Where do I start?

Not sure if I posted this before, but I'll post anyways.

A usual, I can't find the opportunity to actually begin. I have no actors/actresses (none of my friends are actors and actresses), no equipment (literally, no equipment, not even a stupid camcorder), no money for the equipment (too young to get a job), no place to film (too young to drive, and living in my little area, the stores are MILES away), you get the idea. I really don't know where to start.

Since I'm fairly young, a lot of times all the chances I do see are reserved for older people only (film school, working on a set, etc.).

I live in Arizona, and so far every other place that gives me a chance is out of state, or I'm too young to go to, or it costs an arm and a leg. Another problem is the fact that I just can't go out a lot, other then school.

I'm really confused. I've been thinking about this all year I came up with nothing, even though I tried.

Where do I find actors/actresses? Where do I go in order to film a place WITHOUT lots of a noise like the average household full of 9 people is? Any tips? Suggestions?
 
Start by not making so many excuses for "why you can't" and start looking for the positives and ask yourself "why you can". You have filmmakers around the world, in poor crime ridden countries... you have filmmakers on farms with nothing but cows near them... if they all said "why they can't" the first would end up dead and the second would be a lifetime farmer. If you have no money, ask your parents to help, explain to them its a dream... the majority of parents want their children to be happy. Ask them if there is a way you can maybe do some chores to earn the money if they wont straight out help you. If all that fails, wait till you can get a job... and when you can, bike the 3 miles to work everyday. If you love something, nothing should stop you.
 
Its nice to see you have the dream. As the poster above me says... now you need the drive. You wouldn't believe all the obstacle people have to overcome to even make a 5-10 minute short. Start by using the resources around you. If you have 9 people in the household, that would be noisy otherwise, make them your actors. Now, they are involved so they'll keep quiet when they have to and you have performers. You'll need a camera.... whether big or small, so if your only financial resource is your parents... work them for a camera. Since you aren't going to be making a film that Hollywood will see, yet, you don't have to have the best of everything. Start small, write a short script. Then just do it. I've seen short films that were shot on handycam that made it to festivals.
 
Its nice to see you have the dream. As the poster above me says... now you need the drive. You wouldn't believe all the obstacle people have to overcome to even make a 5-10 minute short. Start by using the resources around you. If you have 9 people in the household, that would be noisy otherwise, make them your actors. Now, they are involved so they'll keep quiet when they have to and you have performers. You'll need a camera.... whether big or small, so if your only financial resource is your parents... work them for a camera. Since you aren't going to be making a film that Hollywood will see, yet, you don't have to have the best of everything. Start small, write a short script. Then just do it. I've seen short films that were shot on handycam that made it to festivals.


Yes, I'll look for resources...I have extremely cheap and free things (my only recorder, sadly, is a Zen), so I'll just see what I can do with it.
My family isn't the artistic types and NONE of them are interested into acting. Although, I have 2 younger sisters, which is what I'm planning to use so far. And my elder sister is an artist, so luckily I'll have her to do backgrounds.

Thanks!
 
Not sure if I posted this before, but I'll post anyways.

A usual, I can't find the opportunity to actually begin. I have no actors/actresses (none of my friends are actors and actresses), no equipment (literally, no equipment, not even a stupid camcorder)

First: there is no such thing as a "stupid camcorder" when you are just starting out. If you have had no training and have never used a camera before, a "good camera" is not going to help you. You'll end up with a crappy film shot on a really good camera. Too many people think a great camera will make their movie great and it just ain't so. BTW, don't you have second hand stores in AZ? And go to discount stores and see if you can find a camera for a couple of hundred bucks. I mean, Christmas is coming, right?

How about a friend with a camera? Since you are just starting, you don't need alot of 'stuff' yet.


no place to film (too young to drive, and living in my little area, the stores are MILES away), you get the idea.

I am going to be talking to some grade schoolers next month about how to start filmmaking. No locations is a pet peeve of mine. What do you mean no place to film??? Here is an example I will be using in my little talk:

"There are no woods near where I live": Translation: I can't shoot The Blair Witch Project with no woods.
Well since the Blair Witch has already been done and there are no woods, what DO you have?
Wasn't/isn't there something/someplace that creeps you out? What about when you were a kid, were you ever afraid of what was under the bed? Or in a closet or worse yet, were you ever afraid of the dark? You mean you can't find something scary about that?

The point is to come up with something else, use what you do have. Everyone has a closet and it gets dark every night. Use your creativity and come up with something original. use your house, use your living room, use your closet. And as for noise, tell everyone what you are doing and ask them to be quiet or wait til they are out.


Since I'm fairly young, a lot of times all the chances I do see are reserved for older people only (film school, working on a set, etc.).

As a young person, all you have is free time. The chances you see for older people, aren't necessarily for older people. These chances most likely are for experienced people. You have to make some of your own opportunities. So you don't have actors. See if your friends would help you out so maybe you all can start learning. Your first film isn't going to win an Oscar anyway.

Figure out what you can do and go from there....good luck!

-- spinner :cool:
 
Working on set isn't as difficult a goal to achieve as one might think either...

If you can find out about any low (or more importantly NO) budget shoots going on in your area, see if you can get in touch with the producer or director (in the no budget realm, that will most likely be the same person) ... tell them who you are and that you're really interested in getting involved in film and would like to help them out if at all possible.. Unless you're a particularly annoying person, more than likely you'll be on a set in no time because there's almost always a shortage of a few pair of hands on these shoots.

Keep you chin up, think outside the box, and just jump in. I, like you, spent a lot of time and energy focusing on why I couldn't start doing film (It's too hard, it's too expensive, I'm no good, I don't have the right gear, I don't have the right people, etc, etc, etc) Long story short, instead of starting when I first got interested in it at about the age of 12, I waited until I was 25... that's a lot of wasted years and I can only imagine where I would be had I started then.

In the immortal words of The Doors, "The time to hesitate is through"...
 
Working on set isn't as difficult a goal to achieve as one might think either...

If you can find out about any low (or more importantly NO) budget shoots going on in your area, see if you can get in touch with the producer or director (in the no budget realm, that will most likely be the same person) ... tell them who you are and that you're really interested in getting involved in film and would like to help them out if at all possible.. Unless you're a particularly annoying person, more than likely you'll be on a set in no time because there's almost always a shortage of a few pair of hands on these shoots.

Keep you chin up, think outside the box, and just jump in. I, like you, spent a lot of time and energy focusing on why I couldn't start doing film (It's too hard, it's too expensive, I'm no good, I don't have the right gear, I don't have the right people, etc, etc, etc) Long story short, instead of starting when I first got interested in it at about the age of 12, I waited until I was 25... that's a lot of wasted years and I can only imagine where I would be had I started then.

In the immortal words of The Doors, "The time to hesitate is through"...


Thanks! But I don't know how or where to find a set to work on...is there a specific place I should look or something? Any recommendations?
 
As Will says, you can hope to get someone to put you on their set. I brought on a 15 yr old last year because he had the drive and the creative mind. He worked with lights and cables and helped load and unload equipment. Every other chance he had he was asking me and the cinematographer questions. Then we even let him set up his own shot, which made the final cut. Now, I use him on every project with positions as high as cinematographer for quick web shorts. He did have some experience behind him, but he got that from doing it on his own.
 
check craiglist.com... find the closest city or town listed on the site and look down at the bottom right hand corner. You see FILM/TV/VIDEO under jobs. Keep an eye one that and send emails explaining your story. Even if you go on set for one day, it's experience.
 
As Will says, you can hope to get someone to put you on their set. I brought on a 15 yr old last year because he had the drive and the creative mind. He worked with lights and cables and helped load and unload equipment. Every other chance he had he was asking me and the cinematographer questions. Then we even let him set up his own shot, which made the final cut. Now, I use him on every project with positions as high as cinematographer for quick web shorts. He did have some experience behind him, but he got that from doing it on his own.

That's the problem- I don't HAVE any experience.
 
Well, so far I'm not finding anything.
But anyways, I didn't want to make a new thread. Where do I find a crew? I don't want this experience, big huge crew because I'm just starting out. None of my friends act, and trying to get friends to meet up at a place with me is impossible, because like I said, I'm too young to drive.
Where do I get a crew? Where do I learn to direct? How do I learn to direct? And where can I find some sets to work on, because I haven't found anything yet.
 
Have your older sister drive you and your other sisters to the local park and start shooting stuff with them. I agree with the other posts, you need to stop looking at all the negative and start taking advantage of all the things around you.

p.s. www.mandy.com is another place to get cast and crew.
 
Have your older sister drive you and your other sisters to the local park and start shooting stuff with them. I agree with the other posts, you need to stop looking at all the negative and start taking advantage of all the things around you.

I have to agree.

If you are expecting to find a big job on a film set, then yeah, you are going to have a hard time. You don't have any background or experience.

Also, you will be a useless director if you don't know how to shoot a camera. Period.

You have to remember that Robert Rodriguez' first film was NOT "El Mariachi". His first film was "Bedhead" and it was about his sister and it was only eight minutes long.

The first thing you have to do is stop going over what you can't do and what you don't have. Its not going to help and will only get you depressed. This is also not about your friends not being actors. This is about you finding a good subject to get started on.

Now. What do you have?

I can't tell you how many people that I know of, who started out just videotaping their friends on their skateboards. Who says your friends aren't actors, did you ask them to be in anything? There is more crap on YouTube than you can look at in one day. The difference between you and them is that they got a camera and they did something. Anything.

I don't know where you live, but you need subjects, okay. Are your friends skateboarders/snowboarders?
In Ohio, there is an amusement park called Cedar Point. Do your friends ride rollercoasters? Are they surfers?

Or how about this:
I don't believe I am suggesting this -- (all you IT members, I don't want to hear it :D) -- how hard is it to make a zombie movie?
Get 3 friends, hold out your arms, roll your eyes back, have someone yell "Brains! and have a girl run away. How hard is that?

Start looking at what you CAN do, don't dwell on what you CAN'T do. It will only waste your time. YOU are your crew. Get, Find, BORROW a camera and get started. You will never be a filmmaker if you don't.

-- spinner :cool:
 
Attitude, willingness to learn, attention to detail, and passion are much more important anyway.

Unfortunately, as this thread continues to show us.. right now your attitude kind of sucks. Stop trying to convince us that you can't do it. If you've already convinced yourself that you can't then maybe you should stop thinking about it. But there's no reason to complain to us that you can't -- we've all been there and overcome it, not by someone on a forum telling us how, but by just going out and starting to shoot stuff.

You don't have actors? Who cares, make a documentary about your neighbor, sibling, pet, whatever.. just pick up your camera, use it, and stop whining.


I'm done here, clearly the advice I've offered to this point has gone unheard. Good luck.
 
Hah! That just made my day!

Plus, Rodriguez's 5 Minute Film School is on the same link.

....anyone know what Quentin Tarantino's first film was? I'm assuming it wasn't Reservoir Dogs. And I can't seem to find Spike Lee's "Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads". Anyone know where I might find that one??


-- spinner :cool:
 
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Unfortunately, as this thread continues to show us.. right now your attitude kind of sucks. Stop trying to convince us that you can't do it. If you've already convinced yourself that you can't then maybe you should stop thinking about it. But there's no reason to complain to us that you can't -- we've all been there and overcome it, not by someone on a forum telling us how, but by just going out and starting to shoot stuff.

You don't have actors? Who cares, make a documentary about your neighbor, sibling, pet, whatever.. just pick up your camera, use it, and stop whining.


I'm done here, clearly the advice I've offered to this point has gone unheard. Good luck.

Oh no, no, no, trust me, I'm taking the advice. I'm getting it organized a bit (wrote a list down, and trying to find places where I can do this and that). Did I not thank everybody? Sorry if I didn't.

But yeah, you're right. And actually, I was thinking about a documentary (just need permission first, but the permission isn't really a worry too much), and I'm already trying to find at lease some similar classes in my school right now.

I'm sorry, I should have said thanks first off all.
 
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