Tell me about u. Ill tell you about me.

[deanl]

Ok guys I was wondering how you guys got into filmmaking want turned you onto it. And where are you planing on going.

I guess Ill start.

My Life So Far

Age about 15
I was in school just just being a bum. I had no intrest in films or music or anything for that matter. I just liked hanging out with my mates and getting into trouble. After geting in to a series of fights I was brought home by the police and givin a caution. This resulted in a long talk with my dad. And I was given the advice of trying finding new freinds that will get me into less trouble. (To be honest all the trouble I was in was my own fault but parants like to think were there little angels dont they.) Then one day another friend of mine had just got the starwars trilagy special edition on video and and gave them to me to watch. Now I had already seen all the star wars films over the years. But I had never got into them. In my mind movies were just movies they never meant anything to me. I would rather be out on my mike or playing football. But for some reason I just got realy into them. I watched all three like 50 times. I loved them and wanted to know everything about starwars I got all the starwars books, I read all of them. Then I wanted to know who made them. I got books about George Lucas I found out he was the one who wrote the story for Indiana Jones. So I decided to watch the Indie films again and they seemed like totaly different films to me from the last time I saw them. I got realy intrested in Spielberg and started watching all the movies he made. I guess I just started to get adicted to films. I started watching them all the time any film I could get my hands on I was watching like 5 films in a day never even considerd making them yet I just loved watching them. I started collecting videos and watching them over and over. (Which I still do today) Then one day I had an idea for a sci fi script and over three days, wrote a 60 page outline. (Im still rewriting the script to this to to this day. ) Anyway I caried on watching a crazy amount of films per week but now I was getting an intrest in writng. Which was to the amazment of my friends who at this time were giving into the temtation of canabis and Jungle music. (But thats another story). Then for a birthday I was given an Oasis album. I had never had any intrest in music. I never owned one record but for some reason I got hooked on oasis big time got hold of every oasis single and album. I even got a guitar and started learning to play. Around this time movies kind of got put on the back burner. Music totaly took over I still watched a least one films a day but now I was playing my guitar constantly to. I started a band called Dolbie we got about 6 songs together and done 2 gigs then split up. After the band filnished and a dissapointing oasis album relese. I started getting into movies again I was still writing my scripts. Around this time I started reading biographies of some of my faverate directors.

Then one day while round at a friends house he showed me he's moms brand new camcorder we called some of the guys round and we made a very crapycheesy horror movie edited in camera and showed it to the rest of our freinds. It went down great they loved it, and I loved it and again I was hooked. Despite not owning any equiptment my self I made a crapy unscripted little movie every week end( I was to scared to show my scripts to anyone) but believe it or not these mini horror epics did start to get better

Age about 19
Now at the time I was at collage doing an art course but i started to fall behind. All I was doing was writing my scripts in class or reading filmmaking books. so after a run in with a tutor, and a sereose lack of money,. I took a big step and quit collage, and got into major trouble at home I was informed to get a job or get out. I got a part time job that enabled me to give enough money to keep my mom and dad of my back, and a little left over to buy movies. I was a regular a the local flee market where I would spend whatever money I had on second hand videos. buy now my collection was well into the hundeds and I had seen every one of then a number of times over. I was still writing and making the movies at the weekends. But now my friends were all working or at collage and never had the time or the intrest I did to make these movies every weekend. So they started to be made less often. Now due to lack of money and continued pressure at home I had to take a full time job. After looking for the easyest job possable I started working as a postman it suted me great my work day is finished my 11:30 am leaving me to do what I wanted. There was one added bonus to the new job. The money. I had a lot more than I was used to. I got a pc a new a dv camera, and thanks to a friend of mine at the flee market a pile of pirate softwear. I booked to weeks of work stocked up on food and several unseen movies and never left my house for two weeks. I just started learning the softwear. In those two weeks I also got hooked up to the internet. I could not believe it I was in shock. I could not believe the amount of info there was online. I have spent quite alot of money on books and scripts and now this stuff was all right hear and for free. So I started reading. Basicly the internet has been my filmschool. I was still writing my scripts and they were getting better but I wouldnt show anyone anything . You see Im from a very working class area people are just happy to work there jobs and get on with life. They think the idea of wanting to do somthing creative is a wast of time. They are just hapy to work and get on with life. To be honest I could not handle that I want more. I went back to the collage I had left about a yeah before and put up notices asking for help to make my first scripted movie. I got four people to help as crew and the six actors I needed for the script. We organised a meeting and I gave them the script. I was so nervous nobody had aver read anything of mine before. It was a story about a film obsessed teenager who organises a night in a hounted house. The guys liked the script. (thank god) and we organised the shoots four days over a bank holiday weekend.

We shot the movie I edited and I showed it to the guys and they liked. We carried on doing movies like this. But to be they still seemed amatuerish I wanted to make a real film. So I set out to wright a real film. using decent lighting and sound. Ive advertsed in the local collages and got someone to take care of sound and a photography student it helping my acting DOP. I have been writng solidly for a good few months now and I think Im ready.
Im getting ready to start making films for real I have four what I call try out scripts writen and ready to be filmed.There all totaly different movies that will show a different style of for each one. I plan on starting the the first one very soon. Once I have finished all four movies Im going to start networking writing letters making phone calls.

I will need a producer who is as intrested in filmmaking as me. I want to start a real partnership. So we can show the four real movies I will have made and get a finacer to move up a notch and make a real real movie using proffesional eqiptment that people will actually see.

Age 21(now)
About three weeks ago I was think about how Im going to get anyone to see my real movies once there finished. I live in england and no nobody in the industry. I took the yellow pages and just out of intrest looked and to see how many production companies the there. There was not many. About 30. I started calling them up and asked if they would be intrested in seeing me and my work. Most said no. Some send to send them the finished films. But one said yes come up and see us. It was a small production company that works for ITV and are based in granada studios in manchester. The lady said to come up and see her. I told her I had nothing to show her. (I didnt want to show my cheesy atempts yet) but she said come up and well have a chat. I went up to see here and she explained that there company only makes tv shows and hires out camera crews. But she said when I finished with my films bring then to here and if there up to scratch she will pass them around some of the bigwigs that also work in the building. She said she cant promise anything not having seen anything Ive done but
she said she likes my attitude and nows how hard it is to do anything when you dont know anyone.

Well now I do, and I have a major insentive to get these movies finished.

Anyway this is a major long post thanks for reading. I hope to here your stories to.

[This message has been edited by Despin entertainment (edited July 22, 2001).]

[Generic Skinhead]

Jeez buddy, can I make the film of your life?
Hehheh why am I always the first to reply to these kind of posts?

At 17 just before my final year of school I changed and went to a private school (which is quite rare in Ireland). I was one of those guys who was content to be average, even though people used to always speak of my "great potential." I was'nt buying it. My first set of exams were below average. And then at Christmas I turned around and said, "Dad...I'm going to be a film director." As the son of a business man you can imagine how that went down.

I'm not sure why I said it. My best subjects were English and Art and I guessed filmaking was a good combination of these. I also knew I could never work a 9-5 for the rest of my life. Now for the corny part.

For the first time since I was 12, I met a group of friends I really connected with. Special kudos has to go to my girlf of the time who just kept telling me to go for it, under increasing pressure from teachers, carear advisors and parents. I did a really good set of final exams And I figuered an A in Business and a B in accounting would keep my father happy (I'd been failing acc ALL year.)

At this stage I had applied for a place in a BA Arts course because I could'nt think of anything else. But I found a little one year course in Dublin called TV and video. After a big fight, my parents let me go.

Myself and a crew of 3 worked on most projects for the year. We had G4'S final cut pro, aftereffects, Xl-1s, Sony DSRs, Senn Heiser mic's, lighting kits-nearly everything. Our first set of documentaries "Rush Hour" won the Oxygen student media awards.

At this point I was entering the most prolific writing period of my life. I was churning out scripts which everybody loved, but i was'nt making any. I started too ambitious, the only thing i did'nt have was so pro actors so I started writing scripts not so charachter driven.

"What Goes On" was my first effort, a project that spiralled out of control, a 12-miniute slice of lunacy that set out to break all laws of "continuity" narrative and all the rest. I just wanted to have fun and LEARN. An amzingly eclectic project I was stunned when nearly everyone at the college loved it.

"Exceptional Youngsters" was made ith a comp in mind, a comp I fully expected to win. The theme was "Home" but they said it could be as loose a connection as you want. So i went for ultra loose. Super baggy waist. Again my efforts were applauded and i felt confident as there were 5 prizes. I came sixth.

I was stung. I'd worked insanely hard but I guess I have to admit mine had NOTHING to do with the theme and that probably cost me. Ironically a film I acted in beat me and I get to be on TV soon. But beleive me when I say I don't care.

I showed my work to Dun Laoighaire film school and will hear in august whether I get in or not (I have a v good chance.) Right now I'm working on a vampire film...big departure...Again.

I will be stunned if this topic gets another post after that. Hey Despin-I killed your topic stone dead. All it needs is a post from me...Generic Skinhead Topic Slayer

[wageslave]

Im on a mission from

[wageslave]

god.
To reveal the thin fabric that seperates reality and fantasy.
To weave jazz into order and sew the seeds of chaos. To open your eyes to the void for all to see.
To awaken the world to the physical law of chaos magic and the catastrophic results of misguided action within a causal universe.

Its a dirty job and no one has to do it. But you have to do something....

[foolmaster]

15(now)

I am working on my 3rd short film, and I plan on pumping out as many feature films as i can after that, until i get recognized by as many big wigs as I can, The name of my newest 30 minute film is:

THE KURTISVILLE KILLINGS

Check out the site and tell me how you think my future and current film(s) will turn out
http://geocities.com/kurtisville_killings

C-ya



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FOOLMASTER ENTERTAINMENT

[deanl]

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