this week I'm showing 10 things which I
wish I had known when I started
filmmaking hello my name is simon cade
and this is DSLR guide so the first tip
is all about your attitude towards
filmmaking and I think this is a really
important one which is why I put it
right at the top of the list so
essentially with the thing to remember
here is that your first film is not
going to be amazing that to be honest it
really is a fact you just have to kind
of get it out of the way and just get
that practice under your belt and I
think that really is the most important
thing so as you're making this film sure
people might criticize you sure you
might watch it and you might say you
know what this actually isn't nearly as
good as I'd hoped but that is absolutely
fine because it's all learning I can't
go into that you'll make a good film but
I can guarantee that you'll make a lot
of progress in terms of how much you
know about filmmaking so that is my
encouragement is that you really should
just get out there and do it because you
will learn tons I like to think of
making short films a bit like school
except a lot more fun so although you're
not getting paid at the moment you're
still learning tons of stuff so I think
that is definitely something to be
grateful for so tip number two is about
how can we learn more about filmmaking
well luckily there is a huge online
resource for learning about every single
stage of filmmaking some we list off
some useful links that I've enjoyed over
the years to help teach me about
filmmaking and so they should be pretty
helpful to you too so the first one is a
YouTube channel film right
they have really entertaining videos
which also teach you tons of stuff and
if you go through and watch all of those
episodes although there is a lot then
you will absolutely learn tons of stuff
the next thing is Indy mogul they've
stopped making videos now but there's
again lots of cool stuff especially more
in the kind of DIY and props side
another great one is dave dugdale he
teaches tons of stuff about how to get
the most out of your camera comparing
lenses comparing cameras and just about
anything to do with DSLR video and he's
also a really nice guy which certainly
helps next up is still motion there are
group of
really talented filmmakers and they are
great with lighting and they're great
we're talking about storytelling stuff
that's probably the best resource for
storytelling learning which is very very
important so check out still motion blog
now there are also some great
behind-the-scenes channels for instance
channels like Freddie Wong and corridor
digital who have been very successful
with their short skits and short films
on YouTube they also have really good
behind-the-scenes channels to go with
them and they cover loads of stuff on
there and they're just also really
entertaining and really useful now
they're also some great blogs which
worth following ones that I've been into
recently are AOS HD but also of course
no film school which if you're not
following that then you really should be
because they do everything to do
filmmaking and they really do share some
great content so it's really worth
checking out so you've got all this
information your fingertips but where do
you start so this is tip 3 that if you
want to improve your filmmaking skills
and I think firstly you should look out
for things to do with storytelling and
learn as much as you can about
storytelling then move on to audio
because audio is hugely important in
filmmaking and then lighting because
that's often overlooked and then go back
to storytelling and learn even more
about story time and if you keep kind of
doing that then you will really be set
yourself on a good foot to get started
with learning all about filmmaking so
next up let's talk about how we can ask
to get started because it can seem a
little bit daunting when you suddenly
realize where I've got to have a script
actors and all that sort of stuff so I
think a really good way to start out and
whether you're starting out or not this
is actually pretty good exercise to do
now is to find a photograph or a
screenshot from a movie that you like or
a whole scene from the movie and then
just do everything you can to recreate
that as closely as possible so look at
the lighting look at the sound if you
are doing a clip and just try and make
that as close as possible and that will
really teach you a lot about how the
professionals that were behind that
original one how they managed to achieve
that and I'm pretty sure that you learn
a lot from doing that and then once
you've done that a really good way to
ease yourself into the filmmaking
process is to make a music video so find
a song that you like or if you have a
friend as a musician and even
and then you just make a video for that
song thinking about how you can get it
to fit with the song and also just try
and come up with a little idea a little
story that you can tell and then the
good thing about music videos is you
don't have to worry about sound and also
you can just be totally free in terms of
creativity you know you can go as crazy
as you want or do whatever you want
really because it is a music video and
that will give you something which you
can say yes this is totally my work and
you can be really happy and proud of
that and you can finish that off and
then take a look at what you've learned
from that and we want our next project
so tip number five is basically to just
do as many projects as you can every
time you do a project you'll be learning
new stuff so it really is beneficial to
just get out there and film stuff do
documentaries music videos short films
corporate videos for free you know just
try and do as much as you can because
that way you'll find the stuff that you
really enjoy and the stuff that you're
good at it's good to have a wide range
to begin with and then you can focus in
on what you really enjoy tip number six
spending just a bit more time in
pre-production planning out exactly what
you're going to do can not only save you
lots of time on set and make your life a
whole lot easier but it will also most
likely result in a much better film in
the end so you don't have to be too
careful about how much time you spend
but do just think about that of how much
planning have I done and am I ready
because like I said if you get a good
idea and a good script beforehand then
it's likely to be a lot better whereas
if you have just a very quick rushed
idea to begin with
then really there is only so much you
can do to improve it in production I
know it's really difficult to believe
this but tip number seven is that I
think you should do your best to just
not worry about equipment it's so easy
to get into this mindset that oh I
really want to do this project but just
wait until they get a new camera because
then it'll look a lot better but really
at this stage you really just want to
totally forget about that because you've
all seen it's very possible to make
extremely good film without very much
equipment and we've all definitely seen
films that love equipment that won't any
good so really at this stage I would
just say number-one thing is to just get
out there and do it please don't worry
about saving up for the next
equipment because that really will just
slow you down and if you want to succeed
then you're really testing to get out
there and film as much stuff as possible
tip number if you're just starting out
and you're doing a small production then
it is actually very very easy to find
good locations to film in the good thing
about being a small budget and non
professional is that you can pretty much
just ask someone who owns the farm from
people who manage a restaurant or pretty
much any way you can think of if you
just go up and ask then chances are they
will let you film there without any
costs or any permits now obviously this
does vary depending on where you live
but generally if you're not earning
loads of money from your films then you
can almost always get full permission to
shoot at lots of different locations you
just have to ask a quick phone call and
then email maybe or just meeting up with
them and asking always goes a really
long way and I've actually found that
it's not that difficult so tip number 9
is that when you're editing always try
and make it as short as possible the
chances are if you think it needs to be
this short and you can cut out this much
stuff then you should really cut out
more and just really squash it down as
much as possible that's the way they do
it in Hollywood
and that's the way that you need to do
it if you want to have viewers and
YouTube
because really people will thank you
when your film doesn't just drag out and
play really slowly now obviously there
are times when you can let it play out a
bit slower but it seems to me that
almost every single beginning a
filmmaker tends to how they film play
out for too long so when in doubt just
cut it down and make it shorter and tip
number 10 is don't be discouraged if
you're not getting very many views or if
you haven't been scouted to be the next
director in Hollywood you know I think
that it's really important that you
remember that just as if you were in law
school trying to be a lawyer or in some
kind of Education trying to be a doctor
you go you have to go through those
years where you're not earning money and
where you're not doing exactly what you
want to do but that time is still
extremely valuable because of the
education and the learning that you're
getting and I think it's very similar
filmmaking except a lot of people tend
to think that they will become
professional straightaway or they think
that they'll get lots of recognition
online and I think just
that every film you make is extremely
valuable for yourself because you are
improving and you're working towards a
stage where you can become a lawyer or
become a doctor in that little metaphor
so I think that's really important to
remember don't be discouraged and final
tip which is a bonus one because I've
kind of said it already but that is
basically just make as many films as you
can I really can't stress enough how
important is that if you want to be a
filmmaker you need to just get out there
and do it because sometimes we really
need that just little kick to say get on
with it
stop watching videos about how to make
them and stop you know sitting around
being lazy and just get out there and do
it if that's what you want to do then
that really is the best way and I cannot
stress enough that every single time
I've made a film it's been a huge
learning experience for me and that
really is the way to just work your way
up to getting a good demo reel and then
maybe you can get hired or maybe by the
time we've been making videos for a
while some will get lots of views on
YouTube you know you never know how it's
going to work out but there really is no
harm in just trying your best and making
lots of stuff because that really is
like I said the best way to learn so
that's it for this week and I like to
remind you of my Twitter account which
is at DSLR guidance I do weekly tips and
weekly sharing videos which I really
like
so check out that if you're interested
and yeah see you next time
you