How Do I Not Let Other People Discourage Me Out Of My Goal?

[bathtub-row]

Also, make sure your screenplay is copyrighted. A simple way to do it is through Anazon’s Kindle self-publishing site (formerly CreateSpace). They don’t just do ebooks, they do the hard copies too. But the good thing is that they give you an ISBN number and you can upload your screenplay to their site. Basically, proof that it’s yours.

 

On that site, your screenplay doesn’t have to be made public but it allows you to get hard copies of your script at a great price. Very inexpensive. I know someone who taught classes and she was constantly going to the printing place to create good, professional copies. Then she ended up putting it all in a book form and even got it in color. Not only did everything look fantastic, but it saved her a ton of time and hassle and 100’s of dollars.

[ironpony]

Okay thanks. A couple of people were saying that that I should just make the movie for only a small amount like $10,000. One person told me that if I can't make a good movie for 10K, than I couldn't make a good one for a 100K.

 

However, I don't know how I am suppose to make one for 10K, when a good sound mix alone can cost as low as 15K bare minimum, from what I know. So is this person right?

 

El Mariachi was made for 7,000 at the time, however, the original sound mix was really bad, that when it was bought they had to spend over a million dollars on the sound mix.

 

So should I got at it that way, with a really crappy sound mix, to save money, hoping if it is picked up, that they will polish up the sound real good later for me?

 

That is just one example, cause I don't know how I would shoot it for only $10,000 like people are saying I should.

[bathtub-row]

Create a budget for everything you can think of, at the lowest expense and see what you come up with costwise. I agree - do it as cheaply as you can while making it look and sound as professional as possible.

[d0nnivain]

I wasn't trying to disparage your goal but like many of the naysayers I am pointing out what you already know -- it's quite ambitious.

 

My point is that to make it a reality you need a written plan. Start there. You don't seem to have that objective tangible piece yet. Without it you will never achieve your dream so get started.

[ironpony]

Oh okay thanks. When you say I don't have a tangible piece yet, doesn't the shooting schedule, script, storyboards and all this other stuff I have count as pieces at all?

[d0nnivain]

You have some pieces but you don't have a plan. I don't know how to make a movie but I know how to achieve goals. You have to write them down & then identify step by step actions

[bathtub-row]

I think you need something like a business plan. They’re very detailed and really cause you to think about where the project is going from beginning to end. Hence, it’s called a plan. I never understood the necessity of that until I did one. It was an eye-opener. You may want to do that. The bottom line is, you need to have all your ducks in a row before you sink thousands into a project. You’re smart not to just dive in, even though I know you’re itching to get started.

[alphamale]

hey ironpony...what exactly does a key grip do?

[ironpony]

They are in charge of the camera related equipment, but I think they have some jurisdiction over the audio equipment as well sometimes.

[ironpony]

Well some people will say things to me that the chances of getting struck by lighting are likely to happen than the movie being picked up for distribution. But is that really true though? I mean I know my chances are probably pretty low, but is it really that low?

[alphamale]

They are in charge of the camera related equipment, but I think they have some jurisdiction over the audio equipment as well sometimes.

 

I see, thanks

[gaius]

If you don't have relationships in the film industry it's probably about as likely as a lightning strike but could you live with getting old and dying without ever having done it? Or would you just be filled with regret?

 

Or as another filmmaker put it.

[ironpony]

Okay thanks. It's just that people keep telling me I should keep practicing and making short films till I make one that is successful. But I always get mixed opinions on them and I think I always will. It seems that I should only go ahead once I know I have a successful people say, but how do I know if it's good, when opinions are always mixed...

[Ruby Slippers]

I'm 34 now. When you say financial situation are you asking if I am well of or not, or are you asking something more specific?

I'm getting at the business side of your speculative venture. I'm a wild dreamer myself and have started up a few profitable creative ventures, am now working in 9 to 5 land just until I save up a good bankroll for my next - and hopefully best - creative venture.

 

What I've learned through all of this is that success in any venture comes down to a solid, sensible business/financial plan and marketing plan. A decent bankroll of money to speculate with sure doesn't hurt, either!

[bathtub-row]

I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs but one of the best examples I ever heard when it came to starting your own company was from a friend who owned his own very successful business with about 100 employees. He had been in business for over 25 years and still is. He told me once that the reason he went into that business was because people told him he couldn't do it. So, he was driven to prove them wrong. The other thing he told me was that in the early days when he traveled to talk to people about what his company offered, he slept in his car in order to save money. The point is, you do what it takes to make it work, play it smart as best you can, but at some point you just have to take that leap of faith. Take it for whatever it's worth.

Edited December 5, 2018 by bathtub-row

[Beachead]

My family was like this as well. Everytime I brought an idea about what I wanted to do in the future, they'd just attack with negativity. It primarily comes from them believing they know whats best for me and wanting the best for me which all stems from them not believing that I have my life under control. Took a lot of fights and arguments and going at my dreams alone for years for them to start seeing that I was my own person with my own plan and that I was capable human being.

 

Key thing to remember is your family and friends want whats best for you so they're naturally going to encourage you to take the safest route in life. But in that process, they can actually destroy your life because its you who lives your life. It'll be you ultimately living with the regrets of not going after your dreams and seeing if it could have been done. If you succumb to their negativity, you might end up resenting them. This all comes down to believing in yourself when no one else does and not many people will. You're going to have to show them they're all wrong. Use it as fuel. They may want whats best for you but guess what..so do you. Once they see how hard you're working on your dreams, they will start to come around. It's always like that.

 

For now, I suggest you keep your plans and your goals to yourself. They are sacred. Don't let anyone talk you out of it. If you can find atleast one person you can confide in when things get rough..someone who won't discourage you, that'll be good. It won't be an easy road but nothing in life ever is.

 

Best of luck mate

 

- Beach

Edited December 6, 2018 by Beachead

[RecentChange]

Well some people will say things to me that the chances of getting struck by lighting are likely to happen than the movie being picked up for distribution. But is that really true though? I mean I know my chances are probably pretty low, but is it really that low?

 

I know people who work in the film industry. Lived in LA for a while, I know a producer who has worked in the industry for 30 professionally does commercials for major brands. On the side he does shorts for fun, but they are not commercially distributed.

 

Another friend who does camera work and a bit of acting.

 

A close friend who works for Skywalker sound.

 

As for your dream of single handedly producing a movie that would get the type of distribution to be profitable.

 

Yes, I would say you have better odds getting hit by lightning.

[preraph]

You have to get in as close to that film circle in whatever capacity you can. Try to get any job at a tv station just to get some experience and connections and see how that works. Take a grunt job on a movie not being made where you need to be union. I have a friend who studied film and then she was in Austin where the Cohen (I may have spelled it wrong) Bros. started off and she helped them and then they hit it big. Then she even got to work on a couple of big films that filmed there. She was getting property and all organizing. She even worked on a Costner/Eastwood film. She never got to actually film, though, but she could have kept working around it if she's stayed focused, but instead she moved away for a man and had a kid. It has to be your Number 1 priority to follow your dream and get anywhere.

 

Of course, that industry and all entertainment industry these days "lets" people intern, i.e., work for free to gain experience so that would be enough to put me off it, probably. That's how you have to start out now. It wasn't always that way. By the 1990s, it was that way, though.

[bathtub-row]

You have to get in as close to that film circle in whatever capacity you can. Try to get any job at a tv station just to get some experience and connections and see how that works. Take a grunt job on a movie not being made where you need to be union. I have a friend who studied film and then she was in Austin where the Cohen (I may have spelled it wrong) Bros. started off and she helped them and then they hit it big. Then she even got to work on a couple of big films that filmed there. She was getting property and all organizing. She even worked on a Costner/Eastwood film. She never got to actually film, though, but she could have kept working around it if she's stayed focused, but instead she moved away for a man and had a kid. It has to be your Number 1 priority to follow your dream and get anywhere.

 

Of course, that industry and all entertainment industry these days "lets" people intern, i.e., work for free to gain experience so that would be enough to put me off it, probably. That's how you have to start out now. It wasn't always that way. By the 1990s, it was that way, though.

 

This is what I think, too. He needs to immerse himself in the field and learn, learn, learn.

[ironpony]

Oh well I've volunteered on some movies being shot here for free. I got a job acting in a feature film last year, cause some people in the film community liked my acting from other short films.

 

But when it comes to my parents, they said that I wasted so much opportunity and I could have made so much more money and earned a much better living if I just would have become a plumber, or electrician, or doctor even.

 

I felt terrible when they said that cause I already regretted so many decisions I made with money and career in the past, and that made me feel worse about it.

 

I use to not care about money so much, but maybe I should have. But at the same time, I feel trapped cause people keep telling me to learn more in the field hoping that someone else will hire me eventually to make a feature, rather than do it myself.

Edited December 6, 2018 by ironpony

[bathtub-row]

Forget about the money thing. Everyone makes mistakes. Just forgive yourself and move on. As far as what people are telling you about working in the field first, it’s because you come across as not being sure of yourself, because you’re getting mixed reactions to your work, and because you’re about to sink every last dime you have into something that has a high probability of failing. That’s probably also why you’re hesitant.

 

If I were in your shoes, I’d move either to California or somewhere else where they’re making strides in the film industry - like the UK - and work as closely to a director as possible. If there’s some reason why you just simply cannot do that, then the other option would be to do the movie on as low of a budget as you can, market it, and see what happens.

[ironpony]

Okay thanks. It's just that the standard cast of living in L.A. is really high right now and in order to keep the budget I want for the feature, without having to dip into it, I would need a job that payed about 8 times higher than what I make now.

 

So haven't been able to find a job that could pay for my living expenses in L.A. Plus I am not American citizen which makes it harder to move there. As for making the movie on a much lower budget, I am just afraid there is such thing as too low budget to the point where it will show too much.

 

The one filmmaker who I helped make his movie. He mad it for only 480.00, but the lack of budget really showed on the screen, so I am afraid there is such thing as too budget if that makes sense.

[bathtub-row]

What about where you live? Are there no directors there?

 

I’m sure there are ways to cut the budget so that you’re not spending everything. Btw, you never said - how do you plan to market the movie once it’s done? How are you going to get it out to the general public? Also, who wrote the script? Has it been edited?

[ironpony]

I wrote the script, and it's been edited and ghost written by another script writer I know, who is also a professor at the film school I went too, who teaches script writing.

 

But I was thinking of getting other eyes to look at it, and possibly edit it as well.

 

As for marketing, I was hoping to find someone who is better at that area, since I do not know much about marketing it.

[bathtub-row]

The script is probably really good if it has been edited and ghostwritten, unless you’re not happy with it. There’s a guy in Maine who’s really reasonable; he’s done ghostwriting and is published. Let me know if you want his info.

 

Marketing costs money, too, as I’m sure you know. But it’s necessary. I guess you’ve figured that into you budget.

 

You know, I was watching the Alpha movie the other day. It was pretty cheesy and even the cave he spent some time in looked fake. And that was a widely publicized movie and probably made a chunk of moola. Who knows why crap like that gets published and made into movies. I’m still trying to figure that one out.