Want to work in films

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Hello, I hope I have posted this in the right forums. Either way, here's my question.

What would you say to a 16 year old boy from Sweden who wants to work in films?

Dream would be to be a director but that is obviously not easy at all, I'm aware that it is something you work yourself up towards. But would you say it's possible? I'd love to work in movies but it seems like such an unpredictable profession.

Anyway, I'd like to hear your thoughts.



Best thing to do is find people in the area who are like minded, preferably people who have maybe some acting experience... grab a pen and paper and sit together and mind storm for script ideas or if you have an idea yourself, use it if you can... write it yourself and then grab a camera.

Some of the greatest Directors started that way.

Robert Rodriguez, JJ Abrams, Spielberg... all started with a handheld camera and some friends.



Rodent is dead-on. I know a couple of people who went from just being cinephiles to being involved, in some form or another, in the industry, and you hear the same kind of advice from them as you do from the Robert Rodriguez's of the world: just start making movies. Write them, direct them, whatever. Even if they suck at first. Just start doing it as much as possible.

This is also the advice people in other areas give: writers always tell you to read and write as much as possible. There is no substitute for experience. If you want to be good at something, do it early and often and keep getting better at it. It's brilliant advice for almost any occupation.



edwardc77's Avatar
Thought he lost everything,then he lost a whole lot more.
Before you can become a master filmmaker ,you need first to be humble student. That means you need to watch a lot of movies from different countries and different time spans,and study them. Pay attention to everything:the dialogue,the plot,the editing,the director's style and so on.... Then when you're ready follow Rodent's advice.



* Watch lots of films like Edwardc77 said, books on film/art and so on. You are 16 years old, so study.

* Experience like Rodent said, make films yourself with like minded people and if you think they are good enough enter them into film festivals near you(school festivals, independent festivals).

See if there are any independent films in production near you and ask if you can volunteer to do anything on set for the experience, or do some extra work(I know it's not directing/behind the scenes but you will be on set and around people and can watch them working and so on).

Any film courses you can do in your free time - for example when I was at school I did a course on script writing that a cinema in the city was offering.

* Contacts

* Luck


Apart from the obvious, everyone I've talked to who works in the industry has said two of the most important things are 'contacts/networking' and 'luck'... So you want confidence and strength because there are an awful lot of let downs and rude people in this industry, you need to learn to ignore these elements and not feel negative emotions about it - just keep going.



Cthulhu's Press Officer
Definitely Rodent's advice.

I attribute it to getting a band off the ground. Write your own songs, make your own merch, backdrop etc Gig as much as possible to the smallest crowds/crappiest venues and show labels you don't need them and dedicate your time, heart and soul to it and people will take notice.



Sorry Harmonica.......I got to stay here.
Agreed -- just start doing it. You're young enough to gain a ton of experience and use it at a young age-- good luck!
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