Professional Quality Filmmaking on a Budget – Filmmaking Without Film School

Film school classes can be really expensive, and if you’ve talked to anyone in the industry, they’ll tell you that all they ever learned in class, is filmmaking theory. Even those coming from the biggest and best film schools, such as USC (university of southern California) and NYU (New York University) feel the same way. All theory and no practical experience getting down and dirty with the camera.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that there’s no place for film school or a quality education. What I am saying is that if you can’t afford to study filmmaking and take filmmaking courses at a university film school, you shouldn’t feel left out.

There are many filmmaking courses online that are much more reasonable and accessible to the average person, and even though they don’t cost the same as a traditional school, there value cannot be discredited.

To start off they will teach you what to look for in proper filmmaking equipment. Don’t go crazy, just the basics will work in getting you off the ground. These include a video camera, tripod, and lighting. This is just the beginning and it would be really wise of you to stick to a budget regarding these purchases because if your not careful you’ll end up spending tens of thousands of dollars on equipment that you could hod off on buying for now.

Next they will get you to develop your creative juices. That is the most important part of the process.

Remember, don’t be intimidated by your friends and eventual colleagues, that attend the finest of schools to hone their craft. With some grit and determination you too could be the next Spielberg or Scorsese.

Trevor from Gilded Cinema shows you how to easily, and more importantly cheaply, protect those hidden lavs when you can’t use a shotgun microphone. No more rustling and more importantly, no more trying to fix audio in post!
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Question by filmnut27: Amateur Filmmaking Question – Night Shooting?
Me and my friends love to make movies together, just dumb short things. Most of the time we get together to film at night, so if we want to film outside it becomes rather difficult. Does anyone have any good suggestions for low-budget fixes on how to create good lighting at nighttime? We use a digital non-professional camcorder. For our night project we were thinking of shooting in black and white which might or might not make things easier, what do you think? Does anyone have any tips on B&W lighting at night and how it works best?

Best answer:

Answer by theOnly
black and white isnt much help, what i sugest is switching to “low lux” mode.
it drops some frames, but is able to pick up, what would not otherwise.
its its not a moving shot, take the shade off of a lamp, or even try carlights, has worked ok for me over the years.

What do you think? Answer below!

www.ExploreTalent.com Sean Covel producer of Napoleon Dynamite gives producing and film-making tips to upcoming filmmakers. For more interviews with Sean Covel got to http Movie advice, tips for new filmmakers, dos and don’ts for movie-makers. Explore Talent is the largest resource for film, television, theater and musician auditions. Movie auditions and casting calls, acting resource, online promotion tools, auditions database, and talent resources.
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