I'm in need of some advice....

[angel_sooyung]

 Currently I am not a film student, (I know this community was made for the purpose of that but I just don't know where else to ask,) and I am considering a movie directing/screen-writing as a second option to being a novelist. In short, I'm a curious newbie in the world of film.

I've been watching many movies recently. It's given me an opportunity

Comments

[everlastingyea]

You have a camera! That's great! Do you have any editing software, like iMovie or any other low key editing stuff? (Actually a question for other folk... is there any open source editing software out

[jenn_rc]

I agree with everything everlastingyea has just said....
Make a music vid, start small and build from there :)
Also, drama and performance students are a godsend, start bugging them to see if they want to make a short vid or something?
Good luck hun! xx

[scorpiuspro]

One of the advantages of living in this time is the availability of filmmaking equipment. That is a camera, digital editing software, and the ability to watch films on a home video system.
Start out by watching some key films by prominent directors, comparing and contrasting and then imitating. Do a swede, parody, or even your own version of the scene while paying close attention to the style, pacing, camera angles etc. Keep in mind that with a good film, every single detail is scrutinized by the director/filmmaking team so everything you see in a shot is meant to be seen.
I still make parodies and swedes for fun even though I'm in film school. It's great practice and is always fun producing something that reflects something professional.
You can check out my swede of The Bourne Ultimatum here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs7FEa3O0AA
Best fight scene I've ever made.

[angel_sooyung]

That was actually pretty good.

Oh, and I saw your trailer for your spoof of the Dark Knight, and it looks pretty funny. Do you have it posted somewhere so that I can see the whole thing?

Oh, and thank for your advice.

[scorpiuspro]

Yes I do! Just go to my main website: www.scorpiusproductions.com and scroll down. There should be two video players.
It was a tough shoot during school as a side project, but we managed to get a big audience and premiere it on a big screen with a full sound system. I played Joker which was fun but creeped out my gf at the time :P
We've also parodied and sweded many other films, some are scattered on different channels because of YouTube's flawed copyright infringement witch-hunting.

[dayswithbunnies]

Honestly, the best way to learn is just by watching!
Quentin Tarantino pretty much dropped out of high school and learned how to direct based entirely off of watching hundreds and hundreds of spaghetti westerns, kung fu B movies, etc etc, and those styles were integrated into his work.
Pay super close attention to your favourite films - the use of lighting, camera angle, mise-en-scene (the way the setting is arranged), everything. Learn how to use those by making short films with whatever resources you have. Hell, just turn your camera on one day and experiment!