Hi everyone! this is my first post here..!

Anyway, I just started using an old Canon AE-1 camera I found. I'm having questions about loading film though.

I was told to slip the film into the takeup spool and pull the advance lever and shoot off a couple of shots to get to the frames of the film..

How do I know how far to pull the film into the camera so that the film frames and the camera align? How many times do I advance the film to get to the first frame? and finally, do the frames start when the film counter reads 0, or 1?

thanks a lot for your help..!