Getting Started

[Caimh]

Hi,

I've a bit of experience in the writing end of the creative process but none at the "action" end, unless you include stand-up. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone could help me with the following dumb questions:

1/ Are there any good books on the practicalities of starting filming that you'd recommend?
2/ To make a decent enough to show TV people bit of film what kind of gear am I looking at getting and how much will it cost me.
3/ How do I go about editing?
4/ If by any chance anyone on here is from the London area are there any courses you'd recommend?

Thanks

Caimh

[wahiba]

1 Browse down charing cross Road
2 lots of dosh - it is all widescreen now (5k min)
3 on a computer - lots more dosh (3k min)
4 there was an advert in the Guardian - I reckon you have a better chance on this one than up borth.

Of course you could buy a second hand super-8 camera and projector from a charity shop, and a roll of film from Jessops. Less than a ton, probably much much less.

Have fun.

[ewlittlemonkey]

There is a brilliant book in the Activators series called Film-Making. It's by James Marsh, and it's a kids bk, but its still brilliant and tells you everything u need 2 know!!!!!

[somersetfilms]

I'd like to know about any books or videos that
will help in getting started in filming in super8
i have a Bolex M-8 projector and
a Focal XL-300 super8 camera and dual 8 film
editor to get started with but i need some instruction on filmmaking from super8 and regular
8 experts in the business.

thanks

somersetfilms

[dr.sanchez]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by somersetfilms:
I'd like to know about any books or videos that
will help in getting started in filming in super8
i have a Bolex M-8 projector and
a Focal XL-300 super8 camera and dual 8 film
editor to get started with but i need some instruction on filmmaking from super8 and regular
8 experts in the business.

thanks

somersetfilms</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

I was in the same position a couple years ago. I still feel like a beginner but the one thing I know for sure is: just shoot something. Shoot you and your friends at a barbecue. Shoot a movie about your dog licking himself. Shoot the neighbor kids playing football. Anything. Then watch it and think about how to make it better.

Things I learned: zooming while filming looks dumb. when using long focal lengths (zoomed out), it's hard to keep the camera steady. panning (moving the camera across a scene) should be done rarely, and then at about one-tenth of the panning speed that you think. static shots should be a minimum of 5 seconds.

Just be prepared to burn some film and use lots of light. Since you're just burning film and practicing, use the cheapest film (kodachrome with the prepaid mailer--ask Kodak).

As far as books, I like the general photography books. You should learn about f-stops, film speed, shutter speeds, and composition from those books, then apply them to movies.

Good luck and happy shooting.