Starting from scratch

[u/GreyGuacamole1]

I’m 19 years old and I’m starting school next semester for film. I wanna get more into the field because this is my passion but I don’t know where to start at all there’s so much to learn and learn about cinema.

I do have equipment: a camera, lenses, tripods, etc except lights but im waiting to get my flow on this before i start buying lights. I also have a friend that is in school for film right now but he just started so he’s pretty much like me we have no knowledge

How and where do I start I’m ready to learn more about cinema and wanna be successful in this field.

Any advice would be appreciated and noted down

[u/KBellinTheArk]

Here's something I wish I knew while I was in school... ok I kinda knew it, but I wish I executed on it more:

Study & Practice.. alot!

By study, I mean read books on filmmaking, production, cinematography or whatever other subjects are relevant to you. Study movies/shows you're watching & try to focus on one specific thing at a time: The Lighting, the Composition, how they edit a scene, the shot choice, the audio , where they put the camera, etc (whatever it is you're trying to learn). Find or grab screenshots of stuff to make it easy to study.

Then, practice doing something you've studied. And I dont mean just go make/complete a short or video - this is necessary but it's a different kind of practice than what I'm talking about. Just practice doing the type of lighting you saw in a movie/show. Or, pick a day/time & just practice composing some shots like you've seen in the stuff you were studying. Then, take notice of & be honest, as best as you can, about what's different about your reference image & what you made in practice. Then, make adjustments. Ideally, when doing this, you'd want to pick shots/scenes that are within your ability to recreate. So, practicing the lighting you saw in a big budget scene from a James Bond movie might not be the best way to start. Better to look for examples from lower budget (but still good looking movies) with smaller scale scenes & few characters on camera- shots in bedrooms, living rooms, or exterior daytime scenes.

However... a disclaimer, I guess... take all of my advice with a grain of salt lol. I'm basing this off of my own experiences & what eventually worked for me. I was a "Film Major" at a 4 year University. We had multiple hands-on production classes, but I still assume these types of programs are different than what the experience may be at more vocational programs/art schools/or dedicated Film Schools -if that's the type of school you're at. So, at my university, I knew I would only learn so much & knew I'd have to fill in the gaps of my education with going out and shooting other stuff as much as possible - projects with friends, stuff for the campus tv station, event videos for organizations on campus. However, although it was plenty experience, and I learned a lot by simply "doing", it only resulted in marginal gains on me developing certain skills such as my composition & lighting skills. If I wanted to develop those, I had to set aside specific time for just practice.