Learning Filmmaking, Part Two: Consuming Movies

If you are thinking about a career in film, you have to acknowledge that there are countless individuals out there who have the exact same high ambitions that you carry. This may sound like a heartbreaking thing to think about, but this fact should only drive you to do better. There is only one way to separate yourself from the rest of the pack - make sure that your level of dedication matches your level of ambition.

There are plenty of choices to make if you want to start gaining an understanding of filmmaking. Film school is an obvious choice, as well as any type of seminar, class, or lab. The only problem with those options is that they all can be fairly expensive. If your interest in filmmaking is in its beginning stages, I would not recommend forking over large amounts of cash just yet. There is so much valuable information already available to you and, most importantly, it is cheap:

DVDs.

Why can DVDs be so important to beginning filmmakers looking for crumbs of knowledge? If you track down the right movies with the right kind of commentaries and making-of documentaries, you just may have found yourself a free personal filmmaking seminar. While no one at this point in time is probably completely unfamiliar with special features, wannabe filmmakers should become best friends with this supplementary wisdom.

Before we delve too far into the wonders of special features, we have to discuss the movies themselves. Since we are all pretty poor at this point and in no way have access to million dollar budgets, we would all be immediately placed in the low-to-no-budget category of filmmakers. Now that we find ourselves in this ranking, the best way to learn about the process is by researching past examples and precedent.

There are a certain number of ultra-low budget movies that have received enormous success after they found their audience. While you do not actually have to enjoy these movies, it is important to be knowledgeable about them because you can bet that you will hear them referenced innumerable times during your quest for knowledge. These are the movies that were miracles in themselves and were a result of every aspect (from writing to acting to cinematography) falling into place so that the story became the main concern for audiences instead of how dirt-cheap it was made. These are the movies you should start studying for information as well as inspiration. I have included the estimated budget for each film, though keep in mind that it may only be the original budget and not include post-production costs once the film was bought from the filmmakers. Also, this is by no means a complete list and only includes a few scattered examples.

Night of the Living Dead (1968) - Directed by George A. Romero, Budget: $114,000

The Evil Dead (1981) - Directed by Sam Raimi, Budget: $350,000

Stranger Than Paradise (1984) - Directed by Jim Jarmusch, Budget: $90,000

She's Gotta Have It (1986) - Directed by Spike Lee, Budget: $160,000

Slacker (1991) - Directed by Richard Linklater, Budget: $23,000

El Mariachi (1992) - Directed by Robert Rodriguez, Budget: $7,000

Clerks (1994) - Directed by Kevin Smith, Budget: $27,000

These are a few movies that broke through to a mass audience and launched the successful careers of the directors. It would be beneficial to track down most of these movies and see how the directors made it from Point A to Point B.

After you have witnessed those movies, you may want to disregard them. All these examples are the tremendous success stories that will always be cited in how-to filmmaking books which tell their readers how you can "make the next Clerks!" I don't mean to imply that you will not make the next success story, but these examples have to be seen for the miracles that they were and not the normal state of no-budget filmmaking.

Now that you know about the success stories, you have to become familiar with the undiscovered. There is an entire world that exists below million dollar budgets and more 'glamorous' filmmaking. There is an entire network of struggling filmmakers who are barely able to make a film which ultimately ends up not being good enough in the first place. Of the large amounts of low-budget films that are actually produced, very few are acknowledged outside of the filmmaker's friends and family. Even fewer are bought and distributed. This is a cold, hard truth that everyone has to consider before they continue. Popular how-to-make-movies books don't dwell too much on the negative side of filmmaking because their books would sell fewer copies to those who only want to hear positive advice. The truth is that filmmaking is one rat-bastard hard thing to do successfully.

So what is wrong with those movies that do not sell and remain unsuccessful? Well, that is up to you. As a no-budget filmmaker, it should be considered important research to be connected to the independent film scene. From successful movies you will learn why audiences attached themselves to such stories. From unsuccessful movies you will be able to learn from the filmmakers' mistakes without having to lose the money that they lost.

The main idea is that you should start consuming movies. Not just consuming, but inhaling movies. Anything you can get your hands on, you should watch and learn from. Ask yourself questions while you are watching:

How did they make a movie like this with the budget they had?

Do I have the ability to make a movie as good as this? What do I lack that the filmmakers have?

What mistakes are the filmmakers making? How can I learn from these problems?

Also important is mainstream cinema. Just because you are a no-budget filmmaker does not mean you should limit your intake to no-budget movies. In fact, watching and studying big-budget movies should help you equally as much. On big-budget movies, everyone on set is a professional and therefore the cinematography, sound, editing, acting, writing, directing, etc. should be noteworthy. This is the kind of quality that you should be striving for, regardless of budget. The point of no-budget filmmaking is to take the little you have and to make it look like much more.

If you intend to be knowledgeable in film, there are many movies that you simply have to see. Many helpful lists of important movies exist on the internet and you should start working on them as soon as possible.

The American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Movies - While all the movies are of course American, this provides a basic groundwork for English-language classics.

Internet Movie Database's Top 250 Films - A list rated by movie fans themselves is an invaluable resource and a good clue to what the most popular movies of all time are.

Time Magazine's 100 Best - Another one-hundred list, but with many over-looked choices.

Roger Ebert's Great Movies Series - While you can still debate his reviews on current movies, his series includes some very seminal work in cinema and their respective articles should be read by any film fan.

Here you have four massive lists of movies that you should probably see. Viewing every important film cannot be done overnight, but it also cannot be done if you don't start with the first step. There will be some rough patches of dry, old, silent, foreign films, but I assure you that the reward is worth the couple hours you spend watching them.

Do you want to be one of those filmmakers who set themselves apart from the rest? You can start by knowing film history inside and out. For the price of a Netflix or a Blockbuster Online account, you can catch up on one-hundred years of filmmaking. To be a filmmaker you have to be absolutely in love with movies and that includes being a movie buff. Get a hold of those DVDs, watch those movies in a pitch-black room with your undivided attention, and listen to the commentaries with the 'renowned' film scholar. With the wide availability of DVDs today, you can basically create your own introduction to film course that is much cheaper and endlessly more in-depth. Consume every movie you can get your hands on.

Since we have been discussing watching instead of doing for a lengthy period, I feel as though I should once again bring up the single most important advice anyone can receive about filmmaking:

Make a movie. Whatever resources you have, it is enough to cut your teeth and gain some experience. Make your dedication match your ambition.