AboutTroy Smith Expertise I can answer questions on professional or amateur filmmaking and questions on Final Cut Pro, video cameras, lighting, sound recording, scriptwriting, storytelling, directing, producing, editing, multi-camera productions, shooting sports, picture to video, using DTE hard drives, using video cameras and editing in a very creative way and some 16mm filmmaking. I can't answer too many questions on 35mm filmmaking.
Experience I have been a professional filmmaker since 1995 and a film teacher since 2000. I am publishing a textbook for beginning filmmakers called "the New Filmmaker's Adventure". I have experience in the area of low-budget feature filmmaking, Iam the co-owner of the production company called Imminent Entertainment LLC, I have worked on hundreds of videos, TV shows, multi-camera events and low budget, professional productions, corporate and consumer videos, Final Cut Pro, scriptwriting, directing, videography and cinematography, sound, lighting, editing, and producing.
Organizations Independent Feature Project - Chicago
Education/Credentials Western Michigan University '95 BS in film production Magna cum Laude
Maine Media Workshops '02-07
Expert: Troy Smith Date: 5/24/2008 Subject: Starting my own business
Question Starting my own Cinematography business has been the most difficult thing I've ever wanted to do. I've got no clue where to start, who to talk to, what I should be doing, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
I'm not looking for anything big, just something to get my foot in the door, get myself used to the business, experience with equipment and hopefully, at least, a paltry income.
I'm from a small town with literally two other yellow-paged video businesses in the area. I'm going for a bachelor's degree in Digital Media Production at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I've got little to no money, a 30G HDD JVC Camera, and skill that's wasted flipping burgers.
How do I go about starting my own Cinematography business?
I was thinking about doing weddings. Getting some fliers, making some calls to local bridal/wedding stores, comparing the "competition's" prices, etc...
Am I on the right track? Where should I be going? What moves should I be making?
If I could get ANY feedback or input, I would be extremely grateful.
Thanks in advance.
Nick McMillin
Answer Ahh, Nick! Sounds like you have the passion and the drive! That's the best place to start! I have some suggestions as well as some questions for yuo to answer. One question for you is - what is your cinematography GOAL? Do you want to be a corporate filmmaker making promos and training videos? Do you enjoy doing weddings to start your career or to make it your career? Is your heart in Hollywood filmmaking or do you prefer independent films? Do you enjoy documentaries or narratives? These don't need to be cut-and-dry answers but what they will do is find out where you need to be putting your time and energy. If you want to shoot Hollywood features, pursuing weddings may be a deterrent, but if you think that weddings are fine, they can make a whole and profitable (eventually) career for you.
I started out shooting and editing over a hundred weddings. Weddings, like taxes, will never end, so there is a market. They are also more difficult than most imagine and can be just as competitive a marketplace as anything out there. So figure out where your passion is and design a path to get there. But since you are at the beginning of your career - every opportunity to shoot should probably be taken to get experience shooting, working with different personality types and getting your name out there. Can you work at a church that does video? Is there a cable access station that you can volunteer at? Is there a theatre group that wants to make videos? If so, you can help each other out (and maybe make some money in the process).Working with bridal companies is an excellent idea.
I personally DON'T believe that people should go to California if they want to make movies - that's like taking sand to the beach! But, if you live in a very small town, you may want to move to a larger town to have access to a larger market of people.
The next thing you MUST do is to develop an AWESOME demo reel. You need to have a DVD that is about 5 minutes long (anything longer and people won't watch) of your best material presented in a powerful way. Cinematography degrees are like music degrees, no one cares as much about your education as they care about your ability - you HAVE to have talent for people to want to hire you. Talent can be developed by shooting anything challenging that you can, shooting beautiful shots in tough circumstances, pulling off great images with creativity and so on. I also got a degree in filmmaking, but I learned waaaay more when I went into the field to shoot and realized that I had to solve problems fast and creatively. You can make your demo reel from material that you already have, or shoot it from scratch. I DON'T advise putting your great demo on youtube because the quality is so low, but if you can make a great website that can show high-quality video - do that. Giving someone a DVD ensures viewing quality, maintains their attention(Youtube is such a distraction) and gives them something physical to keep and show around on your behalf.
Next - "Do you have your own gear?" People are much more likely to hire someone who comes with his own quality camera, lights, etc. than without. Sounds like you have a cam now, which is good. Add that into any marketing that you can for yourself.
Now that you have your demo reel, a market, a career goal and some gear, let's look at other business options. There is the "Independent Feature Project" that you may want to join (www.IFP.org) that can help you network, along with any other local film groups.
Craigslist.com is a fantastic place to post your skills as well as look for jobs. I have a buddy who only advertises on craigslist.com for DP work with his own gear, and he works on a new independent feature every week making decent money.
Seek out independent, local filmmakers and convince them to hire you as their DP. You may get paid very little or nothing, but it's fantastic experience. You'll be forced to work creatively with no budget, deal with wild personalities and build your demo reel/resume. You'll also find out if DPing movies is what you want to do, or if it's corporate/consumer shooting.
Of course if there are no local filmmakers who would hire you, it should go without saying (but I'll say it) that you should create and shoot your own creative material (feature, docs, etc.). Shoot spec commercials and send them to the companies and ad agencies that sell them. They could give you good feedback (which you need to listen to) and maybe even a job.
Fliers are probably a huge waste of money. But networking, talking to people who may know someone who is having a wedding or needs a talent show taped, will make you much more money.
If you only like to shoot but don't want to edit, find a partner to go into business with. Some people love it all and some only want to write, or shoot, or edit. Find out what you want and do that. I love it all except producing - so my partner does that (and I am sooooo thankful).It is good to have a broad set of skills, but it's much better to be a MASTER of something.
There is so much media that needs to be shot out there, you just need to SHOW and CONVINCE people that you are better than the next guy. Remember - you don't have to be the best, but you do have to be good.
You may spend some time doing much for cheap or free but that is okay. But there will be a time when you've built yourself up to start charging more, refusing certain jobs (politely) and pushing yourself into bigger projects. That's called career-tracking. Use the internet to help. Make a sweet web page, too, with you work on it. Study movies seriously and remember... YOUTUBE is NOT a real movie site, so don't let that be a goal - just a place to put some work.
Hope this helps. Filmmaking is so fun and so diverse. It does require lots of work, especially in the beginning. But you can make money at it and have fun doing it.
