A hopeful request for some tips.

Ok, here goes....I've posted here a bit. And some may remember me as the guy who is trying to organise the fanfilm night in London UK. But now the topic.....

You guys first of all entertained me greatly with your work.

Then educated me and pointed me towards tutorials, software, hardware etc. Not me directly, but by reading numurous threads. And i'm pretty sure i now have most of what i need.

And you've pretty much inspired me to get into this as a hobby. I began coming here just as a huge Star Wars fan who was hungry to see more of what i loved on screen. And now i am very interested in putting something together myself.

I'm realistic, i've set no time limits for this, i don't care if it takes years, i'm new to every aspect of film making from camera's to all the types of software needed. But i've really enjoyed doing what i've turned out so far, ( i'd never show it yet, i've seen too many threads attacking early work! *LOL* ) I'm projecting it will take me at least 2 or 3 years before i have my project anywhere near completed. I'm not one of these guys who announces the title of my film and saying its going to be released on whatever date, in about 6 months time.*L*

I'm just going to enjoy the learning curve, enjoy making my props and writing, and scouting some locations.

The point of this thread is, what advice would you give me?

I did think about writing my script, or at least putting the story in my head on paper in more detail. And gearing my test shots and practice stuff towards the story in the hope that time may be saved if i happen to get something right.

basicaly i'm asking you guys for some tips on getting underway. How i should embark on this huge learning curve?

Thanks for everything so far. And thanks in advance for any replies i may get.

 

Write. Write write write write write.

And learn. Always experiment with your writing and your effects programs, find new ways of doing things, and try to stay excited.

 

My first piece of advice would always be not to bite off more than you can chew, but you have that right off. I commend you greatly on that.

The place to start would probably be the writing phase. Start writing. A lot. Write ideas, over and over, then take those you like and develop. Take all the time you need to revise that script over and over and over. After that, look into equipment, actors, and budget. A strong script can get you a lot of support from other places after it's written.

Best of luck to you! Thanks for coming to us with a plan, good grammar, and willingness to take care of things for yourself.

~Neszis~

 

Be creative. think of new effects or try to find differentt ways of doing others

 

try to think of something that you have never seen whether it be like the entertaining death of Ryan in RvsD or my latest film that has a very cool strangling scene followed by the dying dood using the force to grab his saber and shove it through the both of them....

(not trying to advertise)

just think of something entertaining towards yourself and most likely it will be entertaining towards people on this site...

 

Rule #1: Ask questions.

Rule #2: Don't feed Funk-E after midnight.

 

It turns me evil!

 

Never give up, no matter what anyone says.

 

Write and shoot as much as you can. Critique everything you do and improve upon it. Watch a lot of movies from all generas and all languages.

--Jamball

 

Do lot of writing and planning. It can sometimes be easy to get lost in all the FX and the cool factor of your movie. DONT DO THAT!!! Always try to keep the story focused on the characters.
Now venture off into the world rapped in a cloak of happy geekness and make movies.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!!

 

Scroll through the threads, look for two things:

1) The films everyone loved. They'll give you good examples of what to do.

2) The films everyone hated. They'll give you good examples of what NOT to do.

 

Many thanks for every post so far. It's been a great help.

I'm looking forward to writing it's something i've enjoyed for a while now even before all this. So rest assured i'll be writing lots until i get it right for my needs.

At the moment my focus is on simple, maybe 4 characters, and i want to include a couple of unexpected elements i have in my head. Somethings i've never seen before. I do not want to simply duplicate others work. But i'm not ruling out the odd forest scene. *L*

This film will be 100% Duel of fates free. And i promise there will be no double bladed light sabers.

 

Don't listen to Funk-E when it comes to lightsaber size.

Listen to me.


-Vaportrail

 

Let's just make lightsabers MORE phallic, then.

Mine's bigger!

But, seriously, your props were gigantic.

 

hes right, they were.

 

My advice: get someone to help work on it who you KNOW is as dedicated as you are. It's really difficult to put together a fanfilm with one person, and can be really unhealthy: the amount of time and effort required is a little staggering.

-Spiff

 

if you have no worries about time (which is a great thing as the good stuff don't come to you in a week) then take as much time before hand before you even think of putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard.

watch other fan films, watch films and look at teh styles of writing, filming and story and think what you want to make. then stop. look at what you want to make and think where you could do it with the skills you currently have.

That doesn't mean if you don't know how to don't do it. it just means it is a skill you will need to learn. do you think you could learn it? would you want to learn it?

Then start writing. write a lot. write more than one script. then rewrite. then again, look at what you have and see if it is practical. if you have an idea of how to do an effect or shot but are not sure if it will work, TEST IT. just film the effec of shot and nothing else just to see if your ideas are practical.

if you havn't seen tha patten in what i'm saying here is a summery. don't jump in the deep end and expect a masterpeice, take the time, try different things, make some short movies build your way up. But never say no to yuor dreams. This is star wars. and the stars are the limit.

happy filming and good luck.

 

Don't forget to visit the library and check out a few books on storytelling, scripting, filmography, acting, special effects...whatever you want your fanfilm to have. Even basic books aimed at kids have some useful tips and trick.

And look around you, see what you've got to work with and start from there. It may limit your scope...but makes things TONS easier in the long run. If all you've got is a forrest...well, finishing a fanfilm in a forrest is a bigger accomplishment than planning "the best film ever" that will take place beside a CG volcano but never actually getting it finished.