Quicksand Fans

So after retiring from a long and prosperous career in engineering, I have decided to explore a lifelong dream of attending film school at the age of 60.

Looking for any insights here from experienced people on best affordable hardware in terms of video cameras, laptops, etc.

The school loans much of this equipment, but if I can get my own affordably, it will make the logistics so much easier.

No, I do not intend to produce in this space, but I do have some other more mainstream ideas dating back to my obsession with the science fiction and fantasy space of my childhood, though I hope to focus mainly on the writing track of this particular program to make the aging process easier.

All the best pursuing your artistic endeavour! It's never too late to create art.

Chimerix actually teaches this for a living, so you may end up learning a lot from him.

Just off-hand though, the school gear may very well be at 'another level' cost-wise, compared to what is typically affordable (and yet still very valid for project purposes). So trying to learn the intricacies of both levels of gear would be a hinderance. Your best creative results will come with comfortable familiarity with the gear. Of course, for the folks who are all about the gear, forget about creativity.

In any case, I hope you enjoy the experience. Having some native project ideas will be a big help.

I will agree with Dave, especially about avoiding people who only talk about equipment. I got into photography when I was 14 (62 years ago) and got caught up in equipment. I took hundreds of pictures with my Nikkormat and hundredss more using a 2.5 by 3.5 sheet film camera, but never did anything really creative because I was too bogged down with equipment. Looking back, I think I wanted o use pictures to tell stories but doing that using stills was too much. It was only when I started ding video was I able to do what I wanted.
You migh want to consider doing something really simple at first. My very first video story had nothing to do with quicksand. [Well there was some sand and gravel involved.] It was about a hiker of sorts who was baffled as he kept having empty the sand ot of his boots. In the last clip, we see him emptying one boot while another hiker behind him is putting sand, and some stones, back in. The whole thng was maybe two minutes long. For my second video I played the role of a scientist offloading data and changing batteries in data logger insode a cave.

Good luck.

I'm sorry I missed this post. Best of luck and there's at least a few of us here that would like to hear about what you learn. The things you can do with even a basic DSLR is incredible. I shot video for some company product vids with my Nikon Z6 and the marketing people were very pleased. They were probably mostly pleased about not having to send a professional to our location but I'll take what I can get. Shoot me a message and I'll send you a you a link to my work on YouTube. Best of luck with all this. I'm envious.

First half of the summer (Summer A) done. Two classes done. History of Film and Art of the Cinema. Solid A in each. Absolutely enjoyed both of them. Always been a film buff, so this lights my soul on fire. Just started Summer B last week for the second half of the summer. Taking Foundations of Story and Introduction to Film Production. All of this material is straightforward enough. It is just coming at me at a fast pace because of the accelerated summer term. This fall will be Script Analysis plus three Spanish Minor courses. Everything from the start of Summer A 2026 through the end of Fall 2026 is online except for the Spanish Oral Communication class one day per week. Campus is a 45 minute drive from my house. Not bad.

Spring 2027 will get into the meat and potatoes of the matter. Cinematography, Editing, and Sound Design on campus. Introduction to Screenwriting online. Cinematography offers rentals but also allows for my own Manual DSLR Camera with instructor review and permission. I briefly browsed prices, and it looks like I can get a good one for a few hundred dollars.

I'm a bit late to the party here, but congratulations!!

I'm happy to talk shop, and I'll reiterate what others have said; gear matters, but it matters less than the user.