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Since I've seen a few guys here who are writers, directors, & editors etc. I figured it would be cool to have a go to spot for knowledge. Drop your own knowledge and experieces about anything to do with the Film Industry, Film Schools, and the tricks and tips on how to be successful as a student or industry pro. Also ask questions and show off your work in film.

So I'll get the ball rolling for anybody trying to go John Woo...

[pic] After Effects Gun Slide Tutorial - YouTube

[pic] How to Make Realistic Looking Gun Fire (Muzzle Flash) Effects - Visual Effects 101 - YouTube

[pic] Special Effects vs Visual Effects: Bullet Hits! - YouTube

Dope thread, I hope this is a success.

I'll be checking this often, can't add much to it but I have a lot to learn

Originally Posted by N/A I'll be checking this often, can't add much to it but I have a lot to learn

No doubt I'll try and post daily.

Nice but old episode of Film Riot shows and defines the use of some of the great tools used on indie films. Don't forget the C-47's

[pic] Film Riot - Gear & How to do the Scorsese Shot! - YouTube

Mega info post, this shows step by step how to make a movie in a funny way that will keep you interested or annoy the he'll out of you. Either was good watch.

[pic] How To Make Your First Movie - Phase 1: Writing - YouTube

At this level I def try to write creative stories while keeping in mind the lack of budget. Writing about your surroundings is always good because when the ish goes down on your block nobody has a budget.

[pic] How To Make Your First Movie - Phase 2: Budgeting - YouTube

The tricky part money I tend to think if you shoot all that you can for free and then make a trailer you should be able to raise money for "finish the film". Looking at it that way, you have something to show investors and you can gauge where the film is goin so far. At the very least you walk away with more footage for your real. Kickstarter is the place to raise money, show your trailer and come with creative ways to lure investors, but make sure you can come through on the promises.

[pic] How To Make Your First Movie - Phase 3: Casting - YouTube

On the two films I've worked on nobody got paid. That's a fact of life starting out and it can't be tough for the indie film maker to figure out. My thing is even if I wasn't making the film and just acting or helping out in some way, if it makes money pay me if not thanks for the resume add. That simple you have to love your craft and build your resume. If you have money get every thing...everything in writing. If you say I'll pay you $500 and they agree, then you make a few mil on a surprise hit, they will come for more. Get every deal with an actor as well as your locations in writing.

[pic] How To Make Your First Movie - Phase 4: Gear - YouTube

Good stuff here I have not rented much equipment so I have no clue how it works. The things I've read state as follows: never, never, never pay the asking price for equipment rentals, studios who make millions don't so why should you. I can't stress enough audio is super important. I can recall before I had any interest in film making watching a blended family members first film and thinking not only did it make story sense but I can't hear !!.

I will post my gear as well as other great pieces along with pricing or DIYs in future post.

[pic] How To Make Your First Movie - Phase 5: Lighting - YouTube

Hands down the subject I know the least about and since that's the case I will post tons of lighting vids. I watch everything before I post so it can only help.

Hope this helps out some of the film and video makers on the BX Part 2 coming soon.

Film Riot has always been incredible!!!

Built this this weekend pretty easy even the sawing and all the basic parts came from best buy. This was originally built in 2010 so it's about $50 now. They sell an in store product similar to this for about $120.

[pic] DIY DSLR Fig Rig / Cage / st@bilizer - awesome on Vimeo

Here's the st@bilizer in action

[pic] DIY DSLR Cage / Fig Rig / st@bilizer: Testing on Vimeo

Here's the detailed list from cheesy cam if anybody has questions on any parts send a pm.

Part 2 of the how to make your first movie post:

[pic] How To Make Your First Movie - Phase 6: Audio - YouTube

Check out different mic reviews and watch examples of them being used. Most of the short films on Vimeo will share the equipment used. Adjust the audio in you editing soft ware even if you don't have an engineer work on it. Export the audio in the best possible quality.

[pic] How To Make Your First Movie - Phase 7: Shooting - YouTube

The reason we came and the easiest to !! up hands down. On my first film I shot my self there was so many shaky beautiful shots. The more you shoot the better you'll get but holding the cam is a no, no. Get a steadycam or st@bilizer, build them if you have a low or no budget. There are tons of Dyi sites and projects I will post the ones I build. Study lenses as well, not every lens will look right with every shot. If your using a dslr and want a filmic look find lenses that will transfer not all will look right on a theater screen.

[pic] How To Make Your First Movie - Phase 8: Editing - YouTube

Man editing is super tough my first project was 24mins and took about 48 real-time hours to edit. To make a decent film look really good you have to make sure your scenes make sense and keep a good flow. My second project showed the affects of bad editing and how stupid it can look if not done properly. The funny thing is my video 1 teacher did the edit, I guess those who can't really do teach. Also in the edit color correcting can bring a film to life and the right lenses can help ease that process.

Taking a few steps back.

camera set up.

[pic] 1. Prep Canon 7D to shoot in Movie Mode - Tutorial (interactive) 5D Mk3 t4i - YouTube

Lens selection

[pic] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR04PE0QQg0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

What this guys is not saying is, if you really trying to make a movie and you have a theatre locally that will run your film, you need to be shooting on a Lens that will translate. Prime lenses are great for indie film makers. I just starting out have only just started collecting these. nikon AI-s(with an adapter for canon), Canon L, Zeiss Ze are all great lenses that will look great on a big screen in a real theatre.

Do your research on your lens selection, think about what style you want to convey and make the correct decision.

This is a thread I def will bookmark and keep coming back to for updates. Theres a ton of stuff to learn when it comes to all of this.

Some of the misteps I've made have come from lack of having the right gear. A few must haves to get a more professional look:

st@bilizer/steadycam

The Merlin: high end -$799

[pic] Steadicam Merlin Review - YouTube

Opteka Steadyvid Pro: mid range- $179

[pic] How to balance Opteka SteadyVid Pro st@bilizer - YouTube

Lensse Midx SteadyCam low end-$89

[pic] Lensse MidX Camera st@bilizer Steady Cam Steadicam - YouTube

Review

[pic] Lensse MidX Camera st@bilizer - REVIEW - YouTube

There are also plenty of DIY versions out there to save money.

Pros: save money which we all like and build something that may work for your cam.
Cons: instruction. In all the vids posted there's a bit of setup to get these systems to work properly, if you built it yourself there's no help.

Warning: I don't own any of these products so I have no clue which is better and which is crap. The purpose of my post is to educate and inform you of options, please do your own research to find out what's the best system for your camera.

book marked!

The Cam Slider is a very nice tool in the film maker/videographers tool box. I give you the ability to bring a different cinematic quality to you film or video.

[pic] CAMERA SLIDER TEST - GARRETT MOUNTAIN, West Paterson, New Jersey - YouTube

There are so many different sliders on the market Im not gonna bother to post them. I will gives some tips, if you're rich buy the best one you can afford brands like Kessler and Konova make good sliders. If your like me and the rest of the people I know who are not rich, make your own. Im in the process of making my own motorized slider right now. There are endless amounts of possibilities when going through this process. Again do your research, I have been hunting for the right parts for my design for months and Im still not done. Youtube has a million DIY sliders ranging from $10 to $200. Cheesy Cam also offers a wide selection of DIY or modified sliders.

What I will say is there are so many crooks out there trying to capitalize on the DSLR craze. Anything I've seen for $100 can usually be made for $25 at a hardware store. Don't get robbed for your p a$sion.

Just because it's so !!ing dope.

[pic] A Momentary Lapse of London - YouTube

I just got the Opteka Steadivid, its a nice little st@bilizer for the price. Still working on getting that perfect balance but even with it slightly off it still makes for a great, fluid shot.

Major Props on The Vids...[pic]

I would suggest to anyone looking to getting into film to soak up as must knowledge you can and pick a specialization (Directing,DP, Producer, Sound Design etc)

cant say im into "film" but ive done a !! load of commercials, live shows and music video's. im ready to take it to another level though. ive done alot of homework myself that can apply to film making.

does anybody use magic latern for there canon dslr? if not here's a link to the website. take a lil time to read up on it. theres also tutorials n !! on youtube about it. i have it for a T3i.


!!s pretty hot so far. im a camera man (and editor) but i recently stepped into the dslr world. !! reminds me more of a big[..] broadcasting camera then a dslr that shoots video. with magic latern u get zebra's, a vectorscope and all kinds of !! i havent even tried yet.

for those that dont have alot of money to spend on a shoulder st@bilizer check this out

[pic] Spiderbrace Tutorial: Build Your Own for $20 - YouTube

!! lasted a few years until my wife broke it but by that time i had purchased one off of ebay (ebay is the !! when buying camera gear n !! as long as u dont buy from china. i dont trust that !!) along with a follow focus. i used it for a video camera though.

this is it

[pic] Spider Steady Rig, DSLR Rig Movie Kit, adjust@ble shoulder rig Review - DSLR FILM NOOB - YouTube

its far from the higher end brand st@bilizers, but for $60 i love it.

50mm lens

[pic] 5 Reasons Why You Need a 50mm lens - YouTube

for $100 (1.8) everybody with a dslr should have one. i have one with a 72mm Raynox HD wide angle lens that i screw on to widen it out even more. seeing that its a prime lens that !! comes in handy.

I use magic lantern with my t2i it's nice to have all those added extras. I try and build my own tools as well theres so much out there, but a lot of it is over priced and based off a design somebody did in a basement. Cheesy cam is a good place to look for DIY if your handy. I built this one.

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Im also in the process of designing my own motorized slider. As for picking a position I was heading that way but I do it all I write shoot and chop my own. I don't plan to keep it that way but right now I'm still learning and a good director should probably know all angles if the set.