How to become a filmmaker?

Most of the filmmakers I know are an interesting blend of talent and education and since there are some skills involved step number one for becoming a filmmaker would be to finish high school. Complete high school. Most of the writers, directors, and producers I have met have a sizable amount of college under their belts and have earned a college degree, so add a bachelor's degree if you can.

Seek out an internship, just about every film/video production studio and even major television station offers some kind of internship in film/video production. Produce a short film of your own. These days all you need is a good phone with a camera. Whatever you have access to capable of recording moving images use it. Do what you can to develop film-related experience.

Pillows
by GK Designs

Build your own professional network for example when I was in school I joined an organization called SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers) which didn't require me to be an engineer and accepted interested non-members. Their meetings were once a month and there was no requirement to attend.

As a result, I ended up running into other film and video-related friends from other schools and just about every production manager from every major production house and television station in the SF Bay Area. One of the SMPTE meetings was held at George Lucas' Lucas Productions and another at a television production company in the south bay where I ended up being offered a job on a television sports program titled Giant's Vision.

Besides SMPTE there were the Broadcast Engineers and other film art associations that made building a professional network relatively easy with a little effort. My interest was always to write and direct my own film/video production and with the help of all the above, that opportunity finally did come earning a trip to Hollywood and everything.

When I started out I didn't know where, or when, my filmmaking opportunity would come from but following the steps above I did everything I could to sharpen my filmmaking skills so that when the opportunity came I was ready.