Breaking into Hollywood: How can someone with no prior experience get involved in film making?

Just do it. Volunteer your services to film communities, make coffee, carry stuff ect. Watch and learn from people with a little experience and ask a ton of questions. Then give it a shot yourself, don't wait for conditions to be perfect. Your first film won't be perfect, so you may as well get it out there. Craft a short story around what you know and what you have access to. Shoot it on an iPhone, why not. But get some decent sound recording equipment, decent not full pro. Practice editing with whatever software your comfortable with. If you've never edited before. Edit some footage you shot to some music, that's a good way to practice. Then when your finished with it and your excitement settles down. You'll see where you went wrong, what you want to improve on next time. People will see you are a "do'er" not just a "talker" and hopefully you'll get more help from the right kind of people next time. Just keep doing and helping others and all of a sudden you'll realise you have experience. Then more opportunities will come.

Troy Duffy was a bartender and aspiring screenwriter who played in a band. He sold his script for Boondock Saints, negotiated a position as director, despite never going to film school. He even got the studio to sign-off on using his band for the music in the movie. Sadly, his quick rise and success led to incredible arrogance and the feeling that he could do no wrong. The documentary he arranged himself did not paint a flattering picture and as his attitude and insulting demeanor causes his funding to be pulled and his career to be blacklisted among all major studios. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overnight, documentary on Troy Duffy's short rise to fame.) In the end the movie is finally made as a independent film with half the former budget. (And it did manage to get a strong cult following.) But this is only one example of passion and talent taking you from zero to hero. So, yes, it can be done. Most film-makers, on the other hand, make their own backyard projects before eventually going to film school. Spielberg, for instance. He seems to have done alright, don't you think?

People seem to forget theres a big diff. between 'working' in the film industry and being a 'film maker'. I can honestly say 75% of those employed in the business have no training in or desire to be a 'film maker', it's just a job like any other.   You need to figure out which job in filmed entertainment you want and then start networking. The politics of being employed in the industry are the same as working at McDonalds.    Go to your local DGA / DGC (in Canada) and IATSE offices and get on their permit programs. There are requirments you have to meet and certif. you need to have/get but thats the first step.   Join any co-op, group, network of film makers and volunteer so you have something on your resume, Even a local cable TV chan. can help.   Then start hitting up people in the business and keep doing so until they are so sick and tired of you they give you a grunt job just to shut you up. When you have that be prepaired to do the best you can. DONT kiss ass, just be yourself and do a fantastic job.   In film and television you are only as good as your last job!;].

Get yourself a cheap video camera,  a tripod, some inexepsnive editing software (macs have sometimes come with iMovie, if they don't its very cheap to buy) And MOST importantly, a book or two on film-making., Right now you don't even know how little you know.  In the days when amateurs and independents made Super8 movies, Lenny Lipton's book was THE great film makers intro.  I looked him up on amazon and this seems like his latest... http://www.amazon.com/Independent-Filmmaking-Lenny-Lipton/dp/067146258X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358981612&sr=1-3&keywords=lenny+lipton Now there are some alternatives to live action available today.  People have made independent animated movies in Flash and in 3D programs like Maya.  These are normally expensive BUT you can get them much less expensively if you are a student or employed by an educational institution.

Why run before you can walk?I started by working for free - (around six months) but I was fed on set and occasionally thrown some money.  I picked up after everyone, observed, asked questions and after 6 months figured the guy doing well financially was the gaffer.  I got a gig and started to learn about film language.  First day with the gaffer the Cinematographer asked me to "run up a pup, use half blue and quarter spun as a 3/4 kicker".  Now I had now idea what he had just said, but over time I learnt and I also understood the departments and what each crew membeer did.  After about 15 years I had climbed the food chain and started using my tertiary skills of Business Management and applied film knowledge with  common business sense.  I evolved and have now written many screenplays, books, produced and directed TV series, features and documentaries.  Point I am making here is you have to have knowledge as without that, your project is doomed to fail. Ken Myamoto makes valid points which means get the best people around you to deliver your product and you will gain experience but if you do not know what to ask for or know what you need to achieve, you will find it hard and it may be an expensive lesson. Nothing beats dedication and persistence.  The school of hard knocks is a ruthless teacher.  Start to walk today, even if you work for free. Don't run.

There's a lot of different answers because filmmaking is vague.  I'd recommend putting aside a huge chunk of your paycheck for this while you think about it.  Even if you start playing around with cheap equipment, the better you get the more you'll realize their limitations and will want better stuff to use and that costs money.  If anything you'll at least have some money saved for food.The second thing took me a while to learn.  Much of filmmaking is the execution.  There are many people who will waste your time.  They never made one short film and will never make one short film because they're better at wasting time than performing.  You'll see what I mean.  Avoid them because they're toxic, and incredibly common in the networking meeting.  Not too common in the paid gigs though, they don't usually get hired a second time.