 Anderson was involved in filmmaking at a young age and never really had an alternative plan to directing films . He made his first movie when he was eight years old and started making movies on a <unk> video camera which his dad bought in 1982 when he was twelve years old . He later started using 8 mm film but realized that video was easier . He began writing in adolescence , and at 17 years old he began experimenting with a <unk> sixteen millimeter camera . After years of experimenting with " standard fare " , he wrote and filmed his first real production as a senior in high school at <unk> <unk> using money he earned cleaning <unk> at a pet store . The film was a thirty @-@ minute <unk> shot on video called The Dirk <unk> Story ( 1988 ) , about a pornography star ; the story was inspired by John Holmes , who also served as a major inspiration for Boogie Nights . 
