Peter,

you forget Yoda isn't real (even if the CG guys are doing a heck of a job trying to convince us). Remember that those golden words are written by ... a filmmaker. In fact the greatest independent filmmaker of all time :)

And I thought Mr. Miagi said it best... Karate do, or Karate don't. Karate maybe, you get squashed like grape.
Keith

Wow! what a turn out!
 

When I first started the post I never thought so many people will respond. It's great to see this topic has struck a chord with so many.

I have read the post three times and I have to say it's a real confidance booster and great encouragement for filmmakers young and old all over the world.

I hate to sound like Oprah or Tony Robbins when I say this but I truely think that if you have the focus on achieving your goals you, its just a matter of time when you realise those goals.

I want to say thanks to everyone who has posted. And your advice has helped me plan my career. I have applied to go part time at work so I can devote more time on making video projects. It'll be tough but simply asking around my firends circle has gotten me two jobs to film birthday party and a formal (Prom) at a highschool.

It's no Goodfellas, but I can use this time to hone my skills and camera techniques... and besides who wouldn't want to see a long steadicam shot followed by a whip pan in an 8 year old's birthday party?

Am I right or am I right?

Thanks guys.... your comments really helped a lot.

Best of luck to everyone... I'll keep you posted about my progress as I am sure you will do the same on yours...

Daniel from Hong Kong

D00d. You are lucky you live in Hong Kong. Some of the most inventive films are coming out of Asia right now and it just seems from a fan's perspective that the conditions are good for anyone to put together a challenging and entertaining work. Wong Kar Wai is just one of the geniuses that operate out of there. Good luck.

WKW is a genius
 

Keith,

I have to agree, the first time I saw Chunking Express, I remember thinking if only I had thought of it, Chris Doyle's camerawork, playing with shutter speed and exposure, it was like a dream. And the writing could not have been better, the dialogue is the best I have heard. And for those who don't know, Tarantino was a fan of Wong Ka Wai and admitted to have wrote pulp fiction based on his films.

He reached the peak with In the mood for love. He is the master of the hallway/doorway scenes one technique of framing that Tarantino "borrowed" from him.

Chris Doyle also shot the recent Swingers homage"Made" by Jon Favreau and Vince Vaugn. For those who want to learn how to light on the cheap within tiny spaces.... go and watch these films. Too bad only these films have been given a decent transfer on DVD...

I had the honor of seeing Doyle in action, he is really the most creative cinematographer I know of. He is the Roger Deakins or Janusz Kaminski on a budget. I went through the phase where I was choosing movies by cinematographers and it's really helped me learn and understand the art and it is an art. This is as close to film school as I can afford but it seems to have helped me immensly.

So what are your favorite Cinematographers or Directors???

Daniel from H.K.

It's great that you mentioned Christopher Doyle. He paints the most wonderful pictures with a camera.

I think if you want to talk about cinematographers you should start a whole new thread. I'm sure lots of people will get in on that.

I can relate to you all. I hate my job, i am 23 i work for Microsoft and i hate every minute of my life. And then it dawned on my yesterday. This is not me. This is not my life. Sure you need to do things to make ends meet, but guess what, it doesn't have to be here. My life is what i choose and i think that i fell into a rut where i thought that i had to do both. Sure, people will say but you have to eat. Of course i have to eat, but if i was so concerned about eating i would have decided to be a general manager at a movie theatre. But i didn't. I didn't choose to have another life, you know why? Cause this is in my blood. This is what i am made up of. Filmmaking runs through these viens just like any other cell that i posess. I have to be able to make my life my own. I am not going to go out guns blazing and sleep in a park, but i am going to do what makes me get there. Sure we like to think that we don't need to be happy. That in order to get somewhere we need to suffer and live a life of poverty. But i ask why? We need to do things that make us happy. Why live your life at a job you hate? It is just that a job. This is your career, that is your job. You can always leave a job. A career will always be in you. I don't know if this answered you, but it was just my ramblings as i sit here at my job.

So.... Inferno, what are you going to do then?

<<<-- Originally posted by inferno2002 : Why live your life at a job you hate? It is just that a job. This is your career, that is your job. You can always leave a job. A career will always be in you. I don't know if this answered you, but it was just my ramblings as i sit here at my job. -->>>

I've had moments like this but now I'm trying to balance what benefits I get from my job with my new interest in DV. I work at a streaming media technology company. There is nothing wrong with the company or products and I would not hesitate to support my company. However, there was something a bit missing from my work, I guess a creative community. I'm the one designer there and there are not many people to talk to when it comes to generating ideas. At the same time, my job allows me the benefit of relatively flexible work style within it and internet access.

I took a long look at perhaps going to film school and went through the entire process and was accepted. Then I realized that I wasn't ready to toss my income and take a year out of working. Then I examined the benefits that my job actually gave me above and beyond the monetary.

I decided to use that flexibility, the company's technological direction, and existing resources (Macs, disk space, bandwidth, software) and decided to move into DV. Our company has always lacked the ability to create its own content. Therefore, I decided to take the initiative and be that creator.

So far my company has been very accepting of my input (since it cost them nothing but extra flexibility in my job) and I'm going to take a crack at the corporate video and in generating personal video-in-email (one of our prime products). I really think this will make me a better employee who does more than is required.

This company, because it is small, still doesn't have a creative community but thanks for forums like this I can at least get the information and part inspiration in healthy amounts.

Haha of course now that I've posted this love letter to my company, watch us get toasted by the market. :) Knock on wood.

Well, actually i am quitting my job, finishing up my first feature length movie and then moving to Vancouver. I see that Keith is from there. Any info/advice you can give me about moving there?

Vancouver is the most expensive city to live in in Canada on average. Expect to pay $1500/mo. for a small 2 bdrm apartment downtown, at least $1200/mo. anywhere close to the core.

The IT sector job market is quite poor except for admin people. We've had guys apply for a tech support position here who were very overqualified.

The film and TV industry here doesn't seem to have been harmed by the new protectionism being raised in Hollywood YET but there could be a dip ahead though there is a lot of varied work. Not getting a handful of big budget films here won't cause that much of trouble. It's the TV and cable productions that would be at issue.

I don't know anything about immigrating here. You'd best check with the government. http://cicnet.ci.gc.ca/english/index.html

Re: Vancouver
 

But on the other hand, Vancouver has some really kick ass weed. ;)

Seriously though, Vancouver is like living anywhere else (but more expensive than many places). You get a nicer view than most cities, with the water and the mountains. If you like the outdoors its a great place to live.

Inferno, why do you want to move here in particular?
I used to live in the Niagara region and went to Buffalo many times.

Dylan,

For two major reasons.

1. There is and never will be support for film in Buffalo. This is a theatre town and that will never change. Sure locales are great and maybe when i get to bigger projects i will come back. But right now no.

2. Vancouver is the new Hollywood. Or is soon will be. Within the next 5 years Canada is the way to go.

I could be wrong.

Hmm.. Film is big here, but I still I wouldn't bet the farm on #2. But Vancouver is one of the nicest places to live in North America, so either way, you can't go wrong.

Oh, you'll have to put up with the Vancouver Canucks if you like hockey.

I am very blessed to have the funds from my day job to buy the equipment I want to produce my scripts. I have written 2 that rely on no one buy myself. I have acquired a XL1s (with accessories), A brand new Alienware Area 51M laptop tweaked for maximum mobile DV work (for editing at *Ahem* Work *Ahem*) Avid Xpress DV 3.5 Powerpack, Boris RED 2.5, A Magiq Cam IIa Stabalizer system, a Starvision 7" LCD monitor, Lots of lights, A Maxtor 120GB external hard drive, and all of the accessories required to film the scripts I have written. I am currently waiting on the Alienware laptop and the Magiq Cam to begin shooting! I know that not everyone can afford a set up like this but believe me I have put in tons of hours and hard work to be able to get this set up. After a terrible hard drive failure all of my previous work was lost and was very depressed until I decided no one was going to fix it but me! So I started getting things together again for round 2! The scripts are primed, polished, and ready!