Where to find inspiration and styles

Before I even got back into videography I was listening to podcasts. I won't bore you with my interests, but suffice to say I like tales of creatures and paranormal happenings. It's not so much that I am a true believer in cryptids and ghosts, it's that I have always enjoyed the folklore and telling of tales. I also like listening to and watching stories that have a spooky theme. I am actually quite new to podcasts and only starting listening to them, on a regular basis, in the past year. So the ones that caught my attention were the ones with high-quality audio and compelling stories. Audio makes a huge difference in podcasts enjoyment. The more I listened the more I gravitated towards making my own, but I never pulled the trigger because I wanted to have a partner involved to share ideas with. Through these podcasts, I learned about certain groups that were making documentaries so I decided to check them out. I heard about Small Town Monsters and checked out their films on Amazon Prime. I really liked them and then I found out that the early ones they created were filmed by only a handful of people. In fact, the first one was pretty much done by 2 people. It occurred to me that I could do this. Why not? I had some experience (I'll talk about skills in a future post) I just had to upgrade some of my equipment.

Before I got to that point I spent a lot of time watching various documentaries. And just like podcasts, the ones I found with good audio and compelling stories were usually the better ones. I think a film can get by with some sloppy camera work as long as the story and audio are on point (more about that later.) One of the best ways to learn, as a beginner, is by researching what others have done. When you come across something you enjoy, break it down and ask yourself why you like it and why does it catch your attention. At the same time, when you see something that you think is poorly done, learn from that as well.

Next: Assessing my skills