Filming: Study it or just do it?

[chrisgreen]

I've found in my experience there is nothing as useful as experience, BUT i've also found learning by doing isn't always most practical. This is where studying comes handy. I know there is a lot of people who don't care for studying at all, and a lot who sware by it.

What is if for you? Study or do?

[ctbullet]

i did no studying for filming when i first started and just did it for fun, this was ok for a while but the material i produced was limited

i now do film-studies at college and have learnt so much and my work is much better, so a bit of studying has paid off

[UFProductions]

Yeah, both for me. I've always just filmed what I felt was right, picked up some books and info off the web along the way. Now I'm doing a minor degree in Film alongside my major in Communications Studies at the UofC.

[maj_barnes]

I remember it for me when starting out: I would watch movies and just see certain scenes that I liked. And just mimic'd them. Like in HEAT where the camera zooms in alittle bit at the guard's back who has his hand up, or a similar scene from Black Hawk Down, where it has a eye level shot of a handheld camera shaking abit at a approching mob then zooms in and zooms out a tad quickly. Or I started noticing while watching Die Hard that during dialogue scene the person would be framed on the side, or certain over the shoulder things that I started to pick up on. Those little things that made the most impact in me.

[Ornsack]

Both.

I reckon I've learnt much more from self experience but if it wasn't for college or university I wouldn't have learnt little things about framing or pacing or working with professional equipment etc...

So where-as some times it can be a pain (I remember sitting through a 2 hour lesson on how to use a MiniDV camera once) I definately think you need to get lots of advice from people in the know, even if you don't take it all on board.

And in the same breath, anyone who thinks they're already too good to be taught anything is an anus hole.

[film fanatic]

I remember it for me when starting out: I would watch movies and just see certain scenes that I liked. And just mimic'd them. Like in HEAT where the camera zooms in alittle bit at the guard's back who has his hand up, or a similar scene from Black Hawk Down, where it has a eye level shot of a handheld camera shaking abit at a approching mob then zooms in and zooms out a tad quickly. Or I started noticing while watching Die Hard that during dialogue scene the person would be framed on the side, or certain over the shoulder things that I started to pick up on. Those little things that made the most impact in me.

I try and mimic that all the time in tense scenes - little zooms in and out again. I got it from "Lost". Specifically this scene where Locke walks again:

It's towards the end of the clip. (Watch it from about 3 minutes in)

[rhys]

I did it and leant from my mistakes.
I have learnt a bit, may not seem like it because i havent made a movie in ages, but i have.
I used to make 1-angled 2 minute movies. That quickly changed.

[chrisgreen]

I've always found that doing a big project rarly to be more effectivle than doing lots of little ones, you tend to take things more seriously when a lot of time is put in it.

[Epsilon]

Studying only gets you so far. What is the point in having knowledge if you aren't applying it to something? Experience cannot be learned from reading. Period.

[Theshapecool]

I agree with Epsilon, Studying is great, do both for sure. I did A Levels in Film and Media, very helpful and handy, but ultimately got boring and seemed limited at times. The qualifications can help you, but ultimately its the knowledge that helps you, however you gain it. Do some courses, to say you have, you will probably learn alot. Although I did the A levels for a bit of fun really, I figured I knew about that stuff, I might as well have something that proves I know it. Film Studies and Media are both very easy. I passed them without revision or anything like that, it just seemed to be an easy subject. I was ill on the day of the exam and ended up answering all the wrong questions on the paper, It didnt matter to me because I knew about that stuff so I passed it easily, but the teachers were angry at me because I had answered questions on subject we werent learning. I tried telling them that it didnt matter because I knew everything they were gonna teach me and all that was on the syllabus. So yes, be warned, media teachers are often pretty annoying. They also dont know very much. My film teacher didnt even know what a swing gang was and she told us that Nosferatu was made in 1929. But yaknow, it was still fun.