You ought to be making pictures - there's a film spooling in your mind that needs to make its way onto a reel - maybe it's a music video or a dramatic short, a documentary that will change the world or your own neighbourhood, or something so experimental it doesn't have a name yet. You have a story to tell and you want to do it your way, not Hollywood s. You might be considering film school or are eager to just get out there and start shooting.
Everything readers need to know is in 'The Complete Idiot's Guide To Independent Filmmaking' - from development (literary) to pre-production (financial and organizational) to production (principal photography) to post-production (assembly) to exhibition and distribution (screening).
