How To Start A Career In Film Or Video Production?

Finding a job in the film industry can be difficult but not impossible. It all depends on the number of opportunities that are there around you. No matter which way you choose, putting in all the hard work will help you in starting your career in the film industry. If you are planning to pursue your career in the film industry and want to be a part of the video production team then have a look at this article.

Below mentioned are ways to start a career in film or video production.

1- Know about the language: Before you start applying for the jobs, make sure that you are able to have conversations about the film with other members of the team. Do some research, surf the internet and gain some knowledge about the language used in the film industry.

2- Learn about film and video production: If you are planning to pursue a career in production, then brush up your technical skills. Make sure you research the production jobs, research how production differs in various projects and studios. Also, it is important to have knowledge about the different roles of the production team. It also will be worth your while if you learn about the entire process of how a film is made.

3- Consider going to a producing school: Production schools can teach you everything related to production and film industry. This makes applying for jobs easy. You will be having enough knowledge about the industry and it will be easy for you to seek out for jobs.

4- Know about the industry in your area: If you are planning to work in your area, then research the companies, studios in your own city. There are different centers of films both nationally and internationally. And these centers do amazing work. This makes finding jobs in your own city easy.

5- Produce your own videos: Before joining the production team, you can make your own videos too. Take part in various competitions and make short films. This will be an addition to your resume and will help you later.

6- Shape your resume: While making a resume, pen down all your education. Don’t forget to mention about any projects that you have worked on. Also if you have an experience in the industry, make sure you list all the jobs in the resume.

Before starting your career, make sure you gather all the information about the film industry. Working in the industry can be very interesting and rewarding too.
If you are looking for a film school in NY, then get in touch with Digital Film Academy.

Things Every Filmmaker Must Examine When Selecting a Film School

The growth of film schools has been increasing over years. There are some of the Best Film Schools in America but a lot of folks out there are confused and are trying to figure out which film schools they should attend and why. Film Making has become a subject that every student wants to study.

Mentioned below are some basic questions that students should ask themselves before going to a film school.

Why do you want to attend a film school?
There is a number of film schools out there. The first and foremost thing before attending the school is being honest to yourself. Why do you want to attend a film school? It is important to understand the reason behind it and then take a decision. Once you are clear enough, it will be easy to examine different film schools and what courses they have for you. And accordingly, you can opt for the courses.

Who is Teaching You?
There are many professors out there in different departments who have listed classes to explore everything. These courses can be eye opening experiences. Students, who want to pursue their career in the film industry must ask: Who is curating my education?

There are a lot of vacant positions for the teachers but don’t permit for flexibility. This is why universities don’t depend on them much. Tenured track positions are incredibly expensive and don’t allow for flexibility, which is why universities are not relying on them as much. Students need to have reliable educators and mentors. Also, students can opt for higher studies in film making too. It is about opening doors for new opportunities and seeing things in a new way.

Is There a Culture of Watching Films?
All film schools should have screenings. It is important that students have the opportunity to explore further. Talent, determination and hard work is the key to success. Although a lot of people are finding success in the film world. And as a result, all of them are happy and satisfied enough with the decisions they have made. So before attending any film school make sure you gather all the information and then make a decision.

Do you want to pursue a career in film making? Then get in touch with Digital Film Academy. They provide you with the best training possible.

Important Skills You Need To Develop For Film Industry

Whether you’re just a beginner or have started your filmmaking career, you’re expected to learn new skills at every phase to make yourself stand out from the competition. Although, filmmaking training will give you the required knowledge and skills, as your career progress it’s your responsibility to know which are the relevant skills you’ll need to grow further. So, you need to be very active and take every step to acquire as many of skills as you can.

Read below the important skills you need to develop for films.

Filmmakers – If you want to advance your filmmaking career from Runner through to Director, you must gain as much experience as working on set and on location. You also need to acquire experience in making plan and budget and understand other implications including scheduling. As a director, you will need to become familiar with the current Health and safety legislation, and all other aspects of the film production and post-production processes including digital grading of the film. Besides all this, you will need to keep your team and crew members motivated to achieve the desired results.

Scriptwriters – When it comes to writing, it is an art form that requires time to develop. Being a part of other screen-writers team, story consultants, development executives, and producers, you must know ways to develop your creativity and work with deadlines. Along with this, you will also need to handle rejection and criticism of your work with a degree of self-control. While formal training is not necessary to become a scriptwriter, the producers will expect your screenplays to be submitted in a standard format.

Production Designers – Once you are done with your traineeship and start to progress in your field you will need to stay updated with your skill level. Try to become master in computer-aided design programmes including Vectorworks and Sketchup, and as you grow further you will become more involved in budget control. Therefore, you must get yourself familiar with different types of financial software packages.

Editors – As you finish your filmmaking degree and work as an editor, you will be charged with several creative things as well as will have various other roles to play. For instance, one minute you will be involved in editing a number of shots and the next you would be making some changes to the script to make sure that the scene flows well with the sound mix and music of the film. Hence, you need to develop skills such as managing people, sense of imagination, visual awareness, and creativity.

If you’re considering to pursue a career in the film industry or already started your filmmaking career, make sure to develop the relevant skills. To enroll in the filmmaking training program, contact Digital Film Academy.

Four Film Project Cliches That Needs To Be Let Go By Film Students

Every film student starts from somewhere. Whether you have recently enrolled in a film school or still on the fence regarding them, there is a whole lot to know before you begin your first project. There are a few things which have been tried and tested and have become a cliche. so, before you go in and dive in the film world here are a few cliches that you definitely need to avoid:

Alarm clock openings
The alarm clock opening has been done by numerous films – small as well as big and is identified as the most used opener. If your classmates at film school are using this opener, let them do it. This opener leads to a basic montage of the main character’s life. Go on the path less traveled and use other ways of opening the movie such as jumping straightway in the middle scene.

Running sequences
Running sequences are great to practice your skills but are definitely not the scene you need to add to your film. In a narrative film, this scene can put off your audience. Rather than running, try to add other small actions such as wrapping a gift or making a sandwich and create more out of it. Remember anything with progression and moment will work.

Homage to signature director cuts
This cliche is seen in numerous film students projects. Every student is inspired by one or another director. This means that they will pay homage to their favorite director. Whether it is Tarantino’s trunk shot, Scorsese’s tracking shot or Spielberg’s extreme close up of character’s face, try not to add in your film. You can use a different way to showcase the set of emotions or the tense scenes that are different from your favorite director. This will help you understand a variety of filmmaking aspects.

The bathroom mirror reveals
Horror movies to rom-coms, everyone has used the bathroom mirror reveals to give something shocking or sweet to the audience. However, it is also one of the most used scenes of all times. Rather than using a same old twist, try and use a new angle to entice and engage your audiences.

Want to know more about filmmaking courses? Contact Digital Filmmaking Academy (DFA). They offer basic and advanced filmmaking courses with full equipment use benefits after the graduation.

Reasons Why You Should Join A Filmmaking School?

Are you a creative soul? Have you ever dreamt of making your own silver-screen sensation? Do you imagine yourself holding an award and delivering a thank you speech? If yes, y ou probably don’t need much motivation or convincing to enroll in a filmmaking school. There are various filmmaking schools in the U.S. that offer numerous programs and courses related to filmmaking. For those who are still on the fence, here are some of the reasons to study film making:

Your ideas will come to life
Among many subjects, the nearest you’ll ever get to present your ideas into reality be an essay. Unlike an essay, the expression of concepts and thoughts in filmmaking is not confined to language. A myriad of colors, camera angles and filters will be at your ditching, making sure you’ll have numerous ways to put across your vision.

Thrill-packed career opportunities
It won’t be a surprise to say that at some point, many of us have dreamt to work in film and television. Working in the film and television industry brings along several exciting career opportunities. For an instance, how much fun and how great it must be to encounter some of the most renowned celebrities as part of your job. And all of your friends will envy you.

The world always want entertainment
In a constantly changing world, a lot of jobs and even some of the university subjects are on the verge of becoming outdated. Luckily for filmmaking students, that’s not a case. Starting from Shakespearean classics to Roman amphitheaters, the people have always shown a great passion for filmmaking and performing arts. By obtaining a degree in filmmaking you’re setting your career that will never go out o fashion.

Transferable skills
If you’ve already completed a filmmaking degree and realize that it’s not your cup of tea, you will still have acquired a striking set of skills during your course plan. You’ll earn experience of how to develop a creative idea and gain experience of how to develop a creative idea and vision it through to the end. Add up some project management experience, skills with an ability to analyze your own work and sophisticated technology and you’ll come out as a highly employable individual indeed.

Are you searching for filmmaking schools in the USA? Do you wish to have a filmmaking career? Get yourself enroll with Digital Film Academy. A leading digital film academy offering numerous interesting courses in filmmaking and many other interesting subjects.

4 tips to be considered in top cinematography schools

If you are a film student or want to become one, the first thing you should do is understand what cinematography schools look for in a film student. Every film school has unique requirement to what they want. Understand what you need to show them and how you can increase your chances. Here are four tips to help you focus in right direction:

 

Communication is the key element
It is not enough that you should just have an artistic vision or great ideas. You need to have ability to communicate your vision clearly. Understand and learn the art of storytelling. Technical aspects of the grammar and language needs to be perfect. Thus, if your writing skills are not strong, you need to take a class to better them.

Speak for yourself
In the film world, life experiences matter. With right experience, you’ll be able to bring in your unique perspective. Know what sets you apart from the other applicants. From travelling to the unique places to getting involved in your own community, let your life experiences speak for themselves.

Practice makes perfect
A strong cinematography school application needs a lot of practice. You don’t need to be a film student to create movies. Let your camera tell the stories. You don’t need to create the feature films. Five to ten minutes short movies can do the same. With short movies, you become a strong director, cinematographer and a strong applicant. Your short film can be the sample of your work.

Get ready to be comfortable in front of the camera
Not all film students are comfortable in front of the camera. But when you don’t have the budget, you need to be able to face the camera. If you are uncomfortable or do not understand the nuisances, then it would be for the best if you take an acting class. It will also help you be a better director and cinematographer.

If you are interested in the cinematography schools in the New York, make sure you apply to Digital Film Academy. They are one of the renowned New York film schools with Chad Boseman and a few as the alumni.

Top 5 books that filmmaking student should know

When the filmmaking training of any new student begins, the first thing they look for is the books. Every filmmaking student often grabs numerous books to get help in understanding the techniques along with what he /she learns at the school. It often best to get the right books and start for the best. Here are top 5 books that will help you get your filmmaking training on-

1. The Hero with a Thousand Faces | Joseph Campbell
   With numerous screenwriting books out there, The Hero with a Thousand Faces stands out. This book is masterclass for the students in comparative mythology. It is a scholarly and difficult read that is worth the effort. After finishing the The Hero with a Thousand Faces, it is best to read Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey.
2. Poetics | Aristotle
   As a students of film, it is best to start with the classic. If you think that there is something wrong with what you are writing, you might have broken one of the Aristotle’s rules. There are variety of rules set to create the right balance between the beginning , middle and end the story. While, it is a thousand years old, it is the foundation of the storytelling.
3. The Hollywood Standard | Christopher Riley
   Want to professionally format the screenplay? Learn it in depth from the Christopher Riley’s The Hollywood Standard. This book is recommended by the screenwriter John August.
4. On Directing Film | David Mamet
   David Mamet, an Oscar-nominated filmmaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright has written on the craft of directing in his book On Directing Film. He preaches the importance of thinking visually and admires the working of Alfred Hitchcock. This book will challenge  the way you direct and what it means to be a director.
5. Rebel Without a Crew | Robert Rodriguez
   Rebel without a Crew is the ultimate book that is anthem for the indie filmmakers. Robert Rodriguez shares the making of his debut film “El Mariachi”. While the industry has changed since Rodriguez first debut, the book is an illuminating read that inspires the young filmmakers to start creating movies.

If you are interested in the filmmaking training schools in the New York, contact Digital Film Academy. They are one of the renowned New York film schools with Chad Boseman and a few as the alumni.

4 basic light setups that every filmmaking training student must know

Whether it is a small, indie or a big budgeted Hollywood movie, lighting plays a huge role. However, during the filmmaking training, the students are taught to make films on the budget, which means they have to compromise on expensive and quality lighting equipment. Nonetheless what is important to remember is that more than the high tech equipment, it is necessary that the director utilizes the equipment to make the film perfect.

To create a perfect movie, the director needs to make right creative choices. A cinematographer needs to make sure that:

• Right props and scene elements are emphasized
• He understands the perspective of the current protagonist and set the light according to that
• He understands the difference between the variety of characters  and their emotions in a single frame
• He knows the emotions that are being expressed through harshness of light

For that a cinematographer needs to understand the basics of setting up of the lights and their right usage. Here are four basic light set ups that you need to know to create a perfect film:

The three point lighting setup

The three point light setup is one of the most basic setups. It lights the subject or subjects of the frame from three directions. It also sets them apart from their background. To get the perfect three point light setup, you need to plant your equipment on three directions: front, back and side (generally)– all towards your subject.

Key light

This lighting setup registers most prominently in the frame. In many films it lights the face and makes it the focal point of the frame.

Fill lights

The fill light setups fills the whole frame with the light. While the shadows are still there, the features of the main character and the other things are clearly visible.

Back light

The backlight setup places a bit of edge to the rear portion of your subject. The back light shoots down from the higher angle.

All the decision of using the light setups must be done technically. When used right, these setups create the effects you need. The cinematographer needs to understand these effects before you apply them.

Want to apply for filmmaking training? Contact Digital Filmmaking Academy (DFA). It offers basic and advanced filmmaking courses with full equipment use benefits after the graduation free of charge.