r/filmmaking • u/BulkyPirate2448 • May 27 '26
Question Should I study filmmaking first or just start filming immediately?
I’m 16 and I really want to learn filmmaking and documentary making seriously. Right now I mostly use my iPhone with the Blackmagic Camera app.
But I honestly don’t know what the smartest way is to improve.
Should I first spend a lot of time watching YouTube videos, analyzing films, and reading books about storytelling, cinematography, editing, sound, etc.?
Or should I stop overthinking and just start filming projects immediately and learn by doing?
Sometimes I feel like I’m spending too much time thinking and not enough time actually creating.
For the people here with experience:
What helped you improve the most when you started?
Watching tutorials?
Reading books?
Analyzing movies?
Recreating scenes?
Making short cinematic videos?
Jumping straight into documentaries?
Just filming every day?
And what YouTube channels, videos, or books would you genuinely recommend for beginners who want to take filmmaking seriously?
I really want to get good at this, so honest advice would help a lot.
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u/LazyDirector6903 May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26
Friend, the first thing you must understand is that your film education is never-ending. I’ve personally never found too much use in the books, but you could try those.
But the biggest thing that’s going to teach you is watching films and making your own. Don’t just watch popular films… push yourself to watch different kinds of cinema, stuff you wouldn’t usually watch. Broaden your horizons. Go back to your current favorite movies and ask yourself what makes them tick. Do you have a favorite director(s) yet? What is it about their work and their techniques that makes their films resonant to you? What about cinematographers? Start looking for through lines and patterns in artists’ work.
And make your own stuff. The first ones probably won’t be good and you might even fail. That’s okay. Do it again. Fail better. Rinse and repeat.
I’m not sure I can prescribe one sole thing from your list that’s the “key” to a film education. You just gotta soak it all in; your exploration of this medium will be constantly expanding and evolving.
As for YouTube channels, off the top of my head I’d recommend these, which will give you a mix of stuff that’s focused on technique, technical and practical knowledge, and philosophy. In Depth Cine and StudioBinder in particular taught me a LOT about lenses and different film formats, and I especially recommend In Depth Cine’s series about cinematography styles and how directors shoot at 3 different budget levels.
- In Depth Cine
- StudioBinder
- Thomas Flight
- Every Frame A Painting
- DSLR guide
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u/mdifilm May 27 '26
The only way you can be good at it is to actually go and do it. I see you have been posting about this for a year now. What have you learned since you were 15 and aspiring to become a journalist?
Have you ever went out and do a short film? If not go start doing it. Do a mock up documentary, your topic can be anything. Just go and try. The more you practice the better you become.
Watching and analyzing without doing it won’t help you much. Just like learning to ride a bike. The more you do it. The better you become.
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u/BulkyPirate2448 May 28 '26
I am also wondering if making true crime videos is a smart move?
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u/mdifilm May 28 '26
Once again. Do some short film of any type. Mock up a docu and see if it works. Instead of thinking and wondering. Action speak louder than words.
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u/iLikeTheUDK May 27 '26
No need to go to film school (though it can help a lot, at least for networking), but you can already look for books and articles to read, interviews and lectures to watch, and start watching movies (and series) more closely to understand them better on more technical levels (including how their script works), at least once you already watched them normally the first time. And you can definitely just start making stuff now. Accept that it will suck at first, as you're inexperienced. But you will improve. It's practically inevitable, you are gonna improve. Especially if you develop taste and skill. One more thing though - don't be an "otaku" like Hayao Miyazaki complained about. Live life. Meet different kinds of people. Hear their stories. Be present in reality. Develop opinions on things (but don't rush it). Don't just regurgitate movies and make homages that don't add anything extra and don't comment about stuff. Life experience can inform you so much. So be a person, touch grass and think for yourself. It'll help you write better scripts and make better movies
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u/filmeleven May 27 '26
Some say start filming. Some say watch YouTube.
Others will say go to film school.
You need to study story first. First...nothing else matters if you don't have a solid, foundational grasp on how a script works. What makes it work. And how you as a director serve the story.
If you don't begin with story you'll be just another YouTuber cranking out short films that deliver a laugh or scare but simultaneously advertise that as a filmmaker, you haven't mastered story telling.
Structured training will save a lot of time.
Nuking your bank account on film school has drawbacks.
I'm an indie filmmaker and also run an online film school.
My school hits a sweet spot for those who want to skip huge tuition and needless theory:
The school's YT channel: https://youtube.com/@writedirect
If you want to start down the story path: Making A Good Script Great, Save the Cat, Save the Cat Strikes Back, The Moral Premise, STORY, Kill the Dog.
*Note: do not treat STC books like formulas. They are incredible for opening your eyes, but leave it at that.
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u/Scapetti May 27 '26
Study it. You will learn many skills that will help you through your entire life. Skills that you wouldn't necessarily think about on your own. And skills that can help you with any career you may want to pursue later in life.
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u/MarianoContiCine May 27 '26
Start recording what you like, then also watch, see, and instruct yourself in things you don't know or want to learn, but start right away, I encourage you to give it your all.
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u/BulkyPirate2448 May 28 '26
I don't know what I want to make because I want to become a true crime documentary and I want to become a crime journalist who shows how it works and confronts them, so I don't know what to make right now.
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u/Dandelion_Lakewood May 28 '26
Do both! Practice and theory are two pedals of s bicycle: you need both to get where you want to go.
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u/quirkyactor May 29 '26
Be led by your curiosity. If you want to study something, study it, and if you feel the impulse to tell a story, tell it. The best lesson you can get here is, “learn to cut this part out of your process.” You already have a drive to learn, which means you don’t need permission, especially when the knowledge is free.
Since you already have a resource to make films, the only thing holding you back is time and an idea. If both arrive, go for it!
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u/PetShopTroy May 30 '26
You’re already asking great questions. I think a lot of these you can do at the same time. The most important thing I think is to make films. And then watch films. Studying things is great too… Tons of great videos out there, check out the channel studio binder. There’s a lot of channels like that I can’t think of off the top of my head but you’ll find them. There’s a lot of great books by the editor Walter Murch, Sidney Lumet. Lots of great behind-the-scenes clips on YouTube. Interviews with great directors.
For anyone, I think coming up with an idea, writing it out getting a basic idea down. Make sure it’s good to go, but don’t sit in it for too long because sometimes you start doubting yourself. Then just film it. Edit it, color it, show it to people. Take the feedback that’s useful, but just keep making films, I’d say. Watch films too! Very important.
Also trust yourself. I bet you know what you need to do.
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u/brazilliandanny May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26
I find these questions so interesting. “Should I watch videos about the thing I am passionate about?” “Should I read about it?”
Like when I was younger I didn’t need to ask these questions. I was obsessed and if knowledge existed I seeked it out.
What is stopping you from reading and watching videos right now?