Posted by Michael Raben at 63.239.234.7 on April 09, 2001 at 19:59:38:
In Reply to: How to get started posted by StupidBug on April 09, 2001 at 15:25:05:
: I was wondering if you had any advice for an aspiring director. As mentioned I am transferring next year to study film...I was hoping you would have some advice as to where to start.
Okay, to start, you're taking a direction - film school. For some, that's the best way to go; for others, it's not. Why? Some film schools are atrociously expensive - money that would be better spent on an actual film project than on a *relatively worthless* diploma. But that's neither here nor there - if you work best in that environment, then go to film school.
Generic advice if you're going to direct your own indie flick? Okay. Write a good, tight script - it'll probably have to be a real "talkie" by nature, but bring something interesting and (if possible) NEW to the table. You'll have to produce it too (let's be adults; noone will want to produce your flick besides you and maybe a couple of your friends). Pre-production is everything: Watch movies, read scripts, read books, talk to people who have done it (IN PERSON, you won't get what you really need via a few chatboard messages), experiment, learn. Apply everything you've got and be as best prepared as you can for things you haven't anticipated.
It's a tricky business, this filmmaking, but if it were easy, everyone'd be doing it.
Always,
Michael Raben