I wrote this on the website under the "Hiring Friends" heading.
"Of course sometimes you think to yourself that you have to use your friends, who else is there? Well I would recommend that you wait until you find qualified people (check your local Colleges, many eager film students there) before starting production on your movie. Do you simply want to make a movie at any cost (including quality) or do you want to tell the story the best way you possibly can."
What you write on your website is exactly why I feel it's not
a deadly sin to hire friends.
Wait? Wait until you find qualified people? Not for me. When
I was a beginning filmmaker I made films (on film) every
weekend using my friends. I learned to tell the story the best
way I possibly could by making film after film after film. None
of us could act, none of us knew a thing about sound or lighting,
none of us could hold a camera steady. But we got better and
better because we didn't wait until we found qualified people.
I wanted to make movies at any cost. I sacrificed quality in order
to not wait.
Sorrry, Visual Typist, I don't like what you wrote at all. The
beginning filmmaker should never wait, they should shot and shoot
and shoot. And they should use their friends. After a few years,
when a beginning filmmaker is ready to take the next step that's
when "hiring" qualified people is the way to go. I found that qualified
people (eager film students) were more willing to help me when I
showed them I had been making films with my friends for a couple
of years before I asked for their help and experience.
Where I do agree with you is that at some point a filmmaker will
need to work with experienced, qualified people. But beginning
filmmakers shouldn't wait. They should be making movies. Even
crappy ones