WATCH SILENT FILMS TO LEARN FILMMAKING
So, you want to learn filmmaking? Excellent! It’s completely doable. How do you go about it, you ask? There’s various methods from film school to learning by making your own film.
However, we want to share a filmmaking learning method that you may of not heard much off. Here it is, LEARN FILMMAKING BY WATCHING SILENT FILMS. That’s right!
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One of the first things you must do if you want to begin to build confidence that you can make a film is to take the mystery out of filmmaking. And with silent films you can do so, expediently. Whereas watching contemporary films to learn filmmaking you’ll become more overwhelmed than anything else.
Of the reasons why contemporary films are overwhelming to the aspiring filmmaker is because too many cuts, too many cameras, too many effects, too much of everything, basically.
Generally when an aspiring filmmaker watches most contemporary films their thought process is, I can’t do that. However, when they watch a silent film they generally think, I can absolutely do that.
That’s a good thing. It’s always best to start off something saying I can versus I can’t. The reason why silent films give an aspiring filmmaker confidence is because they are made with the foundations of filmmaking in mind. That is, tell a story, visually! Once you learn to tell a story visually you’ve acquired the foundations of filmmaking. From henceforth everything else is done to augment that foundation. For example, you’ll then go on to add dialogue. You’ll proceed to add some camera movements, etc.
Another fundamental reason why silent films are a great teacher to aspiring filmmakers is because of the basics in camera shots. Silent films are generally built on a few, but fundamental camera angles that you can easily follow throughout the film.
Also, in addition to all that you will learn about filmmaking by watching silent films, we’re confident that you will also learn to enjoy and appreciate the films themselves.
WHICH SILENT FILMS?
The list of silent films worth mentioning are extensive but it’s worth mentioning a few : The Lodger, Battleship Potemkin and The Passion Of Joan Of Arc, to name a few. Some can easily be viewed by searching them on Google by their titles. It’s very likely that you can also find silent film collections in your local library. Amazon has some of the most reputable silent films available from German Horror Classics to The Chaplin Collection.
VIEW FILMS ON MARILYNFILMS.COM
Below is a button link to view films available here on MarilynFilms.com. We encourage you to support independent filmmaking by viewing the films and we’d love to hear your take on them. You can simply comment below or send us your comments via our CONTACT page.
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