New to Filmmaking

Hey!

My name is Reg, I am 17 years old and like with you, my passion is filmmaking, I have made all sorts of small films for school and for fun etc..on a home DV camera. I want to take the next step up and start using the "big boy" cameras etc. I want to get more knowledge of filmaking, techniques, diffrent types of cameras,lighting etc...

Just posting here to see if anyone would be interested in talking with me about well...Filmmaking. If anyone is interested it would be greatly apprciated.

Reg

e-mail- chronic8787@hotmail.com
msn- chronic8787@hotmail.com

Thanks in advance :)
 
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well then... I guess ill just make this my official n00b question thread. If anyone has time got a few starter questions/comments.


Ok so, First off making your movie.

1)Camera's whats the most common camera used in feature films? the ones that give the look and feel of a movie. These cameras run on "film" if I am Correct, once you have all your film...How the heck do you get it on your computer to edit?... :huh: also diffrent cameras for diffrent things?

2)Sound....assuming these film cameras don't capture sound like a home video DV camera, I know somewhat of how you get it...its the guy that stands there hanging the big microphone over the "set" whats that called?

3)Script- Does anyone know any sites/books/programs that can help/guide me with script writing? What has to be in a script? just talk? or camera stages/angles? The small school films etc I have made we just sorta...winged it :)

4) Funding- How do you get companies or people to fund your film? door to door? :hmm:


I think thats enough questions to boogle your mind on my low/no knowledge :) Will post more as they come up






Reg
 
Well Reg,
I never took a screenwriting class but I have found final draft (its a screenwrting program) very helpful.Try to find a magazine called Moviemaker its one of the best mags out on the art of moviemaking.The mic hanging over the set (or the actor) is call the Boom mic .Most sound is done in post production. I try to keep cameras in three areas 1chip( consumer home video camera) 3chip gives you more control over color and picture( prosumer GL1 ,GL2, xL1 or XL2) and film cameras (16mm 35mm) I know its a very simple way of looking at cameras but thats just me :cool:

Good luck!
 
thanks! ok, so I was reading some of the forums and it seems filming with film cameras can be quite costly. :( so the thing i want to know is, is there a way of filming with a DV camera and give it the same look as a film camera? ultimatly I want to have the look of a major motion picture in my movie(s). Watching some of the clips/trailers posted here, some look great and others have too much of a DV look to them....lol...im not even sure if there is a DV look. By DV look I mean like, home video. I want my videos to look professional.

atm I am lost.... :huh:



Reg
 
Reg said:
1)whats the most common camera used in feature films?

Difficult to answer. Everyone uses what they like. Some like film (16MM is very popular for indies), some, like myself, like DV. It depends on what your target audience is. Do you want theater screenings or will your distribute it solely on the internet?


Your film/video could look great but can be ruined by bad sound. Always pay the most attention to getting good quality sound. Here, you'll have to spend a little money. Cameras you can borrow from anyone.

You're limited by your own imagination. Don't hold anything back! This is what will make you unique as a filmmaker.

I do everything "zero-budget", doing what I can what what I have. If you have money to blow, spend it. Have a rich uncle? Lick that boot. :P
 
You can get the same look as a film camera with video but you'll never match the color depth and lighting you'll get with a film camera. I think the reason people go way into debt for their films is so they can use real film. Digital cameras don't even come close to the richness of real film. At least not small budget wise. With that said, you can buy some post production software that will add grain to your digital captures to make it look like film. As long as you don't plan on putting it on the big screen then this should do you well enough.
Yes there is a DV look. Some do it by design, that is to say it fits their theme and some do it because they don't know.

Feeling lost is something you'll feel quite a bit around here. I know I do. ;) One constant I keep reading on this board is you have to do it. Learn by doing. Go out there and make mistakes. Learn what's wrong, learn how to fix them.

To answer your question #3 I just finished "Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting" by Robert McKee, excellent book, I highly recommend this to anyone thinking of becoming a serious screenwriter. I also found "Moviemind For Screenwriters: Write It Right And Get It Written" by William Ronald Craig to be very bare bones basic but filled with the right kind of information to get you started quickly. If you look in the screenwriting forum you'll find lot's of people asking this same question.

Anyway, welcome to the board, hope you enjoy your stay!
 
ok, with that being said, whats the diffrence between a 8mm,16mm and a 30mm ( i think those are it) film cameras?

thank-you everyone for your input and help so far :) I am learning :)

And just amking sure im right, after filming with a film camera, where do i take the film to get it onto a disk to edit on my computer? or is their a special place to edit?
 
after filming with a film camera, where do i take the film to get it onto a disk to edit on my computer?

The costs involved with film can add up pretty fast. :)

After shooting the film, it gets sent to a lab to have it developed.

After developing, it needs to go through a telecine to transfer it to a video format. The cost for that will vary, as they usually charge by the hour. It doesn't happen in real-time, either... more like 3:1. So if you have 20 minutes of film, that's an hour of time to have it 'cined.

Once it's on the video format of your choice, you can start editing. If you want to do this on your home computer you likely ended up with a mini-DV tape of your footage. Connect a mini-DV camcorder (or deck) to your computer via FireWire and start sucking that footage in.

:cool:
 
Thanks zen :) to get this straight whether i shoot on a 16mm or a 32mm camera, its still the same effect? assuming when you shoot a movie in film you don't just use one type of camera?... :huh:


Is renting these types of cameras or buying the way to go? I know for sure, to rent lights etc...but if I use the camera enough, is it better to buy?


In motion pictures they use which film camera most often? EDIT:Already answered, 16mm is most common for indie movies :)
 
Sounds like you might want to buy a Super-8 camera, if looking to start out with real film. :)

You can find some good deals over at E-Bay. Since noone makes Super-8 cameras any more, try and find a used one in good condition.

This will be the cheapest way to play with film. (It still gets pricey, mind you, with this)

(I think you mean 35mm for the larger format, btw)
 
Film Festivals such as sundance etc...are all those shot in film? as for the super 8 camera, i see some pretty cheap :o and some expensive, what would be a good price to buy one at? and does it work just like a 16mm camera?
 
All kinds of formats get shown at most festivals.

In my opinion, it should be the story & acting that really carry a film... the media on which it's shot & shown is more a choice based on production value. (Sometimes for effect, but more likely it comes down to how much one has to spend)

some pretty cheap :o and some expensive, what would be a good price to buy one at?

That's hard to answer.

There are hundreds of different models to pick from... some are great cameras, others are crap.

There might be a list of good cameras in the Super-8 forum. If not, there ought to be. ;)

I have a Canon 814AZ, btw. I paid $100 for it, and that seemed reasonable to me for such a sturdy trooper.

does it work just like a 16mm camera?

Well, the underlying mechanics is the same.

Super-8 has a pretty distinctive look to it, for two reasons.

1) Most S8 cameras have a bit of "wobble" at the gate... you'd know what I meant if you saw it.

2) Most people used a particular filmstock (Kodachrome K-40) that just looks... Super-8-ish. :cool:

Kodak has since made available professional filmstocks available for S8, that used to be limited to just 16 & 35mm so you can get some pretty decent images going. Won't fix the wobble, though.
 
Oh don't get me wrong, DV has definate advantages over film, cost being a big one, instant gratification being another (thanks mrde50). :D

What you use depends on what you want to do with the movie really. There is definatly a right tool for the job, just have to figure out what 'job' you want to do (Internet downloads, film festivals, big screen).

If you download and watch some of the movies being posted on this and other forums you'll get a feel for what's being done with what equipment. Problem is everybody who posts on the Internet has to shrink the size of the film byte wise so just remember that when you watch movies from boards like this. ;)

I use DV because I can't afford film. :(
 
Thank-you everyone, I feel more knowledgeable every time I come here :) Another question I thought of :)

Casting- Where can I find actors etc, to be in my films?...Could use close friends etc...but that always sometimes limits your screenplay.
 
Where can I find actors etc, to be in my films?...Could use close friends etc...but that always sometimes limits your screenplay.

Close friends (while being well-intentioned) don't normally make the best actors, you are correct. :)

Try to find a few acting classes/schools near you. It's win-win.

Often times they will work for just the experience, if not established yet. In return, you provide them with a tape/DVD of the finished film for their reel. (Bad karma happens if you don't follow through on delivering the finished edit) ;)

Does anyone know any clips I could look at that were shot with a super 8 camera?

Boardmember SonnyBoo has a lot of shorts shot on S8, at www.SonnyBoo.com

He also has a lot of articles written by himself & Scott Spears, that many low-budget filmmakers find useful.

Online I have one S8 film of dubious quality, found here. :blush:

_______
 
Zen that was great :yes: the film had an older look to it, is that the camera? or a technique you tryed for? also looked at the other site you posted the film"Horror's of War" had an excellent look to it, is it filmed on a super 8 camera?I think it said that but I noticed when I watched the behind the scenes, there was a big camera :Pthe cameras I saw on ebay were smaller ones, not sure what kinda it was? :-/
 
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