Stop talking about wanting to be a filmmaker. Just make movies! Here are quick tips gleaned from Rodriguez's "El Mariachi" commentary and "10 Minute Film School":
Become a filmmaker
1)Inspired camera angles and ingenious editing helped electrify "Mariachi." Using a zoom lens, Rodriguez could grab five shots in a single take. He shot no masters, "So basically I'm just cutting in the camera. . . . It makes a movie look more expensive."
2)"Mariachi's" admittedly erratic lighting was done with natural light and two 200-watt bulbs bought at a hardware store. He got his microphone at Radio Shack. The guns were borrowed from the local Mexican police. The others were squirt guns.
3)The costs of film, film development and transfer jacked the movie's price tag to $7,000. There's only about $600 on screen, and that went for lighting, sets, props, squibs and blanks. The actors were not paid.
4)Crackling editing and sound effects can make cheap plastic and papier-maché appear downright Spielbergian on screen.
5)If you can't draw, try video storyboarding. It saves time and money. Rodriguez's "main advice": "Plan and know your shots" before you begin shooting.
6)An ordinary film shoots 12 to 15 setups a day. Whippet-quick Rodriguez shot an average of 55 setups a day for "Desperado."
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