I mentioned some other good resources in this comment.
posted by bubukaba at 12:33 PM on January 21

The question is a bit vague because you don't specify what aspects of filmmaking you're interested in and to what depth. I can only recommend sources which would satisfy someone who was passively curious about animation and scriptwriting as those are my hobbies, but others might be able to help you get to more academic lengths about other technical aspects.

If you're interested in animation, I'd suggest listening to the audio commentary on the Nightmare Before Christmas by it's director Peter Selick, because he goes into a lot of detail about the challenges of stop motion animation, pointing out how difficult simple camera tricks like a tracking shot become when you have to photograph every object every single time it moves a fraction of a centimeter. I also remember the documentaries on the Monsters Inc DVD being pretty insightful about why every frame of that movie has seven layers of animation, how they dealt with complex problems like the movement of snow or hair, why those are problems in the first place... Although those problems are specific to animation, they do help you to start thinking about issues of screen composition which prop up in all films, although they are more tedious in animation.

If you're interested in scriptwriting, I'd recommend this book by William Goldman, who won an Oscar for writing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but who is probably better remembered by people of my generation for The Princess Bride. In it, he shows step-by-step how he writes a script and then submits it to readers and shares their comments. The script is awful but it is a unique look into the process, and the start of the book has some funny stories about living in Hollywood.

John Gregory Dunne also wrote a book documenting his struggle to get a screenplay greenlit and then turned into a movie. Although I disliked the book, it is still an interesting portrait of the many months of machinations and twists and turns that befall most movies.
posted by Kiablokirk at 12:36 PM on January 21

Roger Ebert has a blog that I find fascinating -- it's given me much greater respect for the man. This post, in particular, on reading a film might be something to check out. I can't find anything by googling, but I bet somebody is taking up the torch to do some of the "shot at a time" screenings he speaks of.
posted by one_bean at 12:43 PM on January 21 [2 favorites has favorites]

Bordwell's blog is also great, if very verbose.
posted by mkb at 1:05 PM on January 21

It's out of print, but Elements of Film by Lee Bobker was a book I read in High school that addresses stylistic choices screenwriters, directors, editors, and cinematographers make, with examples. The book is from the mid 70's, so the references lean heavily on the titans of postwar European cinema - Bergman, Antonioni, Truffaut, etc. So if you haven't spent much time with those movies, the book makes a nice impetus to do so.
posted by kid_dynamite at 1:06 PM on January 21

This is fun: A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies.

I took notes.
posted by ezekieldas at 1:13 PM on January 21

The Writer's Journey is a great introduction to Joseph Campell as it relates to cinematic storytelling.
posted by trinity8-director at 1:32 PM on January 21

Bordwell and Thompson are excellent sources.

See if nearby colleges or universities have film showings you can attend. In my experiance they are often open to the public and many times have discussions afterwards (keep and eye out if the discussions are for film students or if it is okay for others to comment).

Also, be advised, after studying film in college my family (and some friends) no longer allows me to discuss films with them as I have "ruined" to many movies by offering up technical or analytical critiques, ymmv.
posted by silkygreenbelly at 3:22 PM on January 22

Thanks guys. Busy reviewing all the sources listed here.

I'll get back to you
posted by phrakture at 3:55 PM on January 26