Wannabe Filmmaker's Personal Roadmap

[El Cuajinais]

I'm a newbie 33 yr old wannabe filmmaker. I've been reading for about a month in this forum and I finally think I have a very rough pulse on this industry/hobby. I've learned a lot, but I've invested too much time reading about cameras, gear, codecs, etc. So far I have not followed the wise advice that a good camera does not a good film make; but I'm about to change that. To that end created this road map for myself because there are just too many SKILLS that I need to learn regardless of the gear. If and when I get to Level 6 on my roadmap, I'll look into getting nicer gear. But for now, it'll be my HV30, cheap wide angle lens and filters, follow focus (HVFF 2.5 on the way), cheap fluid head tripod, cheap shotgun mic, cheap lighting kit (yet to buy), 3 yr old PC, and little 'ole me. Maybe someone out there will this roadmap useful:

Level 1- No Actors
Positive Message Ad (Recycling, No drinking and driving)
Pre Production: Storyboard, Scouting Locations.
Shooting: Depth of field.
Post Production Visual: Titles, Color Grading.
Post Production Audio: Scoring.

Level 2 - Yourself acting, or a puppet.
Step Into History Short (Put yourself or a puppet in some historically important footage, or inside a movie you like.)
Pre Production: Script.
Shooting: Lighting Setup, Green Screen.
Post Production Visual: Color Grading, Simple Visual Effects, Compositing.
Post Production Audio: Sound Effects, Voice over (if using puppet).

Level 3 - Friend Actors
Funny Ad (Beer, Geico, Old Spice)
Pre Production: Storyboard, Script, Scouting Locations, Easy Props.
Shooting: DoF, Lighting Setup, Scene Composition, Microphone Setup, Directing.
Post Production Visual: Titles, Color Grading,
Post Production Audio: Sound Effects, Scoring, Narration.

Level 4 - Friend Actors
Action Sequence Short/Spoof (A short action sequence)
Pre Production: Storyboard, Script, Scouting Locations, Difficult Props, Visual Effects Planning.
Shooting: DoF, Scene Composition, Lighting Setup, Microphone Setup, Directing, Green Screen or Real Visual Effects.
Post Production Visual: Color Grading, Complex Visual Effects.
Post Production Audio: Sound Effects, Scoring.

Level 5 - Real Actors
Positive Message Ad or Horror Short (Emphasis on getting a good dramatic performance out of the actors).
Pre Production: Storyboard, Script, Scouting Locations, Visual Effects Planning, Casting, Release Forms, Contracts.
Shooting: Scene Composition, Lighting Setup, Microphone Setup, Directing, Green Screen or Real Visual Effects.
Post Production Visual: Titles, Color Grading, Visual Effects.
Post Production Audio: Sound effects, Scoring.

Level 6 - Go for the Whole Schebang!
Feature Film - Permission granted to research and buy new gear.

[KingDucky]

THIS IS AMAZING. I"m going to print this out an follow it. Thanks man; amazinga!

Good Luck also, you should stick around, this is a fun forum.

[El Cuajinais]

THIS IS AMAZING. I"m going to print this out an follow it. Thanks man; amazinga!

Good Luck also, you should stick around, this is a fun forum.

Thanks for the enthusiatic response KingDucky. I'm glad the list will help someone else. I am currently learning colorgrading from a book at a slow pace due to school/kids. I will post my results of the videos as I make them. I hope you do the same.

[paperkut12]

I am currently learning colorgrading from a book at a slow pace due to school/kids. I will post my results of the videos as I make them. I hope you do the same.

Any chance you could tell me the name of the book? I'm currently trying to learn color grading too (on top of special effects and many other things) and I haven't really known where to start besides messing with things in my editor.

[El Cuajinais]

Any chance you could tell me the name of the book? I'm currently trying to learn color grading too (on top of special effects and many other things) and I haven't really known where to start besides messing with things in my editor.

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Technique-...5157451&sr=8-2

I'm only beginning, but so far I've liked it a lot. The reason I think is very good is that it includes a DVD with short clips as exercises for you to practice grading lessons from the book. It also goes step-by-step on how different professional colorists grade images. I guess what I'm trying to say is that is very hands-on as opposed to just theory. Note: I ignored the initial part where it says you are supposed to grade in a gray room with special lighting and grading equipment. I just want to make my videos look better and speak the language; not interested becoming a colorist. So far it has served me well.