Define make money. Do you mean earn $200 after selling 20 DVDs to your friends? Or do you mean a stable living.
Define make movies. I earn a stable living making movies, but I am not a Director or a Writer or a Producer. Perhaps you would say that is not 'making movies' - perhaps you would say I simply 'work on' movies. However, I could say the same for a Director.
It's incredibly difficult to make money solely as a Director.
What I would say is that for those types of jobs, Alcove, there is lots and lots of competition. You have to know the right people, have a great amount of experience, kiss a lot of butt, etc, etc. In a very true way, you have to be "allowed" to make money like that. But you don't need permission from anyone to write, shoot, and edit your own film. That's one of the reasons it appeals to me, no one can stop you, and if you're good at it, and can make a product people like, other people will start coming to you and asking to work with you, now you're the employer and not just another job applicant.
Here's a secret I'll let you in on - to make money as a Director, you
also need to know people, kiss butt, have a lot of experience etc.
And there's a lot more competition when you're a Director, versus say anything else!
In fact, I'd say as a Director, you're generally more likely to be attempting to please Producers and investors versus any below-the-line crew, who simply do their job and get paid. When you're below-the-line you mostly have to worry about being good at your job and being pleasant to work with so that you get asked back next time.
Writing, Directing, shooting and editing your own film is certainly easier than collaborating with others, hiring Producers and getting funding etc. but it is also incredibly difficult to make money doing it that way, and you'll find that any money you do make comes after a great initial investment from yourself. And it could take a
long time for you to see any profit.
The way I see it is - do you want to be someone who is a woking professional in the film and television industry who works their way up (perhaps as a PA, then an AD or Producer), makes a lot of connections, works on and eventually directs things they don't necessarily have a great connection to (commercials, for example), earns a salary from making movies, and is then able to take the experience, knowledge and connections they've built up and make a financially viable film that can continue to pay you a salary, and has guarantee of distribution.
Or, do you want to be someone who is a one-man-band who works a day job and puts together films on the weekends, who makes as many films as possible depending on their financial state, and then hopes that putting films onto YouTube will bring them back in a bit of pocket money, and one day putting a film into a festival might attract a huge distributor who might pick them up and pay them some money..
Now, neither of those options is necessarily the 'wrong' option for you, but there is one option that is more likely to get you paid a regular income to make film. With the other option, it's near impossible.