Hi everyone. I'm sure this question has come up before but I've been pondering the idea of making messy videos for a while now. I'm just wondering what the best way to get started is and how someone would go about this? Having never done it before and not having work to show could make it harder I imagine. I have the technical side covered as I have a decent camera and am very good with video editing (even took a class on it) I would like to hear from people who have do this. How did you get started? How did you find modeles? Thanks guys.

I'm not a producer (yet). But I am a film/video student, and the one thing that I've learned while making my short films and that I'm sure every producer here on UMD will tell you is that LIGHTING IS KEY! So make sure that if you have a "set" in mind that it is properly lit so that your model and everything thrown at her is clearly visible on video.

I'm not saying that you have to go out and buy a professional lighting kit, but at least consider the lighting of the environment where you shoot. Try not to combine both incandescent light and natural light since their color temperatures are opposite and they look weird when combined. Be wary of where shadows are as well; having one single light source will cast hard shadows on the background and the subject alike, so if possible, make sure that you have both a KEY light (the main light) and a FILL light to fill in the shadows created by the key light. You could simply use overhead lights found in your home, but remember to treat those as your key lights and use something else as a fill light to fill in the shadows created by the overhead.

My best advice is to look for a place that you would be interested in filming and experiment using your camera and different lighting setups to see what works the best. If you can find a location that would both be easy to lay tarp down for cleanup and would have optimal lighting conditions, then you're golden!

Thanks for the tip!

Not sure which country you are in, but I chose some models who were on UMD for my first shoot so they were familiar with WAM and exactly what it entailed.

Then, and this is key, just treat your models kindly and with respect. It sounds obvious, but models experience horrible things from any number of producers in their careers and so if you pay them fairly, and treat them as real people, and as you would wish to be treated, word spreads.

Once you have done a few shoots, get yourself a profile on one of the model sites. I use purpleport here in the UK, and find that that then also confers a legitimacy to you that can help with initial perceptions.

I will never be the world's best technical director, and I shoot from a small bedroom in my house, yet I have had models like Axa-Jay, Chloe Lovette, Satine Spark, Pandora Blake etc come and shoot for me, and they have all said it is because, when they ask around, the message is that I am a nice person to work with.

The very sage Noise gave me that same advice when I was starting out, and I told him in that case I'd be fine, but I didn't quite believe it would make such a difference. But it really does.

The other thing I would say is work on the basis everything will take twice as long as you think it should. Then you'll have it about right.

nah. respectfully disagree with my old pal rev. best thing is to talk mad shit to the models. makes the pies go down easier.

truthfully, the #1 thing you need, is to just do it. make your mistakes, fumble, fuck up, learn. don't have something? get it. something goes wrong, slog ahead. just do it and don't stop for anything.

make sure you love it. other wise, don't bother.

This is brilliant advice. If you knew how shy I am in rl, I never ever would have thought I could do it. But I did. and stuff will go wrong. On my first shoot all the plastic sheeting fell down and I had to try and put it back up while sliding round in the gloop from the previous scene. But just do it and make it happen..and you will learn from every shoot.

Terrific advice from Meathook