The most important part of filmmaking
I’m sure everyone has thought of this by now, but let’s talk about it again. What is the most important part of filmmaking???
Hands down the most important part of FILM is the story, the idea, the script. But what is the most important part of the whole process of filmmaking?
Simon Cade, creator and host of the really amazing and creative show on YouTube called “DSLR guide”, recently made a video that, in a creative and entertaining way, showed the most important part of making movies. Here is the episode down below, in case you have not yet seen it. I also highly suggest you go and check out all of Simon’s other DSLR guide episodes, as you’ll find some very useful information about story and cinematography, as well as sound and audio, and how it affects our story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kElPBMKIUmw
As Simon clearly stated in the episode, the most important part of filmmaking and our development of our filmmaking skills, is learning.
I could probably write a 10 paragraph essay on how you should go about learning filmmaking. However, I think it really narrows down to just a few simple steps:
1. Make movies! The more you make, whether it be short films, short practice sketches, remaking a scene from a movie, timelapses, photography, whatever, the more you make, the more you will learn. Especially from your mistakes. I think that it is important to analyze after every project you do. What was successful? What was not? What could you improve on next time? What troubles did you run into while working on the project and how can you try to avoid them in the future?
2. Read filmmaking books, blogs & articles, watch filmmaking videos on YouTube (I will be making an article this Tuesday telling some of the best places for that), talk to other filmmakers/artists who are smarter than you and get their thoughts and opinions, etc. So basically, just learn like you would in school. Except learning film is much more fun.
3. WATCH movies! This is something I can’t emphasize enough. You absolutely HAVE to watch other movies, other YouTube videos, other work by other artists, and analyze it. There is a great quote by Picasso, which goes like: “Good artists copy, great artists steal”. This quote was also mentioned by Simon Cade in an earlier DSLR guide episode. Anyway, what this quote means is that, you have to watch a lot of other people’s work, and filter out what you like and what you would do differently. Quentin Tarantino, one of my all-time favorite directors said: “When people ask me, did I go to film school, I say, no, I went to FILMS.” Not only is this one of the best ways to learn, watching other artist’s work can also give you some ideas for your own work as well.
4. Share the information that you’ve learned! That’s basically what DSLR guide is all about, as stated by Simon himself. It’s about him sharing things he’s learned, but more like sharing and teaching. That’s why I’ve started this Blog, too. I want to share what I learn and teach other artists about different areas of filmmaking. I’m not saying that you should start a YouTube show or start a Blog, but at least talk to someone about it, or, even better, start writing a diary. If you want, you can later transform that diary into a Blog.
Like I said in the article, I will be making a Blog post this upcoming Tuesday, talking about the best places online for learning film, as well as the best books and movies you need to watch. Be sure to check out Simon's other episodes, I guarantee you will learn a lot. What do you think is the most important part of filmmaking? Any other methods that you use to learn about the medium? Leave a comment below, or you can tweet me @IlyaMTweets!
Hands down the most important part of FILM is the story, the idea, the script. But what is the most important part of the whole process of filmmaking?
Simon Cade, creator and host of the really amazing and creative show on YouTube called “DSLR guide”, recently made a video that, in a creative and entertaining way, showed the most important part of making movies. Here is the episode down below, in case you have not yet seen it. I also highly suggest you go and check out all of Simon’s other DSLR guide episodes, as you’ll find some very useful information about story and cinematography, as well as sound and audio, and how it affects our story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kElPBMKIUmw
As Simon clearly stated in the episode, the most important part of filmmaking and our development of our filmmaking skills, is learning.
I could probably write a 10 paragraph essay on how you should go about learning filmmaking. However, I think it really narrows down to just a few simple steps:
1. Make movies! The more you make, whether it be short films, short practice sketches, remaking a scene from a movie, timelapses, photography, whatever, the more you make, the more you will learn. Especially from your mistakes. I think that it is important to analyze after every project you do. What was successful? What was not? What could you improve on next time? What troubles did you run into while working on the project and how can you try to avoid them in the future?
2. Read filmmaking books, blogs & articles, watch filmmaking videos on YouTube (I will be making an article this Tuesday telling some of the best places for that), talk to other filmmakers/artists who are smarter than you and get their thoughts and opinions, etc. So basically, just learn like you would in school. Except learning film is much more fun.
3. WATCH movies! This is something I can’t emphasize enough. You absolutely HAVE to watch other movies, other YouTube videos, other work by other artists, and analyze it. There is a great quote by Picasso, which goes like: “Good artists copy, great artists steal”. This quote was also mentioned by Simon Cade in an earlier DSLR guide episode. Anyway, what this quote means is that, you have to watch a lot of other people’s work, and filter out what you like and what you would do differently. Quentin Tarantino, one of my all-time favorite directors said: “When people ask me, did I go to film school, I say, no, I went to FILMS.” Not only is this one of the best ways to learn, watching other artist’s work can also give you some ideas for your own work as well.
4. Share the information that you’ve learned! That’s basically what DSLR guide is all about, as stated by Simon himself. It’s about him sharing things he’s learned, but more like sharing and teaching. That’s why I’ve started this Blog, too. I want to share what I learn and teach other artists about different areas of filmmaking. I’m not saying that you should start a YouTube show or start a Blog, but at least talk to someone about it, or, even better, start writing a diary. If you want, you can later transform that diary into a Blog.
Like I said in the article, I will be making a Blog post this upcoming Tuesday, talking about the best places online for learning film, as well as the best books and movies you need to watch. Be sure to check out Simon's other episodes, I guarantee you will learn a lot. What do you think is the most important part of filmmaking? Any other methods that you use to learn about the medium? Leave a comment below, or you can tweet me @IlyaMTweets!