What the hell is wrong with me !

I

Inu

So i started out pursuing my "passion" in film making just over a year ago. Within the first few months i produced a handful of crappy short videos, just having fun with it and learning the trade. And then suddenly, my work mode just died out. Completely.

I have everything a beginner filmmaker could need and more! Good camera, Good audio Kit, Good lighting kit set, high end PC with editing software etc. This has all been gathering dust for the most part of the year!

I believe that my passion is still there. I still daydream about creating epic cinematic videos that ooze out high level of emotion but whenever i sit down to try and generate some ideas, i die out. I constantly watch high quality short films which ends up burning a fire of inspiration and motivation. But again as soon as i sit down to start planning a film, it stops.

I just can't seem to get myself to plan a film, i feel like i don't know where to start and that i'm no way creative enough. Lack of available shooting locations as well causes a big hindrance to me. I always fail to try find some way around that.

Is there something wrong with me? :|
 
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I'd love to be able to do many things: be an F1 driver, be a pilot, be a filmmaker, etc.

But the difference between love and passion is that passion is the drive to go beyond what is necessary to do it.

But I have to agree to some extent. I hate writing scripts, I'm not a writer. And we live in a culture where good writers refuse to share material because there are so many opportunities for budding screenwriters to submit their work to BIGGER companies, rather than independent individuals.
I've been limited by this detrimental culture, so I've started advancing my writing skills.

Just keep dreaming about the final product, and what you can achieve. Think of a great idea, and start fleshing it out. It'll sound shit at first, but that's what rewriting is for; it adds depth, character, motivations, emotions.

When you get past that, you can start the interesting stuff: concepts, crew, location, equipment, actors, storyboards, and lots of other things ;)

Just keep your head high, and keep thinking of the final product.
 
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What the hell is wrong with you!?

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This happened to me back in DEC. I surrounded myself with others who had the same passion and now i pitched an old screenplay i wrote years ago and in FEB we started buying equipment and now this summer ive had the time of my life. Took awhile to get here but I'm here and i love it. i dont think i could stop even if i tried.

http://www.thecampgroundfilm.com
 
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on your own production, be working on someone else's production. You'll be getting hands-on experience, making your newbie mistakes on other people's films instead of your own, and generally staying involved in the local film scene.

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Nothing wrong at all! I go through that phase all the time!

Do you normally write? If not, maybe that's why you're having trouble. Find someone who likes to write short stories and go from there! It's normally hard to think of ideas because they come naturally (at least for me). So it's definitely harder to force yourself to sit down and think of an idea. My tip is to just open your eyes around you and observe. Also, always make sure to write these ideas down as soon as it pops into your head so you don't forget!

It looks like you have very limited resources (location wise) so keep it simple! Remember that it's your characters that would make the film, not the other variables (although they help).

Find a couple of friends to help out too! Not only it can be fun, but you'll have more ideas with them around.

If you're passionate and driven enough to be a filmmaker, you'll find a way. ;)

Good luck!
 
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Some of us just aren't cut out to be a leading creative force. I'm not. But I'm a really good "colonel;" if you give me the mission and the gear and the personnel I'll pull off the mission that's been mapped out - and I have enough knowledge, experience and skill to improvise when I need to.

I was always a very solid musician; I played keyboards really well, I did very nice arrangements, I was a very solid synth programmer, and a very good musical director. But I couldn't write a great song if my life depended upon it. I'm also a very solid recording engineer, and I really know my stuff when it comes to sound-for-picture. But there's no way I could write a score, much less a screenplay - that's not the way I'm wired.

It may just be that you love the filmmaking process, but don't have that spark that initiates unique creative content. Maybe you should be a DP, or PSM or even a producer.
 
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You've found out that making a decent looking and entertaining film is going to take A LOT more work than you thought. IMO, if you're here asking about it, you don't have what it takes. Don't feel bad though, most people aren't up to this task.

Just be thankful you don't have a $75,000 USD film school debt.
 
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Inu said:
I have everything a beginner filmmaker could need and more! Good camera, Good audio Kit, Good lighting kit set, high end PC with editing software etc. This has all been gathering dust for the most part of the year!

Is there something wrong with me? :|
Click to expand...

Maybe you're cut out to be a producer instead?
I'll put all that equipment to good use for you :cool:
 
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You have the same problem 95% of aspiring film makers and even successful film makers have from time to time. I am in the same boat.

You can probably visualise small details, particular scenes and a vision for the look and experience but just can't flesh out a concept or even write 'FADE IN:'.

It's very common. Myself I've spent countless nights lying awake trying to think and develop a concept I find exciting and that has potential success, in addition to being 'slightly' original. Maybe you get as far as an interesting idea, but because you don't expand upon a few select images/concepts, it dies out and you start again. I'm there now, I have something and I'm finally pushing ahead.

Maybe AlcoveAudio is right. Perhaps it's the idea of film MAKING you like. Some people just cannot flesh their ideas out on paper. You've made the step to buy lots of nice kit, so perhaps really polishing and learning a particular skill is where you are best creatively - a DP perhaps.

What spurs me on and provides much of my own motivation is that once the difficult part is out of the way, the real fun starts with the logistics and practical process. I want to get there and deal with THAT challenge.

I'm finally in a position where I am happy with a concept that I know hasn't been done in my way before and am currently sketching out the story. You will get there if that's what you really want, if you want to give up, just try your hand at becoming a proficient camera user and DP. There's a different, but as creative a method to being a DP as there is a writer or director. Maybe you are a different kind of creative.
 
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Inu said:
Is there something wrong with me? :|
Click to expand...
Not really.

You may have more film "appreciation" running through your veins than film "production".

It's the same as with many creative fields.
"I like music*, listening to music*, and being in the music* scene, but... actually producing a consistent marketable volume of it isn't happening."

* Music. Art. Acting. Sports. Etc.

Consider being an analyst rather than a producer.
 
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Fear of failure? Producing anything above average takes an enormous effort. Why risk wasting your time and resources when there is a change that the end product will turn out awful?

Perfectionism? The free locations and amateur actors can't live up to your taste and therefore you feel that anything you do is just bad.

Also maybe you have something else in your life that currently takes precedent over film making?
 
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Wow, didn't expect this level of response lol.

photon said:
Fear of failure? Producing anything above average takes an enormous effort. Why risk wasting your time and resources when there is a change that the end product will turn out awful?

Perfectionism? The free locations and amateur actors can't live up to your taste and therefore you feel that anything you do is just bad.

Also maybe you have something else in your life that currently takes precedent over film making?
Click to expand...

I think you have got a pretty accurate description of how i feel most the time. Yes, i have this nagging feeling to always produce something which would be deemed better then average, and if it doesn't go that way i end up scrapping it. (Terrible, i know)

I don't want to get into anything major in this field. I don't want to be a part of mainstream media. I study a Social Media degree in university and everything i do is independent productions online. That's the what i wanted to do with film as well. Just create an independent web based film studio.

I'm based in the east midlands and i would love to work with fellow filmmakers who share the same passion. It is so hard working with people who don't know a thing about film making, and that's what i have around me.
 
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If you really have a passion for filmmaking, you are going to get up, and shoot something. Shoot nature, shoot films without actors, edit, color correct, write screenplays, etc. Make anything. Once your gear collects dust, you have to do something about it. Once you feel ready, get 1-3 actors together, and shoot a short film. As Ryan Connolly says, "the best thing a filmmaker can do is constantly make films". Do you fear your first short is going to be $#!t? It probably will be! You learn from your mistakes, and get better. If you fear failure, you fear improvement.

"With every mistake, we will surely be learning..."

-George Harrison
 
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one small bite at a time.

try some of the various challenges on line..
filmriot has a bi-weekly one...
sign up for a poptent.net public spot

these have time limits and clear requirements.. which is great for gettin'erdone ness..
 
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Inu said:
Yes, i have this nagging feeling to always produce something which would be deemed better then average, and if it doesn't go that way i end up scrapping it. (Terrible, i know)
Click to expand...

But you know that's not how it works.

Good painters don't wait to start painting until they can paint something better than average.

Good chefs don't wait to start cooking until they can cook something better than average.

Good runners don't wait to start running until they can beat the average runner.

Whatever the discipline you are going to start out poorly, and you only get better through doing repeatedly doing crappy work until you learn to do it better. Unusually 'talented' people sometimes start out doing better work than others, but over the long term the only thing that really matters is whether you put the work in or not.

Stop thinking about whether what you're doing would be 'deemed better than average'. Stop thinking about what anyone 'deems' about your work period. The only person you need to be thinking about doing better than is yourself. All that matters is that your next project is better in some aspect than your last. Rinse, repeat.
 
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Have you tried working with another team/crew ? Try loaning your equipment to help realize someone else's dreams. Working with motivated individuals usually motivates me. Sometimes you'll be able to pick up good practices/work styles of others which might help you launch your dream project in the future.

Also doing more crappy work that you can complete is probably not a bad thing. I'm sure you would have stumbled upon this video from Ira Glass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ResTHKVxf4 . If not, watch it now.
 
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