Time to go to work (part 1)

Maybe you're saying to yourself, "I know nothing about making movies. Where do I start?"

Well the first thing (and the last thing) you need to keep in mind is ACTION. You can very easily over think this and DO nothing at all. You can over research, know everything you need to know, and still DO nothing. ACTION is key. With that in mind, start learning. This is what I did:

I'm a music person, so I already had an MP3 player. It's a must for my plan. You can buy a cheap one at Wal-Mart (I recommend "Creative" brand for the software it comes with - more on that later). I won't advocate buying a lot of stuff in this blog, but your education will be gotten while you do other things. You'll get your education by listening to podcasts and commentaries. You put them on your MP3 player and go on about your life.

Let's start with podcasts (or any mp3 audio). I got this idea from listening to audio books. I could rip a book off a CD and take it with me. Are you seeing the big picture? Go to ITunes, Juice, other pod downloaders and search for anything pertaining to film making (yeah, I said film - but it works). Look for anything on screenwriting, or whatever it is you want to learn. Here's some of my best examples: Creative Screenwriting magazine, Filmmaking Central, Filmmakers Forum, 2b Pictures, and Twenty One Productions. These are a few that give you the basics and more. Any new ones I come across will be posted in the blog. D/L them from the beginning. Some haven't put out a podcast in awhile but there is still good stuff there. Listen while your at work (if possible), while your doing laundry or dishes, washing your car, going to sleep, etc.

When I'm listening to them (over and over and over) I always catch something that leads me to something else, like what book to read (check your library), what camera to shoot with, another podcast to listen to...so keep a piece of paper handy.

NOTE: You can't listen watching TV! Don't waste your time watching 24 or American Idol (good shows but you're just wasting time and not learning anything.) Watch MOVIES, what a concept! (see part 2 on movies)

(see you on part 2)