Wow Karen, i had totally forgotten that film! I saw it 10 years after its release as part of a class, it was being noted for its budget. I think it was an inspiration for indie minded filmmakers everywhere. glad you mentioned it

This is a great question and a great thread to write my first post.

Comics were my first exposure to the idea of creating a story with images. A big change happened while I was in grade 7 when my friend brought out his parent's VHS video camera. I was hooked. Unfortunately that only lasted a day. It wouldn't be until the summer after my grade 10 year when I finally bought my own after a summer of tree planting. I haven't filmed a lot do due other things going on in my life but I'm back into it 100% now.

Robert Rodriguez has had a huge impact on me as a filmmaker. El Mariachi was an incredible movie for only being made for $7000. The book "Rebel Without a Crew" was even better. Stanley Kubrick has been an inspiration, particularly his view on editing.

Great thread!

For me I find Inspiration in life.

Wow! This thread has really got me thinking.... Quick thoughts...

Classics like Hitchcock, Kubrick, Kurosawa, Wells of course... Then there's twisted folks like Tarentino.

But I guess what pushed me over the edge was Robert Rodriguez. He made me believe it was possible to go out and tell a story without having access to a gazillion dollars; just imagination, a lot of learning and a hell of a lot of work. That it can be done.

Viva Rodriguez.

After my dad got video editing software, I tried it out and found it was something that I enjoyed. Since then I've been making videos largely for the post production stuff of editing and making music for the soundtrack. All of the stages are really enjoyable, but there was no particular inspiration that made me want to make a movie.

I'm an actor Russell Crowe is my inspiration however the minute i saw the opening sequence of the film collateral by Michael Mann I knew i wanted to be a filmmaker. My goal is to write act and direct my own stuff which is what im doing now at only the age of 16.

i just joined this site, and this is my first post.

i live in san luis obispo and just graduated from cal poly. i came to poly to study lanscape architecture so as to become a better filmmaker. i felt that an architect's understanding of space, design, and how those things can communicate subliminally could set a filmmaker apart. it has seemed odd to most people, but i guess i can't blame 'em.

my biggest inspiration has been bob dylan. the scorsese documentary plays in my dvd player like a favorite record.

i writing a book, producing a few short films, and working on screenplay... so the creative prowess of dylan has always kept me going.

I loved Juliette Binoche in "Chocolate" so a friend of mine loaned me a copy of "Blue" from the Three Colors trilogy by Krzysztof Kieslowski. I loved it. I rented "Red" and "White" too. I couldn't get enough of this director. A Short Film About Love, Blind Chance, Camera Buff, No End, The Scar, A Short Film About Killing and then I found "The Decalogue" and it blew me away.

I've always loved writing stories and telling stories. Telling stories with moving pictures, like Krzysztof Kieslowski, has become an obsession. I think he was an artists in the truest sense of word. I aspire to make films like he does.

I had a desire to be a professional photographer. Learned a great deal about what it takes, had the equipment, became a photo snob, but I could never get over the "I took this picture" and move it into " I captured this memory". I have even been able to teach other talented people and couch them with their photography to take award winning photos.

Then my son was born and I purchased a video camera. The end results of my first hour of video footage was a realization that I thought in POV and time stream. I could tell a story with this tool! Well, the rest is history... I started sharing memories and events with the video camera.

Overall, I see that people who view my photos generally see a nice "snap shot". When I show them a short video that I have done they are mesmerized, and often emotionally moved. They have truly experienced and felt what I am trying to express.

That is unusual, because film-making requires the combination of more skills than photography. Consider yourself blessed.

I've always wanted to create things, and then in high school I exposed myself to Dogma, and shortly afterwards all of Kevin Smith's works. If a conveinence clerk from New Jersey can do it using his friends, why couldnt anyone? I took a visual communications class in high school where the final project was to write a script and shoot it.

Ive never had as euphoric a feeling as i did when I printed out the final script, and considering it was a story about my recent breakup from my first serious girlfriend, that says a lot. Had a hell of a fun time shooting it with my friends (though i refuse to even watch it anymore its so horrible lol) and applied to college to be a film major. As my experience and training has grown so has my tastes.

I'm a huge fan of classic films now. Cary Grant's my favorite actor and I damn near worship Charlie Chaplin for everything he did. Over this past summer I got a job doing business videos for a company. It's not where I expected to be, but it's my foot in the door and I'm doing what I love.

So yea, I'd say those that inspire me are: Kevin Smith, Joss Whedon, Charlie Chaplin, and for some strange reason anytime I watch Tim Burton's Ed Wood, I feel very inspired as well.

patrick, look up FW Murnau (his stuff is out on DVD... on netflix if you have it) for even MORE inspirations =).

Steven Spielberg for me, I just grew up with all of his movies.

Watching the directors label dvd about michel gondry, or one of the others from that series. Those are great, real creative and inspiring directors to me.

Since my goal is to be a producer of p2p entertainment, my inspirations are more of the business type than the artistic. Ray Kroc (the guy that made McDonald's what it is today) because he showed that you're never too young to start in a new direction in life and reach the highest peak. His involvement in McDonald's started at the age of 62. Hugh Hefner (Playboy) because he showed that you can start it on a shoe string ($500) and take it not only to the highest heights but new levels of respectability. And Walt Disney because he also took something of low repute (amusement parks) and raised them to not only respectability but to a grand scale (Disney World).

They also laughed at Disney when he started work on Snow White. Nobody wants to sit through a feature length cartoon, they said.

Docs ussually inspire me than Dramas...

I watched a piece on Helmut Newton last night, that was pretty inspiring. I also liked a film about a used car salesman called The Slasher. I spent a week working on a schooner workshop with cancer survivors and their shorts were very inspiration (not popular, but still).

As for dramas: The Way of the Gun and Forrest Gump

I find still images incredibly inspiring too.

Having come up at that time, I would have to say that Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai stands at the top of any list for me. And implicit in that notion is the idea that people should NOT know what they are doing. All the mystery, the possibility is drained out of the thing when people figure out what they are doing.

My background is in various things, from doing stage lighting for avantist dance in the Eighties to writing about music in the vain attempt to avoid the reification and reiteration of cliché. And then there was art school, for an awareness of scale and focus.

Filmmakers? Jacques Tati, Michael Haneke, Jean-Luc Godard, Zhang Yimou, and Kurosawa are clustered around the top of my list. On any given day one rises to the top, even if only to be replaced.

bruce, i dunno if you are aware of the 3 disc criterion SE SD-DVD that have been recently released. it looks AWESOME compared to all previous editions. the sound source is punchy and very clear. FYI =). PS there is an interview with kurosawa himself for the Japanese DGA =D. it rox. his advice is learn by doing. excellent advice indeed from THE sensei.

My inspiration is my wild imagination, and wanting to play with cool toys. Still photography was cool and I still do lots of it, but video uses more of my geek skills.

What really drove me to video production though, was being an extra in a film and getting to see all the behind-the-scenes stuff. I love movies, but I've always been more interested in "how'd they do that?"

The first thing I check out on DVD's is the extras dealing with production.

I attended two of the Star Wars Celebration conventions. Most fans wanted to hear the actors speak and collect trinkets. I spent all my time listening to the people from visual effects, sound design, set construction, wardrobe, and other crew. Those people are the real stars of the show.

The Evil Dead series along with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction really got me into film. Tarantino, Sam Raimi, Tony Scott, and Robert Rodriguez would have to be my directorial influences.

Great shock-cinema from Japan also really sparked an interest in film making with me. Films such as Story of Ricky, Ichi the Killer, Battle Royale, Old Boy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and my fave Lady Vengeance.

I was just wondering what movie, actor, director, or anything else, inspired everyone here at dvinfo, to the point at which they wanted to make movies in some form or another.

My inspiration is the legends and myths of world cultures. I've been obsessed with them since childhood. I want to tell my own myths and stories and realized that the most potent way to do it nowadays is through film.
The idea at first was to make animation films, but I'm a crappy artist with my hand and most of my artist friends are too inserious and too hard to hold together for even one project.

My favourite filmmaker is Maya Deren.

What really got me into filmmaking was Kill Bill Vol. 1 funnily enough. The way he shot the Crazy 88 fight sequence blew me away.

That being said, nowadays its films such as Oldboy and Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai that inspire me to keep on going and learning to one day hopefully make a film thats even halfway as amazing as those.

The reason I got into making movies was my dispair at the quality of horror movies being made. Being a fan of the Exorcist the modern tripe being churned out wasn't doing anything for me.

That being said I've not tried horror yet!

Directorial influences = Friedkin, Kubrick, Stone, Mann, Aranofsky.

I have always had the need to express myself artistically in some way...be it painting, writing, or playing around with making computerized music.

My passion for films began very young...My very first memories to do with movies was watching the James Bond films with my uncle. The first major theatre experience that made an impact (maybe leaving a scar is a better phrase) on me was seeing the original Re-Animator.

I have over 700 DVDs and love watching the outakes, the making of's and listening to the commentaries.

Tarantino and Rodriguez have definitely been major idols for me. (Getting to briefly meet and talk to Tarantino, a person wish come true, at the Matrix Reloaded premiere was awesome and will forever be a highlight in my memory!)

Some other major influences who have left a stain on my psyche are David Lynch, the Coen Bros., Tim Burton, Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher, Ridley and Tony Scott, Christopher Nolan, Jim Jarmusch, and of course Martin Scorsese.

I definitely seem to gravitate towards the more bizarre, cerebral and indie films. But I do think that my collection of DVDs would be considered very eclectic.

Jim Jarmusch's "Stranger than Paradise" was the first movie I saw that made me think "Maybe I could do that."

A few years later, I saw Errol Morris' "Vernon, Florida," and Les Blank's "Gap-Toothed Women" in the span of a couple of weeks. That's what sent me over the edge. I collaborated on my first documentary feature in 1986 and never looked back.

Biggest inspiration would be Bruce Brown.The godfather of surfing and motorcycle films.Steve Mc queen told him never to work with a major studio, and he never did...Still got nominated for an oscar for his movie On any Sunday...a true legend

I'm not sure exactly what fires my movie making boiler. But I guess I always had an artistic side waiting to come out. I never thought it possible to make your own movies until DV came along. It all seemed a bit out of reach before digital.

I do dislike a lot of the films on at the cinema these days, too much CGI and unrealistic action for my taste. And not enough focus on character development and plot. I saw the new Indiana Jones (The Kingdom of the Crystal Wotsit) movie this year and felt almost suicidal by the end of it, I had a similar feeling when I saw Transformers and the recent King Kong film. My favourite director is Alfred Hitchcock and when I watch his masterful movies I really can't understand why people watch the big Hollywood films at the cinema, when to me they seem vastly inferior on so many levels.

I guess I hope to redress the balance and revive the old Hitchcockian days of traditional filmmaking!

I seem to have the bug for filmmaking now and I can't remember the precise moment it bit me.

But I intend to make a good go of it and make the movies I want to see!

I got the knack for filmmaking from my uncle. It kind of runs in the family. I don't know if I would have been aggressive or ambitious enough to attack the film industry if my uncle didn't lead by example. He is the Director of the Monaco Film Festival and has produced various television shows and indie films throuhgout the years but has never lost his passion for the art of filmmaking. He has always been there in support of my pursuit to succeed and I don't think I could have done it without him.

As far as movies go, I actually was inspired by X-men. Sounds silly but I have been a long time lover of comic books and action figures and new I wanted to transfer that passion over to filmmaking. Now I simply wish to create great films with a fantastic story.

VBS.tv for the idea of citizen journalism. Les Stroud for combing my love of the outdoors with DV.

This will sound sappy but my inspiration is my wife. If it wasnt for her, I'd probably be living in some ditch somewhere. I want to make my wife and I have the best life we can. Because of her I went back to school and learned my trade and am now setting my goals high in the industry that I chose. I now shoot in many different areas. From sporting events, concerts, music videos, weddings, and corporate videos.

I owe my career and the way I live to my wife.

I really like this thread, it's great hearing how everyone is motivated and to see the background behind the passion!

Movies have been a huge influence in my life. Some of my most memorable summers are ones that I spent movie hopping and watching movies all day long. I never really considered filmmaking seriously because it seemed like such an impossible undertaking. All the equipment, people, time and management involved. Scary!

I basically did everything I could (not consciously) that would eventually build the skills to create enough courage to start. I was always artistic as a kid, so I did a lot of pencil drawings and continued that through High School. In College, I satisfied my thirst for technical knowledge and finished with a degree in Computer Science/Electrical Engineering. Towards the end of my College career, I did an advance computer graphics course and produced a short animation. In my professional career, I've been doing a lot of project (and people) management and it's given me great insight into team building and being detail oriented to keep project milestones on track.

Just recently, I reached the tipping point when I helped a friend out on his feature film. When I went on set and saw a movie being made in front of my eyes, it hit me: "People can really make movies!" Since then, I've been on a quest to learn as much as I can and explore the field to find my true interest.

If there's anything that inspired you to try to get into the bussiness, or take up film/video as a hobby, please tell us here.

-Thanks

Without a doubt, the HBO Miniseries, Band of Brothers.

I first saw the series on DVD in November 2008. Immediately I went out and bought the Blu-Ray edition; friends and family got B.O.B. DVD sets that year for Christmas.

I've seen the series now five times in the 10 months since; I was incredibly moved by the interviews with the men of E. company, especially the Documentary at the end, "Band of Brothers: We Stand Alone Together". So many shots and clips from that film as well as the supplementary documentary simply leave me in tears; every time I watch it I see something new. I'm awestruck with the level of gentle care, detail, respect, and admiration Hanks and Spielberg gave every frame of the project from start to finish. I have never seen anything like it. (as an aside, I'm already reading, "With the Old Breed" and "Helmet for my Pillow" to ready myself for 'The Pacific' which debuts on HBO this coming March)

It was partly from seeing that film that I decided to finally interview my 83 year old grandfather who served in the Navy during and after WWII. This interview project was what facilitated the purchase of my Canon HG10 as well as a wired lav mic and two soft lights. Hopefully i can do his story justice. I never felt an urgent need to do this project until I started reading online about what's left of the men of E. Company. They interviewed 25 or so veterans for the Band of Brothers project between 1999-2000, and today there are only a handful of the men left, many dying mere months after they were interviewed for the HBO miniseries.

that's noble pursuit matt =)

I was just wondering what movie, actor, director, or anything else, inspired everyone here at dvinfo, to the point at which they wanted to make movies in some form or another.

Quentin Tarantino is my favorite director now. I saw his first movie, only two years ago, when I was 16. The biggest inpiration, for me, was when I first saw Reservoir Dogs. The first time I watched this, not only did it jump into my top ten list, but it changed the way I looked at movies.

Reservoir Dogs interested me in making movies. It was not just the movie, but the story behind it with the director that intrigued me. It was the idea of the little movie succeeding that inspired me.

Reservoir Dogs really brought me into the idea of making movies. I have always loved movies, but now I love the idea of making them, and I enjoy watching them in a new way.


If there's anything that inspired you to try to get into the bussiness, or take up film/video as a hobby, please tell us here.

-Thanks

Hi everyone,

Living in VT and being an Actor inspired me to become an filmmaker to create my own opportunities. Also, my Dad always told me (and keeps telling me more now he knows my intention): 'You've always been very good with you video camera when you where young'. I am 30 know, and I started recording when I was about 9 or 10.
We will see, time will tell; but I want to start shooting scenes and eventually short movies.

On the best of the best, here are my inspirations:

Actors:

Marlon Brando
Al Pacino
Robert De Niro
Johnny Depp
Anthony Hopkins
George Clooney
Jeremy Irons
Colin Farrel
Edward Norton
Alec Baldwin

Directors:

Michael Mann
Robert Rodriguez
Cohen Brothers
Tim Burton
I love all of their very different styles...

That is my inspiration ^_^

Nice to meet you all!!

Ben Tolosa

This is such a great topic!

I can't say that any ONE thing has inspired me. Instead, I believe I've experienced many hits - technological, full-length motion pictures, shorts - over time that has culminated into what has driven me to explore the possibilities of video today.

To start with, I know that I was fascinated by how my first digital camera (an ancient Fuji FinePix 40i) allowed me to take many pictures without much care in terms of running out of film or the bother of processing. I could take this tiny device with me anywhere and capture any moment within the reach of that puny lens.

As time passed, I got my hands on better and better equipment, which of course allowed me to do things I couldn't before. Being the creative type, this is like putting a kid in a candy store; it's gonna get messy, expensive, and only worse as time moves on... a wonderful thing!

And this is where I slowly come to video. Pictures may speak 1,000 words, but telling a cohesive story can be tricky with stills (although one could argue this... heck even I could). In a way, I think this is where my Casio EX-F1 comes into play. My father told me about this camera and it's ability to shoot high speed video, and after getting it, I couldn't stop shooting things. It's awesome to see the world at a snail's pace... but I couldn't keep my fingers off the HD button for long.

So, after shooting some random, horrid, everyday, bland videos, my mind started to come up with better uses for it, such as shooting photography episodes, and putting those mindless clips together to make a short documentary like creation about Kananaskis Country (which is on YouTube in case you want to see it).

And now I finally have have a camera that I can push even further, my Olympus E-P2. So all those movies I've seen that have struck a cord with me are starting to replay in my head; those funky angles, effects, shots that express emotion and feed the story... hopefully I can start emulating those to become a better ... video guy, director, cinematographer, or whatever the right term ends up being.

Oh dear, this is a long post! I should've stopped earlier, but I couldn't help it! And I haven't even touched upon the 3D animation I used to do for television and corporate videos... man that was fun too!

Imre.

I think for me one of the things that really got me interested in filmmaking was wild camera angles, and so Alfred Hitchcock was a pretty big inspiration. Not just his movies, but some of the TV shows he directed (Alfred Hitchcock Presents) had some crazy angles that really intrigued me, and made me say "hmm....I would love to do this." I've since collected a bunch of his films and his cleverness and his creativity never cease to amuse and delight me.

I worked for about six or seven years in Melbourne as an extra on TV shows and movies, having got into that gig from theatre. I was fascinated by the processes and jobs going on around me and wanted to give it a go.

I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to direct, shoot and edit a series of five "At the Movies" spoofs with a Christmas theme for our Church. The script was very well written and I enjoyed this immensely. It was a great hook.