I'm not sure if this is the right secton for this post, but I didn't see an indie film category in the arts column. Anyway, I want to try my hand at filmmaking but I'm not sure were to begin. My equipment is pretty basic, I have a mini dv digital camera and a fast computer for editing. I'm not tyring to make money off of the project or anything like that, I just want to make somthing for the local film festivals. I was thinking of starting out with a simple documentary or possibly a monologue. I recently watched the Spike Lee film A Hewey P. Newton Story to get some ideas about the monologue format, I'm not sure if one camera would be enough for that type of film, it seems like you have to keep changing the camera angle to break up the monotony of the film. I really don't want to try a fiction screenplay because actors are hard to come by in my local area. So what do you think I should do? I'm open to any suggestions.
oh, cool. my brother is trying to do filmmaking too. i've had the idea in my head lately of a short film. just go around town and if some people are willing, then film them being silent. just let them be natural but be silent. also you could go into the woods and find some birds or animals and just film them. it would be a whole bunch of scenes of different people/things and i think the silence would give it impact. it's hard to describe, but it'd be interesting to try something along those lines. ever seen american beauty? when he's filming his mom and she's just sitting there, that's the kind of thing in my head. but enough of my rambling, that didn't help at all good luck! i hope you find some nice ideas.
That's a good idea. I especially liked the part about filming birds and animals. Living in rural eastern Kentucky, it would'nt be any problem to go into the woods to film that kind of stuff. I've never seen American Beauty, but if I come across it on a movie channel or in a rental store, I'll check it out. Thanks.
no problem, it's a great movie one of the main characters just carries a video camera around everywhere he films the stuff he finds beautiful or intriguing. it's got a lot of nice stuff, i'm sure you could get ideas from it.
I feel like I'm in the same boat.. Lately I can't stop thinking about film as another way to express my art. But yeah I only have a digital camera and my parents have some old video camera hah. But I would need like some computer programs to edit, and I have no idea what those would be.. Though I do have a friend that graduated and majored in film, so I'll ask him and I'll let you know if you want. But I've had this in my head, don't give up just because you're not educated and don't have fancy equipment! Go for it, educate yourself, it is a good thing to experiment with things like this. So, good luck. =)
I would appreciate any advice your friend would have. Right now I'm running a free editing program that I downloaded from a software site, it's o.k. but it doesn't have many features. I've been looking at some commercial products, and from what I've heard you can get some pretty good programs in the $100 range. Advice on what kind of software to use would be a big help, thanks.
http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168628 My animations. They take ages to load, and I'm not even sure they still load since I kinda dropped out and they're hosted on the school's server.
Just a quick update on the project: With the help of some friends, I've decided to make a documentary about astrology and its role in society throughout history. I've been away from the forums for about a week due to devoting most of my free time to this new project, and so far it's going well--of course we are still in the early stages. During the research I've uncovered some apects of the practice that most people don't think about when discussing the subject,so in that regard it should be an interesting and hopefully enlightening film. I'll post an update here every now and then on our progress if anyone is interested in how it's going. And in closing, I would like to thank the people who posted ideas here on how to get started on making a first-time film. I am grateful for all of your support. Thank you.
