Learning filmmaking is very easy. Its basics are so simple that Robert Rodriguez (the director of movies like Spy Kids, Sin City, Desperado) can teach it to you in 10 minutes!

I do not know if you realise that pre-internet, if you wanted to study something, the only options were to apprentice with a master, or apply with a school, or go dig through heaps of books in a library. But now we can just snap away and learn anything, when and where we want to.

The Important Aspect of Learning Filmmaking

“You are not going to learn from just watching movies. You’ll learn somethings. You’ll learn more, picking up the camera, by making your own films, your own mistakes.” — Robert Rodriguez

I have read everything I could find online about filmmaking. I’ve seen almost every tutorial on filmmaking. *Conditions apply But that is nothing compared to what I learned by making my first 2 minute short film with my friends.

No one has ever learned to swim without drowning a little. You do not learn swimming by reading books or watching the latest tech review on swimwear.

If you take away anything from this, I hope it is that you write a story, pick up your phone, shoot it, edit it, show it to people and listen. Their reactions will tell you how good or bad your filmmaking is.

Your Short Films Suck

I guarantee that. Watch one of my failed shorts here https://youtu.be/HOXBYI-5kug. To that, I say to you what the radio show host Ira Glass spoke on the creative process,

“Everybody I know who does interesting creative work went through a phase of years, where they could tell what they were making wasn’t as good as they wanted it to be… It’s totally normal and the most important possible thing you could do is [to] do a lot of work, because it’s only by actually going through a volume of work that you’re going to catch up and close that gap and the work you’re making will be as good as your ambitions.” — Ira Glass

Learn, Do, Teach

This is my philosophy, in everything I do. Learn everything I can. Put it into practice to the best of my knowledge and abilities. And finally, teach. Even these articles are part of that teaching phase. It forces me to analyse my mistakes and achievements, and systematically share it.

So go out and make it happen. Learn filmmaking, make films, and share.

 

Hey Aspiring Filmmaker,

I debuted my film career making a feature film for ₹5 lakhs ($7,000) on an iPhone. I’d like to help you do the same. So I wrote everything I learned into a book. It is now available on Amazon, called The Indian Indie Film (or Make Your Film for rest of the world). Enjoy!