I don't know how to put this, but at what age did you get into filmmaking?

I started in still photography in my late teens and video production in my mid twenties. I'm 46 years old.

I'm 17 right now, I started still photography when I was 14 and got really into video at 15.

Define "Filmmaking"...

I started in still Photography at 15, First job in TV as cameraman at 18, have worked professionaly in various aspects of the media including Radio, Theatre, Film ever since. I am 47

Yeah, I'm 18 now and have had my PD150 for a year. I did a bit of still photo, I got two of my pictures in McLeans, some crappy Canadian magazine.

My father was chief photographer for a local CBS affiliate in the 50s and 60s, so we always had cameras around the house. He did freelance for Walter Cronkite, Reasoner, etc., and was the first news photographer allowed on the Nautilus (first atomic sub). When I was 13 (in Junior High School), some of my friends had 35mm cameras (nice ones, with meters, etc.), so I told my dad I wanted to learn photography.

He bought me an Argus C-3 (an old range-finder camera), and a hand-held meter, gave me some basics and said to go out and shoot pictures - and that was the best way to learn. At the time, I got mad, because my friends had new and expensive cameras, and I had this WWII 'antique'. However, I'll have to say, it taught me a lot about still photography.

Later that year, when one of my friends was having trouble with his camera, he asked to borrow my light meter, so he could set his camera. Instead, without looking at the meter, I told him what setting he needed to use. He didn't believe me, so when I lent him the meter, I had estimated correctly!

I guess my dad was pretty smart! As for video, I'm now 45 and just started with that last year. Sorry for the long story! Oh, and I found an old C-3 camera, a complete kit, in the box a couple of years ago and bought for 'posterity'!

I started taking stills when I was about 6, and found that I took some good ones. I always took my camera with me on any trip---whether a day trip or full length holiday. When I was about 9, I got my first movie film cam. As I got older, I bought more cams and lenses. In my teens, I did a lot of macro photography and scenery, then I switched over to capture mainly cheeks, faces. I've used 8mm, 16mm and super8; VHS, SVHS, Hi8 and miniDV. All this is just a hobby though. I'm no "film maker." I'll be turning 49 in about 8 days. Tonight, I was at a large party, and shot a roll of B&W. I prefer B&W for stills, and shooting with miniDV----and lately a bit of super8 and SVHS. I shoot the odd wedding, usually at least 1 funeral per week; and in the past have shot many instructional videos. But, I sometimes shoot video at a picnic or something, and make a little story out of it. I have also shot bird videos for my mother and her group of friends. Basically, I enjoy shooting---that's the bottom line. Oh, and I've also done studio work with stills. That's fun too.

I've started video filming when I was 24... am 25 now!

I started taking stills when I was 10, and then got in to Video when I was 14. I am 17 now, and my life revolves around cameras (still, and Video)

Alex

I got my first video camera three weeks ago with the intention of shooting documentaries and shorts. I am 50 years old. I hope I'm not starting out too young! :-)

I shot some VHS camcorder stuff through the mid-eighties, then nothing until I bought my first of two Sony camcorders in December of 2000. I use a VX2000 now. I'm 53.

I shot stills, B&W, around the age of 12 with a Boy Scout Brownie camera, majored in film production in college, worked on a newspaper shooting stills and reporting, did some free lance documentary writing, shot B&W Tri-X in college with the old Bell & Howell cameras that you could fall out of a tree with and not hurt anything (except your own body...I did). Worked in educational films awhile, went to work for a big non-theatrical production house back in the 16mm film days as a writer/director, went on my own shooting 16mm in the '70's, switched to video in the mid-80's and still doing it...moved form 2" to 1" to 3/4" to Betacam...bought first Avid in the mid-90's...moved from Betacam to DVCAM a couple of years ago. So by most people's standards I've been doing this forever. Which means I've made most of the mistakes there are to make but on occasion still manage to find new ones. The one thing about the biz I know well is that you can't get comfortable and complacent. Just when you think you know all that you need to know, everything changes and you have to learn new stuff all over again. The basics don't change, only the technology and the definition of an acceptable image on the screen.

"The basics don't change, only the technology and the definition of an acceptable image on the screen"

Absolute Gospel!

Along with "Everything old is new again..."

Started in video when I was 18 or so. 27 now.

I started out, as many others, with a still camera. I was very interested in wildlife and particularly birds , and wanted to take pictures of all the beautiful things I saw. In my early teens I got me a job after school, and saved the money so I could buy me a camera. My little brother and I also got us equipment so we could do the whole process ourselves. That was from the picture was taken and until it was developed and a ready black and white paper-copy.

Later I got the opportunity to try out an 8 mm film camera, and in 1987 I got the first VHS camcorder (big and clumsy). Since then I have tried the analog Hi8 and the small 1 chip DV camcorders, and finally I got my self an XL1s last year. I am now 42 years young ;-).

Ivan

yeah i started playin around with video when i was about 10 and at 11 i started to seriously get into it ah im 12 now

I got hooked when I was a sophomore in high school. The school "TV station" had a lot of really cool toys, including a 3/4" editor. When possible I would sign out the camera and deck (ah, the days of the 2 piece units) and I would just shoot stuff on the weekends.

I interned at a TV station my last year in college and landed a job there directing newscasts at age 20. After moving around the East Coast directing at local stations for 15 years, I moved over to directing sports television. And after almost 3 years of that, I'm happy to report that I've regained some sanity and perhaps a little more hair.

Like so many others here, I just got my XL1s and FCP last year. I spent many years before that with a home recording studio, so hopefully some day I'll get smart (or lucky) and put all of this together and work for myself. I just turned 38.

This is a cool thread. Interesting to learn the background of the people who contribute.

Bill

I guess it was around the age of 12. Me and my brother borrowed my uncles 8mm camcorder and started making little animations using plastacine models which we made up. It was great fun!!! however towards the end the models would shrink and not stand up.

But I have a picture of me behind a camera at the age of 6 - could that be when it all started.

It was'nt until I was 15 that I really started getting into it. I got a samsung 8mm camcorder for my birthday and so began my career.

I'm now 19 and have my own small business (part-time) and I work full time for a company that distributes video broadcast servers, Non-linear editing systems and DVD authoring machines.

All the best,

Ed Smith

I used to star in my brothers Doctor Who/ Star Trek remakes when I was 8....hehe, they were fun. Whenever I could get my hands on the camcorder though, I would just shoot anything and everything and experiment a lot. I eventually got onto making short films when I was about 14, and have been interested in it ever since (21 now). I have been unable to create anything for a while though because I haven't had a camcorder at hand for a few years, but my ideas are still flowing. I am going to be buying a Canon XM2 in a few months so I can get back into the swing of things. Can't wait!

When I was a kid, I watched the first Doctor. Now, years later, many of these episodes are missing. ^_^

My first camera was also a Kodak.

I started in Print Design when i was 18 years old and then I go to
Vedio in 1999 ...
My age now 29

I started playing with my Dad's Bell & Howell Super 8 camera when I was about 9. I started making little shorts with my Star Wars dolls. After a few years my friends and I wrote a "feature length" script and filmed a (really awful) coming of age high school story. It had every cliche from every John Hughes film of the early 80s.

After taking a break for a few years, I got back into video in '97 and have been doing it ever since.

This ages me. Shot my first film (8mm) when I was 14 (1959) and 4 years later made 4 doco's on a 16mm Bell & Howell that were telecast in B&W by our national broadcaster.
I'm still in the business and still make doco's (close to 3000 now) with four on air this year so far.
I'm going to (Cannes) France in 3 weeks to see if I can sell some more.
Been in the doco business for a long time and love it to death.
My advice: If you love what you're doing go for it and keep at it.

ok this may sound crazy.

but i started to read film books at age 4

i fell in love with the idea of directing

i used my dads camera to dolly and spin out my own shots on toys and stuff. just the idea of manipulating a shot.

i moved up to studnet projects that always got As, people paid me to do these, i made feature films and music videos for churches all over

and then i made the orange county government training video at age 14.

now im 16 with a 50,000 dollar sponsorship from sony to make a feature film for my church as a form of outreach.

turning 17 in march of '04

-arthur

My Grandfather was a film cameraman, DP, Editor in Cuba.

My Uncle was an award winning film editor in Cuba and is now working as the lead producer/supervisor for a major Spanish TV network here in Miami after his defection in 1992.

My Father was a Camera Assistant, Camera Operator, Director of Photography, in Cuba and the U.S., films such as The French Connection and The Exorcist, just to name a couple. His career and accomplishments are nothing short of amazing.

I knew what I wanted to do since I was 10. I also had the opportunity and priviledge to work alongside him on many movies, commercials and TV shows the longest running gig we worked on together was the first two years of a little show you probably remember as Miami Vice.

Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt and applied it to an altogehter type of filmaking...and still LOVING IT!

P.S.

Red, don't feel too bad about dating yourself, I still have my Grandfather's, wind-up, 35mm Eymo that my father also used to cover the 1960's World Series in Yankee Stadium as a Photojournalist. The damned thing still works!

P.S.S.

My Dad passed away 11 years ago and today would have been his 73rd birthday...HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD and thanks for everything, wherever you are!

Love,

RB

Twenty years ago... at age 8 I was given for Christmass a 8mm toy camera... I loved going to my Uncle´s farm and shooting cattle and horses...

Just a few years later 8mm was almost impossible to find where I lived.. and VERY expensive to develop since it had to be sent overseas or something... I guess either Kodak quited 8mm there.. or my mom lied to me so I wouldn´t spent more money filiming cows and horses..

Economically I couldn´t get my hands on anything "Film or video" until I was old enough to work and save enough to buy my first Hi8... that was 8 years ago...

I shot a few very crappy shorts.. but never took it serious enough until I graduated from University, and realized I was going the wrong way on my life...
That was just 5 years ago.

BUT, I´ve been writting short stories since I was 10 or 11... so I guess that´s when I really started...

used my friends' cameras when i was 15 or so. now i have a video production company with my friends. we make music videos and live videos. we have a video on MTV2 and lots more work coming in. i am 18 years old now.