Are We Our Worst Critics?

Ziggy

Ziggy

Hey IndieTalk Brothers and Sisters, Just wanted to share my nausea with you cats. I have a clip in the narrative section (Indie Jonesing Clip) and as I mentioned I finally finished the film at a post facility here in Vancouver, BC. I brought it home to watch for the first time (uninterrupted) and man that is tough... I'd love to hear from some of you seasoned guys about how realistic your appraisal of your own work is, are we too tough on ourselves? Do you find yourself swearing you won't touch a camera again or do you love your work despite its multiple birth defects?
Peace,
Stefan
 
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It sounds like a filmmaker with unexhaustable funding when the worry is more about being a tough enough critic rather than asking what can I make with X amount of money.

If all you can make with X amount of dollars is achieved. Be happy and call it a day. As a member here pointed out, the distributors don't put hope into productions under half a million dollars. Make the best that you can with the money that you have and hope it will be good enough to get someone to fund your next production. My goal is to make a production that turns a profit. That's why I opened a film making business. Try to set your focus on making each new production better than your last. Work with an experienced cast and crew and you can only improve. Don't be a loner. Bryan Singer recommends people starting out look to work with people more experienced than they are to help them get over the hurdles of the production.

A friend just asked me to borrow my lighting equipment. When I asked him exactly what type of lights is he looking for, he didn't know and wants to borrow all of my lights.

I suggested he hires a gaffer with a light truck. He said he doesn't have a Hollywood budget. He will learn as he goes along. I told him when the blind leads the blind, no one will learn anything as they go along. I recommended 2 local film schools and tolld him to see if he can find a student filmmaker with their own camera and some lights. The studnet filmmaker will at least be a help to them with solving lighting issues because the studnet has the resources of the school for advice on how to light their sets.

So, that's my take on how to improve.
 
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I hate almost every single thing I make, and that is pretty much the only thing that pushes me forward. Knowing that I'm better that what I just made... that I can DO better.
If you find yourself saying that you won't ever touch a camera again, just because you think that you creation is rubbish... filmmaking is not for you.
 
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I have given up on ever actually being happy with something I've done. Not to say I don't think I can do good work, but I always see so many things I'd like to do better next time that that becomes my focus.

Double-edged sword because while that drives you to move forward and it makes you improve a lot, it can be a bit of a bummer sometimes lol.

Like Missing said above I'm always happy when I've finished a product. Best high you can have fully clothed...
 
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I told him when the blind leads the blind, no one will learn anything as they go along.
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haha ummm.... thats is how with me... indietalk.com and google.com are my only sources of filmmaking information, of and books... a sh*t ton of books.


And everyday practice with filming, editing, audio, lighting or screenplay writing.
 
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Am I my biggest critic? I don't know how to answer that. On one hand, there aren't any flaws in any of my movies that anyone has pointed out to me that I didn't already see. So, in that sense, yeah, I'm my own biggest critic, because I can honestly say that I've seen every tiny weakness, long before anyone else ever pointed it out, and I see many weaknesses that nobody has ever pointed out.

On the flip-side, I don't let that stop me from feeling proud of my work. I've made a couple of sucky short movies, but for the most part, I'm genuinely really happy with the work I've produced, and I'm not at all self-loathing as a filmmaker. As a general rule, I enjoy watching my movies.

For me, it's EXTREMELY important that the process of making a film is FUN!!! Why else are we doing it? Honestly, if you don't find your productions to be fun, then I think you're doing something wrong. And I mean that for every level of the art -- from zero-budget newbies, to mid-level indie filmmakers, to Hollywood pros -- if you aren't having fun, then why the hell did you get into this?

So, to that end, even when I'm watching a movie I made that I despise, I can at least reminisce on the good times we had, the things I did right, and the things I did wrong. Highly-critical? Yes. Self-loathing? Absolutely not.
 
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_Rok_ said:
No matter how much I hate my work, there's always someone out there who hates it more.
So, I'm at least my second-worst critic. :tongue:


_Rok_
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Yeah exactly.

Like I said get a lot of people to watch your material, trailer whatever. By a lot I mean thousands and you'll find someone that is harsher than yourself. Doesn't matter if it's better than the average at your level, someone will chop your limbs off.

Haha.

most of us don't get that opportunity though.
 
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