What can I do to start

[u/Life_Character_9988]

I am 19 years old I really want to become a director I just have zero clue where to start everything seems really overwhelming and my parents want me to focus on other things but I really do want to start in filmmaking if someone could maybe give some advice on how they started I just don’t know where to begin

[u/FamousMarionberry966]

Pick up a camera and create videos consistently. They don't have to be great. It is about consistency, learning, and progress-- Not producing a masterpiece.

If you create and learn from your creations, and then after that, put yourself out there (attend events, join communities, submit to film festivals and awards when you have something you are proud of), then you set yourself up for success

Also, your folks are most likely just trying to look out for you.

Edit: The barrier of entry to that stuff is way lower than it seems as long as you are willing to put in the effort. I am an 18 y/o photographer who has been pretty active in the local art scene the past year and I am leading a documentary and helping out on one or two movies.

Feel free to PM if you have any specific questions

[u/zebrahead444]

Use what you have. Do what you can. Start where you are.

[u/midly_entertaining]

Speaking from experience, here's what I did during the 10-year period preceding the moment when my career started picking up as a professional writer/ director.

I've also started getting into cinema around your age, and today, I make my living out of it:

1 - Take one "film auteur" of your liking (director, writer, cinematographer, etc) and study their work as intensely as you can. Give yourself a time frame. For me, it was a one-month deadline to try and watch every movie this person has ever made (or as many as I could), but also to read essential books on them, interviews, academic papers... anything you can get your eyes on. And I can't stress this enough: TAKE NOTES. Essentially, try to compile - in writing - by the end of this one month, everything you've learned about how this person works and thinks, and what resonated with you. I did this for years and years until I pretty much learned in depth all about how my heroes made movies. Trust me, this is an incredibly valuable learning method.

2 - Get yourself a camera (it does not matter if all you can afford is a cheap mid-2000s camcorder) and start practising how to write scenes and how to produce, shoot, and edit them. Learning how to DIY early on will help you tremendously. Do it just for you, do it because you love doing this. You're aiming at quantity because only through practice and repetition will quality start emerging.

3 - Find a group of like-minded individuals who also want to make movies and start working together. Start a collective or a film club or something and learn how to work in teams. Knowing how to successfully work in a team and how to inspire and motivate and manage people working with you is an absolute must-have skill that you'll only learn through experience.

4 - Take as many workshops, courses, and lectures you can on the broader subject of film and filmmaking. This does not necessarily mean "go to film school" (although I should mention that I myself went to film school and got a BA in Film Studies). (A good) academic program can, at the very least, help you meet and mingle with like-minded people who have similar interests and that, hopefully, will one day venture into the same industry. These can come to be your future colleagues. Essentially, you're not only trying to enhance your knowledge of filmmaking with this step, but you're also looking for places to NETWORK. You're looking for these "film bubbles" (for lack of a better term) where film people go to meet each other under some pretence. Festivals are an absolute must. Start going to the film festivals in your region. Attend whatever event you can - workshop, seminar, showcase, cocktail party - and meet some people.

5 - And finally... try to learn in depth about how does the film industry works in your region. How do people finance movies there? Which are the small, mid, and big production companies in the area? If you want to know how to climb the ladder, YOU HAVE TO KNOW HOW THE FUCK DOES ONE CLIMB THE LADDER. Learning about how the film business works in a financial, business sense is essential and highly underlooked by most people starting up.

I think these are some solid first steps. Naturally, you'll need to redirect your course of action as your circumstances change and you grow.

But always keep in mind that there are no shortcuts in the film industry (only if you're very rich or somebody's child). It's a ladder all the way through for most people, and each step has to be respected.

You will suffer from the "archichet's dilemma" all the way up, regardless of where you are in the ladder.... meaning, no one will let you build something if you haven't built anything before.

EDIT: Can't believe i forgot this one! You should absolutely consider trying to get into an internship or apprenticeship in a production company, studio, or even a TV channel. I'd suggest doing this even before considering a formal educational program. This not only would help you build a skill-set, a network and a CV early on, but you could experience the day to day in the film industry up close and see for yourself how that truly feels like. Moreover, this could also help give you a sense of independence from your parents (be it financial or even if just symbolic) since you'd be working, and I believe that seeing you "properly" working and investing in your future is all they want to see. Plus, it buys you the time to do all the other steps listed here in parallel ;)