How do I get into filmmaking?

February 5, 2009 8:17 PM

I want to get into filmmaking as a hobby, but I'm not sure where to start.

I've long been interested in filmmaking, and played around with camcorders a lot when I was younger. But unfortunately I didn't really pursue this interest much in college, and now (a few years graduated) I'm trying not to regret this. I'm not asking how to hit it big in Hollywood - obviously no one can answer that. But I do want to get seriously involved in filmmaking as a hobby, and given that digital filmmaking and distribution is so accessible these days I think it's a great time to do so.

I've been doing a bit of writing for a while now, though nothing close to a complete script. What I'm really hungry for is to get my hands on a camera though. Unfortunately none of my friends are similarly minded, and I'm not sure where to go from here. I checked out meetup (I'm in Chicago) but didn't find anything that seemed active, and I know there's some filmmaking group that offers classes somewhere in the north side, but they were pretty expensive. Basically I want to find people with my same level of interest and potential commitment - people who want to get together and just make movies. I would easily commit 10+ hours/week of free time to such a project, and even a bit of cash, and while I admit I'm most interested in writing and directing, I have no problem collaborating - I know I have a lot to learn.

Is Chicago just not the right city for me to indulge this wannabe passion? Or is there some underground group of auteurs waiting for me somewhere?

posted by fishtacos to media & arts (10 comments total)

Doesn't the university offer some film courses? I would find out what building they're in and then find the bulletin boards there or hang out in their cafeteria and introduce yourself around.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 8:25 PM on February 5

Depending on the quality of your goals, you might forego the camera for now and start by storyboarding.
posted by rhizome at 8:37 PM on February 5

Chicago is a fantastic city for film. Maybe moreso on the exhibition side, but there are a couple of great options on the production end too.

The expensive Northside place you're thinking of is probably Chicago Filmmakers. I guess they're a little expensive, though about what I'd expect for that kind of class. I know people who've taken classes and been really happy with them.

A cheaper option, though, might be the University of Chicago's Fire Escape Films. They're sort of a flakey and hard-to-get-in-touch-with bunch, based on my experiences with them - but they have some nice equipment and people who can show you how to use it. And as far as I know you don't have to be a U of C student to get involved. They even have 16mm gear, if you're interested in that.
posted by bubukaba at 10:06 PM on February 5

Oh, man. Good for you! Making films is great fun, I just made and submitted one to Campus Movie Fest last week.

For my films I've been able to convince my friends to be in them (because who doesn't want to be a zombie, right?) without having to pay them, but I've also had some luck recruiting actors via craigslist. Local colleges should also be booming with inexperienced starlets, so why not make a flier and post it on the main bulletin board?

Also, try googling film contests. The nice thing about Campus Movie Fest is that you can win big prizes. The potential to win a bunch of money plus the beer and pizza I funded was encouragement enough to get them out on a very cold January night.

I'd suggest to pick as the first film something very fun that people can participate in without much experience, such as zombies or aliens or vampire films. In my experience there are a lot of people who are resistant to being involved in such things or being on camera because of their anxiety, but if you let them be silly and keep it low stress for the first one they realize how much they like it and are more apt to work with you again in the future.
posted by big open mouth at 10:18 PM on February 5

For storing and displaying your work, and hooking up with other film-makers, Vimeo is pretty good. There's some incredible work on there, and it makes it a piece of cake to show your video to interested parties, in HD.
posted by Happy Dave at 2:15 AM on February 6

Good suggestions so far, but one thing you might want to consider is to try working for free on the technical side of the projects of more experienced amateur or student filmmakers. Holding a boom mike on someone else's film might not be very fun, but you'll learn a lot. You'll also make connections with people that could work with you on your own projects in the future.

Also, one very important and difficult part of filmmaking that you can practice on your own is editing. If you know what you're doing during filming, you'll end up with way more footage than you'll actually want to use in the final film (better safe than sorry, throwing away unneeded footage is easier than getting everyone back together to do reshoots), so being able to edit all of that footage down to the best possible cut is important. Even if you don't have a camera, just grab some video from a movie you like and load it up in a video editor app. Try chopping up the footage to tell a different story, add background music that wasn't there, etc.
posted by burnmp3s at 6:53 AM on February 6

Firstly for technical stuff in a really well put together format I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's practically a film course in itself and worth every cent.

After that I found that a Film 1 course at college was a good jump off point as it helps you structure the tasks involved in film making in your head, gives you some hands-on technical tuition and also puts you through the process of actually making a short film or two with support.

I've just been chosen for a showing at the first film festival I entered! Good luck!
posted by merocet at 7:10 AM on February 6

Once you start to get a handle on the technical side, you might check out IFP Chicago. They're a solid community of filmmaking students and professionals that hosts events ranging from film screenings and discussions to a stellar yearly producers series and conference.

Some of their events might focus more on the business of film, but it's a good group, and there tend to be a lot of enthusiastic members who might make good collaborators.

Also, a local monthly event with similar flavor is the Midwest Indie Film Festival, where Q&As with filmmakers are the norm.
posted by asuprenant at 8:23 AM on February 6

Oh, the fun you will have.

One of my daughters gave me DV Rebel's Guide for xmas and what a treasure it is. Practical, hands-on information.

Check out the Ten Minute Film School in the extras on Spy Kids DVD. It is hard to argue with the "if you want to make movies, then make movies" approach. That is, jump in and try stuff out. Don't wait until you know it all, because you won't. Ever. Video is great for this: cheap and fast.

For writing, check out The Writer's Journey, Story, The Art of Dramatic Writing for starters.
posted by trinity8-director at 11:05 AM on February 6

There are lots of community courses on film making which cover things like camera angles, lighting, story-boarding, etc. And naturally, there are tons of great books and web pages on the subject, but a simple place to start might be to just go and film something, maybe documentary style (to reduce the need for a pre-established narrative.) and then edit it together.

I don't want to say that editing is the most important part of film-making, but it is a point at which you have a lot of power over the final result, and the tools have leapt forward in terms of what is now available to the beginning user.

Most computers nowadays come with some kind of editing software built right in. And while they don't offer all the features of the higher end stuff like Final Cut Pro, Avid, and Vegas, they are a great place to start.

I don't remember who said it, and I'm paraphrasing, but "The best way to get into film making is to start making films." A lot of your early stuff will be rough, but it will be fun to do, and that is how you learn.
posted by quin at 2:19 PM on February 6