What made you want to make films?

[Semiazas]

I've always been curious exactly what it is that drives people to want to make movies. So if you'd care to share your inspiration as to what led you down this path, feel free to post here

I guess for me, because I've been going to the movies with family from a very young age, I've always had a certain love for film. Only recently (end of 2010 start of 2011) did I discover exactly how much I loved it
I like to think my taste is varied and such so I feel like I have a lot I can draw inspiration from.

But when I started watching little independent films like Eraserhead or Night of the Living Dead I really felt like... Making movies was something I wanted to do. I mean, I write so I love telling stories and I act a lot so I'd love to work with actors (but maybe not act in my projects) so it just seemed like the thing for me to do was to try and make movies.

So now I'm in the process of writing shorts and trying to come up with an idea for a feature. And in the summer I get my first experience of going out and actually shooting, doing a script a friend wrote for a story we created. I'm so excited

[Pete]

Well, I've always watched movies and known a lot about them thanks to my older brother. A year or two ago, I really started to see the potential for new ideas to be expressed through film, and at the same time began to realize the emotional impact films can have. Those were things I wanted to take part in.

Even more recently, though, did it strike me that making short films (and later features) was an attainable goal. I have enormous respect for Whitestone Motion Pictures for making some of the best shorts I've ever seen:

http://www.whitestonemotionpictures.com/films/

From those and other shorts, I was inspired to make something worthwhile, whether that be film or something else. So that's where I am right now -- exploring my potential as a filmmaker, game developer, and/or writer.

[Comikkaze]

I have always loved watching movies and I have been writing stories for as long as I can remember. I also have been really inspired by other movies that I have seen recently including inception. Something about seeing that movie made me really want to make movies

[Semiazas]

Originally Posted by Comikkaze

I have always loved watching movies and I have been writing stories for as long as I can remember. I also have been really inspired by other movies that I have seen recently including inception. Something about seeing that movie made me really want to make movies

Guess everyone, to an extent, has a movie like that, where it makes them wanna make movies.
For me it was Eraserhead, for various reasons. It was weird, non linear, beautifully shot and, at the time I was in the midst of a love affair with Lynch's work because of things like Twin Peaks.
And it just hit me... I wanna make movies... And I wanna make stuff like this more often than not

[Yesteryear]

Well, I've always enjoyed films (who hasn't, frankly? lol), and as a kid I'd think of ideas for movies and stuff. Like I said, "as a kid," so they were probably pretty awful. My taste in movies when I was younger wasn't much other than action/adventure/horror films, and for that I am rather ashamed. Anyway, by the time I was 10 or so I started to watch films of other genres that were really good, and thus became about 1/4 of the person I am today. Then, in 2005, Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong was released. Now, I was a fan of Jackson because of LOTR, and I loved the original King Kong to death. I saw it on it's opening night. I can remember sitting there, watching the film, and just experiencing a moment of epiphany. For the first time, I was really touched by a film. At the same time, I looked around me at the audience and noticed the way they were reacting to the events onscreen. And, all of the sudden, I realized that I wanted to do that. I wanted to make films. I was only 11 then lol, but I've stuck with that decision ever since.

[aceofspades70]

To entertain people.

[PSYCHOTIC_MIMExPRODUCTION]

For me the reason i started making films was the main reason at a young age a was told to have a very active imagentaion. than as i started going to the movies more often i found myself counting out every mistake i found in the movie, than as i bought the dvds id always watch the movie straight through no restroom breaks or nothing so if i had to piss id piss my pants XD. than after the film id always watch the special features if givin the option. and after receving my first video camera i already had movie ideas in my head, tried every type of movie and just ended up fallin in love with horror and action and since than thats the type of movies i specialize in.

[Poetrynmoshun]

I love how you can craft people's emotion through visual expressions. The storytelling aspect of films really grabbed me into picking up a Camera.

[Baldrick]

For me, I've always had a huge interest in the actual workings of a film, even at the age of 12, I'd watch all the extra bits on DVDs (Okay, so admittedly the DVDs I had back then didn't really cover technical aspects, but the lust for knowledge was there)
Then the interest in the process faded for a few years until last year (I was 16 at this point) A few friends had become completely addicted to the whole "Jackass" series, and, like many other groups of disillusioned teens, we decided to make our own mini version, that we creatively titled "Jackarse" (Being from Ireland, arse is almost a more socially accepted way of saying ass)
I got the role of camera, because I was the only one smart enough not to want to be killed.
During this whole process, I started to notice, that I was more interested in what angles and shot types I was getting, than the fact that my friend had just had his private parts damaged in unspeakable ways.
It was around this time that I started getting into Kevin Smith, and the Scriptwriting spark just went off in my head, and I started writing stuff. I havn't really stopped since

That's a bit long winded, but I like to answer a question thouroughly.

[cameronchapman]

I've always been a storyteller. I started writing very young. I wrote screenplays in college and immediately after, and then abandoned writing all together for a few years. When I got back into writing fiction, I started with novels. And then, slowly, I got back into screenwriting.

But I've never been all that crazy about just writing something and handing it over to someone else to finish developing. It's why I've self-published the novellas I've written (though I do have a non-fiction book coming out from a major publisher this fall) and plan to continue doing so. I want to make my own films, so that I stay in control (I'm a bit of a control freak, but not in an aggressive, my-way-or-the-highway way).

One thing that kind of always bugged me was the attitude in a lot of novel-writing communities that TV and movies were a waste of time. I've always loved movies and TV just as much as I love books, so for me it makes sense to do both.

Of course, I've only just started working on my first short, so it's completely possible that I'll decide in six months that I hate making films and just go back to screenwriting.

[richy]

camerachapman wrote:

(though I do have a non-fiction book coming out from a major publisher this fall)

Oooo, intriguing. Can you tell us what that is?

[mad_hatter]

When I was about 4 years old, my terrible, terrible parents allowed me to watch “A Nightmare On Elm Street”. Ever since that time, I’ve been obsessed with brutally murdering innocent people. But, since it’s actually illegal to murder people in real life (what a stupid law that is!), I’ve decided to pursue a career in pretending to kill people instead…

Of course, that’s a joke (although I really did see “Nightmare” when I was four), but my lifelong love of watching movies, coupled with an overactive imagination, was always going to lead down this kind of path.

[AndrewLee]

Well like everyone here (lol) I've always loved watching movies, and also from a young age I enjoyed writing short stories.
But the actual tipper was the Canadian TV show/cartoon "Being Ian" Maybe some of you know it lol.
It's about a kid who makes movies with his handheld camera, and I watched it when I was little and thought to myself "That looks like fun."
haha pretty much after that I got my parents to let me use their old old home movie camera and me and my brother would make movies using lego people and plastic army men. I guess I just never gave it up :p

[cameronchapman]

Originally Posted by richy

camerachapman wrote:


Oooo, intriguing. Can you tell us what that is?

Since you asked...It's called The Smashing Idea Book, aimed at web designers who are looking for inspiration. I won't post a link (don't know if that's against the rules), but it's on Amazon/BN/etc. for pre-order now.

[Lowxposure]

Equilibrium.

Christian Bale's character is feeling emotions for the first time, he sees the rain hitting the window. He peels off the plastic and touches his fingers to the glass as streams of water trickle down.

Reminded me of my childhood, standing at the back glass at grandma's house during a rainstorm... I felt flooded (figuratively of course).

Some people can paint that, some people can sing it, but I can't. I just want to show people anyway I can that some things, little things, are more important than what's right in front of your nose.

All told Equilibrium was a crap film... just saying.