Anybpdy ever felt this way?

JayBird

JayBird

So I'm new to this film-making process, I'm fresh out of high-school, and the only experience I've ever really had is making 1 short. The short film I made was "great" coming from my friends and family, but when I post it to other websites, they say it just looks amateur and extremely lame. It feels like my dreams are fading away and reality is kicking in. Does anybody ever feel like they worked hard for nothing? I mean I can take criticisms, but not to the point where people say that it was so bad they stopped watching it a minute into it. Has anybody ever felt this way?

The community I live only knows one word and that's football. So it's hard to work on film projects in my area, and it's hard to find people interested in film and other kinds of art.

I feel like I'm rambling but I just wanted to get my feelings across.
 
You are rambling. I already told you. Learn the fundamentals and apply them. Its not hard to do the basic things. But until you do that, people with a trained eye can't watch your film for the story because there is all the other stuff that is really bad. Keep your head up and study.
 
JayBird said:
So I'm new to this film-making process, I'm fresh out of high-school, and the only experience I've ever really had is making 1 short. The short film I made was "great" coming from my friends and family, but when I post it to other websites, they say it just looks amateur and extremely lame. It feels like my dreams are fading away and reality is kicking in. Does anybody ever feel like they worked hard for nothing? I mean I can take criticisms, but not to the point where people say that it was so bad they stopped watching it a minute into it. Has anybody ever felt this way?

The community I live only knows one word and that's football. So it's hard to work on film projects in my area, and it's hard to find people interested in film and other kinds of art.

I feel like I'm rambling but I just wanted to get my feelings across.
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Keep doing what you're doing until it gets better. And, tell your friends and family that they aren't helping you by not being honest, they're hurting you. On the opposite end of that, don't listen to people who can't frame their criticism in a productive manner.

Embrace the people who are being honest with you and ask them for tips... backpatting is destructive to a filmmaker's process... which is why I rarely comment on anyone's work because it makes me look "mean".

And, every filmmaker has a soft spot. Don't worry, it's normal, but it takes time to hardened up to criticism. Good thing is that you aren't ignoring it and behaving as though you're the next best thing.
 
EVERYBODY'S first films suck, its OK, best to get it over with quick.
In fact, everything you do will be lame, but decreeing in lameness over time, and then one day, it will no longer be lame, it will be good.

To get past the lame stage, go make football movies. Film the games, put up highlights on youtube, do an OK job and your community will love you, before long EVERYONE will know you make the football movies and when you start asking around for help on your next Action short, or what ever it is you REALLY want to make, you'll have a lot of positive support.
 
As everyone has said, focus on the basics. Learn how to use lighting, sound, and how to direct actors. You don't need to MASTER the process, but try to understand how it's done. Watch a lot of behind-the-scenes featurettes, read books on filmmaking, and then just go out and DO IT. Don't waste too much time trying to please people. Make as many stupid-ass shorts as you can. You don't even really need a reason to make a movie, just do it, and ask for as many criticisms as possible. Post your work up here, and people will tell you what was bad about it. Then go make another short, and make those things GOOD. Repeat the process.

Maybe you make some money from it, someday. Maybe not. If you truly don't care about what people think, and never want to make money from it, then who the hell cares? But if you want to be successful and respected on ANY level (even among family/friends), you have to work for it. No such thing as a free lunch.
 
Dude, I could literally throw a piece of poop on the wall, and my mom would tell me it's one of the most creative works of art she's ever seen. That's one of the many things that make moms awesome -- they encourage us. I wouldn't be doing any of the cool stuff I'm doing right now, if it wasn't for my mom, and the rest of my family and closest friends offering good ol'-fashioned encouragement.

So, continue to get the encouragement you need from those who are closest to you, but don't take that as any honest indication that you've created a great film. You gotta show it to an honest, un-biased audience to really know how your movie connects with people.

All art is difficult to stick with. Painters, musicians, photographers -- it's emotionally very demanding to actively pursue your passion, and very normal to sometimes deal with frustrations, and feelings of self-doubt.

What you're feeling right now is normal. Now, the question is how do you deal with it? What would Alfred tell Bruce Wayne?

"Why do we fall?"
"So we can get back up."
 
I completely agree with what all the others have said. you're just starting out, making mistakes is a part of learning, just don't make the same mistake twice. if any of the comments about your film hurt you, don't give up but keep working. success is the best revenge.
 
wheatgrinder said:
EVERYBODY'S first films suck, its OK, best to get it over with quick.
In fact, everything you do will be lame, but decreeing in lameness over time, and then one day, it will no longer be lame, it will be good.

To get past the lame stage, go make football movies. Film the games, put up highlights on youtube, do an OK job and your community will love you, before long EVERYONE will know you make the football movies and when you start asking around for help on your next Action short, or what ever it is you REALLY want to make, you'll have a lot of positive support.
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This is great advice.

I stopped watching after a few minutes too but time is short and I'd seen enough. 15 is way too young to give up on a dream. Learn the technicals and get better. There are plenty of zero budget pieces in the screening room with high praise attached.
 
The most difficult - if not impossible - thing to do as a filmmaker is to remain objective about your own work. I personally am reluctant to screen anything I produced in my first 12 years as a filmmaker (which includes my first feature). At the time I thought it was great stuff. Other people liked it, too - or said they did. Looking at it now, though, while it has its moments, most of it is just embarrassing. In my defense, I was a teenager and the technology was primitive, so hopefully you'll improve a little faster than I did.
 
I agree with the others. Someone on this site said, forgot who, that you should make 5 short films over a span of a year. If the last one isn't a significant improvement over the first, then you should give up.

You've only made one, which I actually liked despite the problems. Now its time to learn from your mistakes.
 
JayBird said:
The community I live only knows one word and that's football. So it's hard to work on film projects in my area
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Make some films about football, then. :idea:



I can take criticisms, but not to the point where people say that it was so bad they stopped watching it a minute into it.
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Get used to it, and never take it personally.

Your critics may be right; they may be wrong. In the end, it's just someone's opinion.



Now where's this film of yours at? I'mma gonna watch it, and turn it off halfway through... :lol:
 
I started out as a musician. At 16 years old, while in high school, I was playing the acoustic piano, a church organ, a harpsichord or my electronic keyboards at least 35 hours per week. How many hours each week are you doing something involved with filmmaking? You get better by doing, and doing it a lot.

Do you write every single day, no exceptions? Do you view and analyze at least one film per week? How often do you pick up your camera? Are you actively participating in film forums like this one? Are you always reading something related to film?

There is a huge gap between the amateur dabbler and the professional. If you want to be a professional be aware that you are entering a fiercely competitive field, and it's not for the faint of heart. Of course you need talent, but you also need the hide of a rhinoceros and the tenacity of a terrier. You need to have an insatiable desire to learn. You need patience and people skills. And most of all you need to be willing to work you a$$ off, and then work even harder.
 
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