do you think if you keep learning and keep filming every day or every weekend, that youll eventually make it and become successful or at least make a living? my brother and i chose to go straight into film school after highschool, so if we fail we'll be trapped with no jobs and probably be forced to join the army lol
If you keep trying and never give up are you guaranteed to make it?
- Thread starter RealJasonBourne
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What does "make it" or "become successful" mean... to you?
As far as making a living, well sure. If you're doing (and improving over time), there's no reason why you can't make a living at it. Then again... how much money do you need to be making, to be "making a living".. and at doing what?
Spielberg "makes a living" with film. But for every rockstar director, there's a hundred more barely eeking by... and maybe a dozen just doing "okay" in the middle. Would you be happy holding down a second full-time job, while trying to land a gig at your main one?
Don't fail
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well I'm progressing very well considering i never went to learn film, this year I'm hoping to gain lots of music artists to my new website and have a massive showreel, paid work is available but I'm hoping to use my talent of creativity to gain me higher then get smacked in the face with a wad of cash.
this isn't an easy business, you will meet a**holes in the form of clients, actors, actresses, crew members etc.
the thing that motivates me the most is that i want to be better than everyone and i won't stop until i am, each year i set new targets which are high bar, then i start to get more realistic and realise the progress i make is really good compared to a lot of people who have been in the industry for a while.
Number one key thing i have learned though is its who you know, not what you know, you must MIX MIX MIX MIX MIX with other people and collaborate as much as possible, if you do not, then the only person who will know you are a filmmaker is you.
you must also have a talent or very expensive equipment to please people.
the most important thing i have learned and still am learning is NEVER BE AFRAID, if you see a music artist and think i can make them a music video that will be shit hot, then approach them, tell them everything you have even if you have nothing, someone will take a chance on you, iv had a bit of luck but i always am determined to come across as the best.
this isn't an easy business, you will meet a**holes in the form of clients, actors, actresses, crew members etc.
the thing that motivates me the most is that i want to be better than everyone and i won't stop until i am, each year i set new targets which are high bar, then i start to get more realistic and realise the progress i make is really good compared to a lot of people who have been in the industry for a while.
Number one key thing i have learned though is its who you know, not what you know, you must MIX MIX MIX MIX MIX with other people and collaborate as much as possible, if you do not, then the only person who will know you are a filmmaker is you.
you must also have a talent or very expensive equipment to please people.
the most important thing i have learned and still am learning is NEVER BE AFRAID, if you see a music artist and think i can make them a music video that will be shit hot, then approach them, tell them everything you have even if you have nothing, someone will take a chance on you, iv had a bit of luck but i always am determined to come across as the best.
No.
Good luck in the army.......
On the other hand if you don't do everything you can you will never get there. I keep plugging along the sad delusion I will someday make it.....
And there are the many who want to be Directors, or at least wanted to be when they started film school and end up making a living in different aspects of film production - grips, ACs, ADs, etc.
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It depends on how you classify 'making a living'.
It's a lot harder to get to a Spielbergian level of 'making a living'.
There are plenty of crew who make a comfortable living, working on TVCs or mid-budget indie films. They just don't necessarily have the name recognition that Spielberg or even Deakins may have.
What's your idea of success? Making money? Making good movies? Having your movies distributed? Or being able to be recognised by name in a random conversation about film?
In your life the one controlling your own destiny is yourself. If you focus on what you want and ignore the thoughts about what you don't want then you will eventually succeed.
The most important thing to remember is that nothing is impossible, sometimes it may seem like there's no way of getting past a certain obstacle but if you persevere and continue to take appropriate actions you will succeed because the more drive and passion you feel the better your skills and talents will become. There is always a way around things, if something falls through don't be discouraged just look for an alternate road you can take because you never know which events along the way will lead you to what you ultimately want to achieve.
It is easy to be discouraged but look at other filmmakers in the industry who started small and kept on going no matter what until they were able to get to the level they are currently at.
The only obstacle really is your own thoughts and worries that will eventually bring you down. Other people may be problems for you but you need to not worry about their perspective and go with your own instincts.
This doesn't mean don't take any useful advice it just means to ignore naysayers who don't offer any solutions or don't give you useful information. There are difficulties about the industry and making it to the level that you may want to get to but knowing the difficulties doesn't mean you have to feel that all of these difficulties are insurmountable because they're not.
The most important thing to remember is that nothing is impossible, sometimes it may seem like there's no way of getting past a certain obstacle but if you persevere and continue to take appropriate actions you will succeed because the more drive and passion you feel the better your skills and talents will become. There is always a way around things, if something falls through don't be discouraged just look for an alternate road you can take because you never know which events along the way will lead you to what you ultimately want to achieve.
It is easy to be discouraged but look at other filmmakers in the industry who started small and kept on going no matter what until they were able to get to the level they are currently at.
The only obstacle really is your own thoughts and worries that will eventually bring you down. Other people may be problems for you but you need to not worry about their perspective and go with your own instincts.
This doesn't mean don't take any useful advice it just means to ignore naysayers who don't offer any solutions or don't give you useful information. There are difficulties about the industry and making it to the level that you may want to get to but knowing the difficulties doesn't mean you have to feel that all of these difficulties are insurmountable because they're not.
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Effort and desire does not equal success. If it did, everyone would be winning the lottery.
Now I'm not saying this is true of you, I don't know you. There are thousands, if not millions of people worldwide who pick up a camera on a weekly basis who are never, ever going to make it professionally. There are lots of people who dream to make it big, but when it comes down to doing what it takes, it's just too hard or too much like real work.
There are also a lot of people who simply don't have the aptitude to perform the duties of their dream. For instance, most people want to be directors or big star actors though aren't even aware of what skills are needed to perform these functions, let alone be professional to the level of earning a significant living. or even be at the top of the industry and rival top Hollywood names.
If you have the aptitude, accept the right positions you're suited to, make the right decisions and pass on the wrong projects, do your work well, impress and work with the right people, make the right connections, and work on projects that earn money for their investors, yeah sure you'll make it. Sounds easy right?
@sfoster
To rip on another IT member without provocation is UNCOOL, dude.
i'm sorry it's just that i thought i heard someone in another post say that it was okay but now i know better, thanks. i will try to be more cool in my next post
@RJB
No one is going to tell you that there are guarantees. You are at the perfect age to jump in with both feet, especially if you don't have children or other big responsibilities (these are important, too), so go for it! Discover what you want to offer the world with your film work (which is different than lots of money, being famous or surrounded by beautiful women— I think :-D).
You don't want to look back and kick yourself for not having given it a try... And that is the one thing that IS in your control: Trying your best.
Best of luck!
kj
No one is going to tell you that there are guarantees. You are at the perfect age to jump in with both feet, especially if you don't have children or other big responsibilities (these are important, too), so go for it! Discover what you want to offer the world with your film work (which is different than lots of money, being famous or surrounded by beautiful women— I think :-D).
You don't want to look back and kick yourself for not having given it a try... And that is the one thing that IS in your control: Trying your best.
Best of luck!
kj
Do it because you love it. If you are not entirely, passionately in love with film and making it, you will eventually give up when things get tough.
So with that said, I would repeat what others have...by what do you measure success?
I measure it in being lucky enough to have the opportunity to do something I love which is attempt to make the stories in my head, that move me, into film so I can physically sit and watch them. With any luck, I then get to send those out, and hear of others enjoying these stories as much as I do...for me, that is success. How do you measure yours?
So with that said, I would repeat what others have...by what do you measure success?
I measure it in being lucky enough to have the opportunity to do something I love which is attempt to make the stories in my head, that move me, into film so I can physically sit and watch them. With any luck, I then get to send those out, and hear of others enjoying these stories as much as I do...for me, that is success. How do you measure yours?
You're never forced to do anything. There are plenty of jobs out there, and you can get pretty much which ever one you choose to make happen.
I've got a couple friends whom I've seen transition from amateur to professional, and the one thing they had in common is that they made it their entire life. By contrast, I'm a bartender, and that takes up more time than anything else in my life. The two friends I'm referencing, however, chose to not have any job at all. They just desperately, and I mean DESPERATELY, constantly looked for gigs that would allow them to use their filmmaking skills. One thing led to another, and now they're both making a living doing what they love.
So, I can't comment on my own experiences, but based on what I've seen others do, I think you just kinda gotta jump into the deep end.
Best of luck to you, which ever path you choose!
I've got a couple friends whom I've seen transition from amateur to professional, and the one thing they had in common is that they made it their entire life. By contrast, I'm a bartender, and that takes up more time than anything else in my life. The two friends I'm referencing, however, chose to not have any job at all. They just desperately, and I mean DESPERATELY, constantly looked for gigs that would allow them to use their filmmaking skills. One thing led to another, and now they're both making a living doing what they love.
So, I can't comment on my own experiences, but based on what I've seen others do, I think you just kinda gotta jump into the deep end.
Best of luck to you, which ever path you choose!
You need to define what successful means to you. And this will change as you grow as both a human being and as an artist.
So, how do you define success?
Once you define success, then try to work backwards from that goal, to see all the steps you will need to take to reach it. But don't let certain parts of the progress towards your goals, sidetrack you from the important steps. I have an anecdote that I love to share, which illustrates this point:
When I was in College, I took a writing workshop. On the first day, the professor said the following to the class:
"Many of you, I know, have dreams of writing a novel that wins the National Book Award or the Pulitzer prize. And, about that dream, some of you think, oh, well, I can't accomplish that. And some of you think, if I just write the best book I can, I will be able to win that prize."
Then he said, "But I will bet that out of almost all of you here, not one of you, right now, could tell me what the criteria and the judging process is for either of those two awards. There are lots of things you need to do in order to even be in the running for certain literary prizes." He smiled and added, "I will let you in on a little secret, though. You will not win those or any other book awards, if you never even finish writing a book."
So, a little word of advice. Be knowlegable about the industry, and make a plan of action. However, don't worry about things that are out of your control. If you do, you will expend a ton of energy in misplaced directions if you do that. Instead, focus on things you can have influence over.
For instance, you can control:
Examples Things you CAN'T control.
I think you get the idea.
There is a quote attributed to Steve Martin that I like: "Make yourself so good that they can't possibly ignore you."
So, how do you define success?
Once you define success, then try to work backwards from that goal, to see all the steps you will need to take to reach it. But don't let certain parts of the progress towards your goals, sidetrack you from the important steps. I have an anecdote that I love to share, which illustrates this point:
When I was in College, I took a writing workshop. On the first day, the professor said the following to the class:
"Many of you, I know, have dreams of writing a novel that wins the National Book Award or the Pulitzer prize. And, about that dream, some of you think, oh, well, I can't accomplish that. And some of you think, if I just write the best book I can, I will be able to win that prize."
Then he said, "But I will bet that out of almost all of you here, not one of you, right now, could tell me what the criteria and the judging process is for either of those two awards. There are lots of things you need to do in order to even be in the running for certain literary prizes." He smiled and added, "I will let you in on a little secret, though. You will not win those or any other book awards, if you never even finish writing a book."
So, a little word of advice. Be knowlegable about the industry, and make a plan of action. However, don't worry about things that are out of your control. If you do, you will expend a ton of energy in misplaced directions if you do that. Instead, focus on things you can have influence over.
For instance, you can control:
- Finishing that script.
- Making that short film.
- Networking with other filmmakers, agents, financers
- Submitting your (film) script to contests, writers groups, agents.
- Improving your craft.
- Making that feature film.
- Asking people to finance your film.
Examples Things you CAN'T control.
- Somebody buying your script.
- Whether or not you film gets accepted to a festival.
- Whether or not somebody invests in your movie.
- The success of you peers.
I think you get the idea.
There is a quote attributed to Steve Martin that I like: "Make yourself so good that they can't possibly ignore you."
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This is great, Ahennessy !
When my director and I (writer/producer) were getting ready to shoot our first feature film (Surviving Family) in 2011, we made one promise to each other:
We would finish the movie!
Not that we'd get into festivals (we did), or win awards (that too), or have people tell us how much it meant to them (truly an amazing experience).
We promised to finish it.
The single most important thing you could do.
When my director and I (writer/producer) were getting ready to shoot our first feature film (Surviving Family) in 2011, we made one promise to each other:
We would finish the movie!
Not that we'd get into festivals (we did), or win awards (that too), or have people tell us how much it meant to them (truly an amazing experience).
We promised to finish it.
The single most important thing you could do.
I agree. Just finish it.
I'm currently working on editing a "Things We've Learned" review of a couple dozen lo/no budget films I've looked over and one of the film's' directors makes just absolute completely sheet rubbish films.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2480063/?ref_=tt_ov_dr
BUT... !
BUT... !
He's getting it done and on the market, so that a compilation of his "work", cr@p that it is, is much better then contemplative "woulda, coulda, shoulda" which besieges many burgeoning filmmakers.
Gettin' something done is waaaaaaay more important than wouldacouldashoulda.
You might make it. You might not make it. Learn as much as you can and work as much as you can.