- Hey guys, it's Dave here from Creative Path Films.
And in today's video, we gonna talk about
getting started in the film industry.
I've put together this video for the person who is deciding
if they wanna try and get into the filmmaking game.
But you've got the bug you're curious to learn
and you're really excited by the prospect of making films
then this video is just for you.
Let's get into it.
Filmmaking is a massive undertaking.
The filmmaking machine can be very, very daunting
for people when they first consider this as a career
or a hobby or something that they wanna get into.
And most people, the first question that they ask is
should I go to film school
or should I try and just get out there and learn it myself?
And I don't wanna get into that too far,
there are advantages and disadvantages to both
and really it comes down to you as a person.
Now, if we really break down the film school experience,
all it really is, is an immersion experience.
It is a period of time when you are solely focused
on one thing, and that is acquiring the skills
that it takes to be a filmmaker
and doing it with like-minded people.
Film school is a great option for people like me
that need external accountability to get out
and get started and to be motivated.
If you're a great self-starter
you can motivate yourself to go out and
create your own tasks, your own assignments.
Then you can actually create a film school experience
all for your own.
And today I'm gonna share with you the first steps
in how to do that.
Now, anyone with a keen interest in filmmaking
will benefit from this process because it helps you to build
a foundational habit that will serve you over the long-term.
Now one of the best takeaways that I had
from my film school experience is that in week one
they gave us an assignment to write a one minute short film.
They gave us a camera and they said, go and make it.
They gave us no instruction.
And essentially what that was doing
is it was ripping the band-aid off.
It was getting used to go out
and create something with just your own imagination
and no tuition at that point.
And I've seen that same exercise performed
in several other film schools that I've worked with.
And I've also done this exercise
with my own students, and it's very, very effective.
So if you're a brand new filmmaker, here is my task for you.
I want you to get out a pen and paper
and I want you to write a one page one minute short film.
Now I'm not gonna give you any restrictions
but I would suggest that you keep it simple.
You know, it can be about your dog.
You can star your family.
You can involve your six year old brother.
Anything goes, but use what you have available to you
because you're gonna shoot this within a one-week period.
Then I want you to grab a camera.
I don't care what camera it is.
It could be a cell phone.
It could be a DSLR or something that you borrow
from a family member or a friend.
But I just want you to get your hands on a camera
and go out and shoot this film.
Then I want you to download some free editing software
something like iMovie or DaVinci Resolve, or Filmora.
And I want you to cobble that thing together.
So by the end of the week
you have a finished one minute film.
So now that you have finished the piece
what I want you to do is take a day away from it.
Don't look at it.
And then when you come back with fresh eyes
I want you to get out a journal
and I want you to reflect what lessons did you learn?
What things could you improve upon?
What did you discover that worked?
What did you discover that didn't work?
Nothing helps you learn and improve faster
than reflecting on your own work.
The next step and this is the really scary one,
is I want you to take that piece of work
and upload it to the internet.
Upload that video to YouTube, make it public
don't hide it so that people can see it share the work.
Now, this is a barrier that every filmmaker
is gonna have to overcome at some point
and the sooner you can overcome that barrier
the easier it becomes.
The first piece is always the hardest.
We battle with this idea of perfectionism,
it has to be of a certain invisible standard
in order to be good enough for me
to share it with the world.
This is a major barrier for most people and believe me
I know I didn't overcome this barrier myself
until very very recently, and I'm 10 years into the process.
So the sooner you can get over
the fear of putting work out publicly,
the much faster your progression is going to be.
And then if you're really brave, send it out to feedback.
Now, the type of feedback that I want you to gather
is from people in your arena.
If you have a friend
or you know someone in the film industry
who has experience send it to them, say,
I know this isn't very good.
This is my first attempt at ever making a film,
but can you give me some pointers
on what I can do better?
Can you give me some advice on what I should be focusing on
at this very early stage?
And if you're passionate and excited
about the process and about learning
then most people are naturally going to want to help.
In fact, if you do get to this stage in the journey
and you're brave enough to post your videos publicly
then please leave a link down in the comments.
And when I get time, I'll try and review as many of them
as I can and share some feedback to give you a few tips
on things you can improve
and things so you can focus on learning next.
So I look forward to seeing your films down in the comments.
And this is the process.
It's write a piece, shoot a piece, edit a piece
and then take some time away from it
and reflect on the work.
And something really magical happens
if you do this a couple of times.
You start to notice patterns.
You start to notice the things that you can improve upon.
And then your brain starts to go looking for answers
and you get a little bit obsessed in a good way.
You dive into YouTube, you look for books
you look for resources on things like lighting
things like camera work
and you start to ingest a few key principles.
And then once you understand that
you notice that your work is better
and then it happens again and again, and before you know it
you know how to make a film
and you know how to make a good film.
And then you stop doing it with yourself.
You reach out to other people who are also interested
in filmmaking and you start to collaborate
and make cool projects together.
And that's when it gets really, really enjoyable.
It takes time.
This is a practise that you have to engage in
willingly and actively, but if you do it enough,
then this is how you could create your own film school.
Now, the point of this exercise is to rip the band-aid off.
Get you comfortable with the idea of going out
and filming something, coming up with an idea
and actually producing a finished piece of work
because so many people, the research,
and they'll try and get all their ducks in a row
and they'll spend months and months and months
thinking over what I need to do to become a filmmaker
and then they won't actually go out and make anything.
So I want you to tear the band-aid off, come up with an idea
a simple little idea, go out and make it and guess what?
It's probably going to suck.
Everyone's first little film always sucks, it's terrible.
And that's part of the process
because you're learning something brand new.
Now of course guys this is just
the very, very beginning of the journey.
This is to help get you from zero to one.
And once you've built that habit,
there are many pathways that you can explore,
to building a long and fruitful career
in this crazy industry.
It could be going to film school.
It could be getting an internship on a production.
It could be going out and shooting your own videos
for companies and learning that way.
There are many pods that you can follow.
I'm going to discuss some of these next steps
in future videos and when I do, I'm gonna link them up here
and I'll also put links down in the description.
So that's really the key takeaway
that I want you to get from this video.
You're not gonna become a filmmaker
by watching, by reading, by learning.
You become a filmmaker by making films.
To quote Chase Jarvis,
you don't fake it till you make it,
you make it until you make it.
So go and make it my friends.
And let me know how you go.
If you found this video inspiring
or you learnt something today
then please let me know by giving it a thumbs up.
It really does make a difference.
And I really appreciate it.
And of course, if you do complete this crazy challenge
link your videos I look forward to checking them out.
Thank you so much for watching guys,
go out there, forge your own path,
and I look forward to seeing you in the next video.