Y'all are a bunch of liars, just admit it, lol. I ain't exactly a spring chicken and I've been on some pretty big productions on both coasts. I've met and worked with some filmmakers who truly loved what they were doing, and sadly, those people are the minority. Most of y'all walk around with sour look on your face all the time.
Most filmmakers hate their lives.
- Thread starter Cracker Funk
- Start date
Well... I follow the advice of David Linch of transcendental meditation. I love my work.
For me, I hate writing (or at least everything past the initial ideas and discovery portion of writing)
I love production and sometimes feel like everything else is just an excuse to make this phase happen.
And I'm okay with editing. Sometimes I like it, sometimes it's very tedious. By then I just want to get back into the production phase
I love production and sometimes feel like everything else is just an excuse to make this phase happen.
And I'm okay with editing. Sometimes I like it, sometimes it's very tedious. By then I just want to get back into the production phase
Just let your hair down and be silly on set. That's probably the best way to make a profitable movie.
Profitable?
Okay there's miserable people in any job but usually these are jobs you don't want. Most people are in filmmaking because they want and love it. Sure some days you may be miserable, because shit happens. But I have not experienced this phenomenon you describe of most filmmakers hating their lives/jobs which is evident on a set. Maybe the director is just a dick? Maybe he loves his life. No idea. It's just very generalized, and I have not experienced the "phenomena," but you want to call us all liars.
I don't meet a lot of miserable people that hate there job... I don't want to work with people that hate there job. Perhaps I have this magnet that deflects them...
I know this breakcore artist in Germany that claims the same thing. That everyone is hate's his live and is oppressed, and suffering..... Jeaaaa.... that will invite a lot of good people into your live.
I know this breakcore artist in Germany that claims the same thing. That everyone is hate's his live and is oppressed, and suffering..... Jeaaaa.... that will invite a lot of good people into your live.
I’m still confused by the pretense of the OP.
I’ve worked with crews from NY to LA and points inbetween, and this has never been my experience. I’ve been on specific shoots where things were miserable, usually under conditions imposed by a terrible producer (TV) or director (film), but the morale on set or location in those cases has nothing to do with people who hate what they do but with a crew fed up with a poorly-run production.
I have worked shoots where we were constantly running into meal penalties (and a crafty table that did not sustain), and shoots where the producer simply didn’t communicate with the crew and dragged us on with the only statement being something like “I know what I want this to look like, so just keep up with me”. I was even working one shoot, a cooking demo, where the only food served to the crew was what came off the set... including a dish during which the chef cut her finger and kept on working with the same knife, board, and ingredients. I did not eat that day. These are mostly TV shoots, and the films I have worked on were organized and well-run. I love what I do, but I do hate working on sloppy productions.
Perhaps you’ve just had an unfortunate string of bad experiences? But your assertion that “most” filmmakers hate their lives is a false premise.
I’ve worked with crews from NY to LA and points inbetween, and this has never been my experience. I’ve been on specific shoots where things were miserable, usually under conditions imposed by a terrible producer (TV) or director (film), but the morale on set or location in those cases has nothing to do with people who hate what they do but with a crew fed up with a poorly-run production.
I have worked shoots where we were constantly running into meal penalties (and a crafty table that did not sustain), and shoots where the producer simply didn’t communicate with the crew and dragged us on with the only statement being something like “I know what I want this to look like, so just keep up with me”. I was even working one shoot, a cooking demo, where the only food served to the crew was what came off the set... including a dish during which the chef cut her finger and kept on working with the same knife, board, and ingredients. I did not eat that day. These are mostly TV shoots, and the films I have worked on were organized and well-run. I love what I do, but I do hate working on sloppy productions.
Perhaps you’ve just had an unfortunate string of bad experiences? But your assertion that “most” filmmakers hate their lives is a false premise.
I thought you already admitted that the people on those productions probably just seemed unhappy to you cuz they weren't smiling. Are you back to saying they were truly unhappy?
I work in the service industry, and I'm very good at my job. It's my job to put smiles on people's faces, and I've made a lot of money doing that. I ain't no asshole. I'm not saying that filmmakers are assholes. I'm saying that too many of us don't take the time to stop and smell the roses. This thing that we do is fun. Stop taking it so fucking seriously.
Too risky... too many farts out there
One too many days serving burritos for crew lunch.
The folks I work with take their jobs seriously in that we’re all working to get the best end-product we can. We may be focused and “in the zone” when there’s work to be done, but we’re all smartasses on the sidelines. Professionalism is knowing the difference.
Can you tell me what makes a terrible producer/director? I am going on floor for my first feature in a few months and producing it also, I'd like the tips.
And any other production basics? catering, transport, generator?
Thanks and cheers
Just to clarify terms, TV is a producer’s medium. Film is a director’s medium. Whichever role you fill:
- Communicate with your crew. Don’t assume they all can read your mind. You can’t get pissy with the crew for not getting something you never told them you need.
- Assuming #1 above, everyone has the same end-goal. The departments have their own responsibilities, but the paths converge at the same point. You need to have a working understanding of how the departments operate, intercommunicate, and impact one another. Your job is to facilitate this, occasionally to quash drama, and to make sure that each department has what it needs. Their success is your success.
- If you can, take a workshop on pastoral care. If there is some sort of interpersonal conflict on set, or if you have a crew member who is distracted by outside stresses, pastoral skills will be incredibly helpful in handling the situation. Yelling, telling them to put on their big kid pants and deal with it, or otherwise placing both blame and responsibility on them will not solve any problems and will likely create new ones. This won’t qualify you as a phsychologist or counselor, but it’ll give you the tools you need to listen and respond, and to know when you have hit the limit of what you can handle yourself.
- The producer or director sets the attitude on set. If your first introduction is to yell at the crew, or to be condescending or arrogant, that’ll define the rest of the production and good luck to you with getting what you want or need from them. We’re all responsible adults, so please treat us like we are.
- Feed your crew, and feed them well. That doesn’t mean filet mignon every day; it means sustainable nutrition. If you’re on a large production with a huge meal and crafty budget, you can hire skilled professionals and rely on them to take care of that (be sure to talk to them about expectations up front... again, nobody’s a mind reader). If you’re on a smaller production where you may be responsible for lining up some of those details, be intentional about meal plans. Crafty that’s just candy, chips, and soda won’t work, especially to keep folks moving between meals. Protein and fiber are necessary, so focus more on things like meat/cheese trays, veggies and dips, fruits, and hummus/chips/salsa. Meals should be more than fat/salt/carb bombs, and carb-heavy meals make the crew sleepy about an hour later, and hungry again an hour after that. These are not expensive goals to acheive, but require attention and intentional planning.
- Be cognizant of meal times. Even if you aren’t a union production, try to keep to union standards on meal penalties. Just as important as quality of nutrition is making sure folks have a reasonable opportunity to eat at expected intervals. The producer/director that ignores meals, or constantly pushes the crew into meal penalties just because “we need to get this done”, will end up with a crew that is hangry and resentful. If, on the rare occasion where it might be worthwhile to delay a meal break because of circumstance, go back to #1 and communicate with the crew up-front. Get everyone on the same page. Your actors may have finally hit a rhythm that needs to be harnessed to complete the scene, or you may be on a time constraint for the location’s availability or the return of the construction crew across the street. These are the exceptions, not the rules, and if the crew is all on board and it isn’t habitual, they’ll be more motivated to push through. Even then, do everything in your power to minimize the amount of time it takes to get to meal break.
- Thank your crew daily, not just as a crowd but on an individual basis and by name. The “no news is good news” boss does nothing to motivate the crew because everyone eventually learns that they only time they’ll hear anything is when the boss is pissed. That keeps everyone on eggshells... not a good way to live.
- Trust your people. If you micromanage, especially outside of your area of expertise, you are tying your crew’s hands and hindering their ability to get the job done. You hired a PSM to get the best sound possible, so don’t order that the boom MUST be a ___ mic. Just because you heard one time that the CMIT is a damn fine mic doesn’t mean it’s the best tool for that job, and doesn’t mean it’s the mic that your PSM and your boom op know or prefer most. You hired a DoP to shape the image you want, so mandating that they have to use ___ LED panels because you think they’re trendy puts your DoP and the entire camera and lighting/gaff crews in a bind. What if HMI is better for the production? Or tungsten? Trust your people to do their jobs; if you don’t trust them, you hired the wrong people (or, more likely, you have a stick up your ass that needs to be removed post haste).
- Nobody on set is such hot shit that they’re above even casual conversation with even the lowest rung on the ladder. That includes you.
- Know your own job. Just as annoying as a producer or director who tries to do everyone else’s job, is one who leaves tons of slack that others end up having to pick up.
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Damn, I sure opened a big can of worms with this thread. I stand by what I said. Most of y'all don't know how to have fun. If you'd like to learn how, you're welcome to join me on my next production. I specialize in it. 
I stand by what I said. Most of y'all don't know how to have fun. If you'd like to learn how, you're welcome to join me on my next production. I specialize in it.
Quite an assertion about folks you have never met face-to-face, much less worked with on professional sets.
Glad to know you’re so much better at this than the rest of us.
But I have met quite a few of the people who populate this forum, face-to-face. I've worked on other people's feature films. I've worked on other people's debut short films. And many other people worked on my debut feature film, all from relationships that we built through this very website. One member of this forum almost made a documentary about me. You're out of your league, AcoustiAl.
Tiny-budget filmmaking requires networking.
I'm so sick of this conversation. Joseph just needs to take some time to hang out with Joseph. Please, everyone, stop doing anything to keep me in this conversation. I want out. Please just let me out.
Edit: I'm done with this website. Best of luck to all. I've made friends with the people I want to make friends with. This is my last post, ever.
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