The Beauty of DIY

Do It Yourself

Besides just the camera equipment, props are another asset that tends to suck out a lot of the available budget. When you are making a simple modern drama film, props are not that big of a deal since anything at home will work. Once the films goes into either sci-fi or horror however, that is when things get complicated. Futuristic props or monsters and gore can be incredibly tricky and things simply bought from a costume store just do not cut it. Thus we get into DIY territory. Whether you are actually skilled in craftsmanship or are simply dedicated to the project, filmmakers end up just making their props. Even cardboard can be turned into something awesome.

Cardboard Man

Why Do It?

The choices available to you at the time are to buy the props, hire someone else to make the props, or make them yourself. Depending on what you need, the first two options can get pretty pricey. Also there is no guarantee that what you try to buy will live up to what you want.

A principle of making films is to think of it as a magic trick. With science fiction movie props particularly, a lot of props that look futuristic are everyday objects. Don't believe me? Take a look at Nerf guns. When I was a kid Nerf guns looked more like this:



Nowadays they look like this:

 Look at that and tell me that does not look like a sci-fi gun. With enough ingenuity and some paint, you can end up with some pretty cool looking science fiction guns. Hollywood has been doing this sort of thing for years. Only now do everyday people have the resources to pull something off similar to that.

So maybe you just plain stink at making it. That's okay too. There's bound to be someone you know who can help make something you need. Part of the reason why making a prop is preferable is that it will be personal to you. Instead of a generic prop, it will have your own flair.

Grab the duct tape and raid the recyclables. Go and get making. 

Is Film School Right for Me?

To Go or Not to Go?

For the longest time, it was believed that you had to go to a film school if you wanted to learn how to make films. Over the years as technology advanced to where it is at now, this sentiment is no longer set in stone. Instead of learning from solely teachers and books, people can go on the internet and find what they need. However that is not to say schools are completely out of date. It truly depends on each person, so the options must be weighed out if film school should be considered.

It Is Not for Everyone

Film school is the same for any sort of education at a college level; it is not for everyone. That is not to say someone is not smart enough to attend a school. People have different ways to go about things and sometimes school just does not work for them. For example, I knew a talented cinematographer from my freshman year in college. Near the end of that year, he told me he would be dropping out. It was certainly not due to a lack of skill or knowledge; he was one of the most informed people about film that I knew. He explained to me that he felt like he would be wasting his time and parent's money to stay there for the next few years. Instead he planned to make it out on his own. While I did not follow that path, I knew that he would probably do fine enough on his own.

What Do You Want to Get Out of It?

For those who think film school is a good place to go to cruise through college, head out the door. Of many fields, films is certainly the most difficult and labor intensive. If you are looking for that easy A, it will not be here. People who also want to go here for the hope of a career with a lot of money should look elsewhere. Film jobs can be sporadic and if you intend to support yourself only though film, it can get as bad as barely living paycheck to paycheck. Granted this is the same with any job, but getting jobs related to film is more or less a crapshoot.

People generally want to go to film school in order to learn how to make a film. There may be hundreds of books and videos out there, but nothing quite beats having a professor to actually teach you how to go about it. Depending on the school, it can also be a great place to get your hands on various equipment that is used in the business.

My film program actually had various studios, editing suites, and an equipment cage that offered cameras, microphones, tripods, and everything else an independent filmmaker could use. As long as you were not docked from the cage, a student could rent any sort of equipment to make whatever they please. The usual restriction was that the person could not make any money off of what they filmed; which is fair since the equipment is there for purely educational purposes.

What film school can offer you besides an education is a chance to network. Many famous filmmakers now were actually classmates at the same film schools. Not everyone can be good at everything, so it is good to talk and make friends with various people with different skills; sometimes you know someone who is good with sound and in exchange you can help them with filmming. Outside of classes, there are also the occasional internships and trips to film studios. Connections mean a lot in the business and sometimes your college can get you inside a film studio and meet executives. Experience will be your best teacher, and film schools can offer you the chance to get those experiences.

What Should I be Doing if I Go?

When you get out of school and take clients, most of the time you end up working on projects that they want. This leaves you with little to no time to make your own passion project. During your time at film school. you should go nuts and make exactly what you want. Do you want to have an senseless action movie? Make it! A suspenseful thriller that boggles the mind? Go for it. This is the place where you will have access to equipment and people more readily available than you will ever have outside the campus.  Do not let insecurities or criticism from your peers stop you from trying. If they do not like your work, take the criticism and use the time to make it better.

All in all, it should always be your choice. If school is not in the cards, that is okay. Art can be accomplished, no matter what you have. Lack of resources become less of a limitation and more of a challenge to greatness in the mind of an artist.