Is it bad to not care about what other people think?

[ironpony]

Sorry I am not following.  Who is he, that I said I was declared incompetent?  You mean the user on here was saying my parents were saying I was incompetent?

[basil67]

Go back and re-read.  He said you were declared competent.  Not incompetent.  

This goes back to a post long ago where you were telling us about when your parents tried to take control of your money.

Edited September 9, 2021 by basil67

[Happy Lemming]

17 hours ago, basil67 said:

Go back and re-read.  He said you were declared competent.  Not incompetent.  

This goes back to a post long ago where you were telling us about when your parents tried to take control of your money.

Yes... @basil67 is correct.  I was referring to that post where your parents tried to take control of your money, but it was determined you could spend it any way you see fit.

Thank you, @basil67

Edited September 9, 2021 by Happy Lemming

[clia]

What is your budget?  Can you make this movie with your own money or do you need investors? If you need investors, how will you get them?  What will you show them?  How will you pitch your movie?  How will you convince them to give you money?  Does your movie need special effects?  Can you film it in private locations or do you need to be in public?  How big is the cast?  How many extras do you need?  Have you storyboarded your script?  Have you put together a shot list and crew sheet?  How do you plan to  market your film?

You don't need to answer the above questions.  I know nothing about film making, but I would think that you need to answer these types of questions as part of your planning.

I just get the impression that you aren't anywhere near the point where you need to worry about the legalities and hiring a lawyer.

[ironpony]

I wanted the budget to be 30K because people say it wouldn't be as big of a loss if I didn't go above that.  I am still trying to figure out how to keep it under that.

People say I should practice directing more on my own before hiring people and jumping into a feature, but I am not sure how to practice directing on short films, unless I spend all the budget on making short films and thus no money for a feature.

It's like practicing to become a conductor, but not being able to afford to hire a whole orchestra to play with you over and over again.  So is a conductor's only choice to practice conducting by himself, from research, and then just hope they do a good job with an orchestra on concert night, if they want to make make a break out impression on everyone as a conductor?  I guess that's how I think of it...

[Taramere]

On 9/14/2021 at 4:32 AM, ironpony said:

I wanted the budget to be 30K because people say it wouldn't be as big of a loss if I didn't go above that.  I am still trying to figure out how to keep it under that.

People say I should practice directing more on my own before hiring people and jumping into a feature, but I am not sure how to practice directing on short films, unless I spend all the budget on making short films and thus no money for a feature.

It's like practicing to become a conductor, but not being able to afford to hire a whole orchestra to play with you over and over again.  So is a conductor's only choice to practice conducting by himself, from research, and then just hope they do a good job with an orchestra on concert night, if they want to make make a break out impression on everyone as a conductor?  I guess that's how I think of it...

I'm no expert, but it seems to me that most people who make films on a low budget (or seemingly on no budget at all) have a lot of contacts who have enough faith in them to collaborate on the project without being paid in the hope that it will either be a success or be something that would look good on their own cv/resume.  Or, if none of those things, that will at least be a lot of fun to collaborate on.  The people I've met in life who tend to be able to persuade others to collaborate with them for free tend to have a very passionate, dynamic and very confident aura about them that other people gravitate to .  I don't know you in person of course, but I'm not seeing that sense of passion and confidence in your posts. 

It's interesting that the title is "is it bad to not care about what other people think"...because when it comes to a project like this, I would think it's pretty much fatal not to care what other people think.  If you're projecting an aura of certainty and "I don't know how to go about this. Help me!"" they're not likely to have faith in you and your project.  I had a quick google, and there are plenty of articles out there on how to produce a short feature on no budget.  You don't need to be a master of research to find those articles

There are youtube videos that are extremely entertaining that people evidently created themselves presumably with either no budget or not much of a budget.  The first thing that comes to mind is a youtube video where a guy built a complex assault course for squirrels in his garden, gave names to the garden squirrels who decided to tackle this assault course - and created a pretty funny, engrossing little feature from it.  The only pay the squirrels got was a shedload of nuts.  Backyard Squirrel Maze - the walnut heist.  Over 40 million views.  He combined a passion for engineering with a sense of humour about how determined and inventive squirrels can be in their pursuit of nuts.

Have you got an idea that people are likely to find intriguing, funny or entertaining?  You don't need to share it, of course.  If you've a great idea you don't want other people to steal it, but you do need an idea you're really interested/passionate about...or else just entertained enough by that you want to share it with others via a little feature film.

Edited September 16, 2021 by Taramere

[Happy Lemming]

On 9/13/2021 at 8:32 PM, ironpony said:

I wanted the budget to be 30K because people say it wouldn't be as big of a loss if I didn't go above that.  I am still trying to figure out how to keep it under that.

 

There is no way you will be able to make your movie on a budget of $30K.

You need to hire a professional that can keep you from exposing yourself to potential lawsuits, liability and undue risk.  You need to hire a professional to keep this movie on budget.  You need to hire other professionals to keep the filming and production on schedule.  You need equipment, workers, actors/actresses, permits, marketing people, props, wardrobe, makeup artists, movie sets and the list goes on and on.  The other individuals (you know that made movies on the cheap) had the knowledge and skills to wear many hats to get their movie completed, you do not. 

It is time to set attainable goals.  Everyone should have goals to work towards, but they should be attainable, yours is not.

I'm still of the opinion that your main goal should be to move out of your parents' home and attempt to live on your own.  Have you made any progress in that direction??

[ironpony]

Well before moving out I am looking for a job that pays more first, so I can afford to rent better, since my current job only pays minium wage at the moment.

As for the budget, I am not sure what else to do.  My gf and friends tell me that if I do not try to achieve the goal, that I will keep on regretting it for the rest of my life and always wonder what if.  Do they have a point?

As for moving out, I just need a better paying job first I think.  I have looked for more affordable housing for my situation like I was told to, but the housing is not very good really, and would rather hold out for a better paying job and a better place to live as a result, if that's better.

[Wiseman2]

32 minutes ago, Happy Lemming said:

There is no way you will be able to make your movie on a budget of $30K.

B movie film producer Bobby Bowfinger has saved up to direct a movie for his entire life—he now has $2,184 to pay for production costs. He has a script ("Chubby Rain") penned by an accountant, Afrim, and a camera operator, Dave, with access to studio-owned equipment. Bowfinger then lines up several actors who are hungry for work, along with a crowd of illegal Mexican immigrants for a camera crew; the only other thing he needs is access to a studio in order to distribute his masterwork.

 

[Happy Lemming]

@Wiseman2 Illegal Mexican immigrants as a camera crew... this has failure written all over it. 

 

[Happy Lemming]

12 minutes ago, ironpony said:

As for the budget, I am not sure what else to do.  My gf and friends tell me that if I do not try to achieve the goal, that I will keep on regretting it for the rest of my life and always wonder what if.  Do they have a point?

We all have regrets in life.  You have set a goal too high for you to achieve.

13 minutes ago, ironpony said:

Well before moving out I am looking for a job that pays more first, so I can afford to rent better, since my current job only pays minium wage at the moment.

 

So what you are saying is you don't have the skill set or education to secure a job that pays over minimum wage.  So why don't you set a goal to learn a marketable skill or vocation where you can earn more than minimum wage.  That would be a more attainable goal than trying to make a movie.

[ironpony]

7 minutes ago, Happy Lemming said:

We all have regrets in life.  You have set a goal too high for you to achieve.

So what you are saying is you don't have the skill set or education to secure a job that pays over minimum wage.  So why don't you set a goal to learn a marketable skill or vocation where you can earn more than minimum wage.  That would be a more attainable goal than trying to make a movie.

Well it's just I was told that I should go into the field I want, because I will do well in a field I want, rather than trying to learn skills for a job I will not want.  Is that true, or do those friends have a point?

But also one of the filmmakers I worked under was able to get a movie made and sold it to Amazom Prime and the budget was only 60K, so is it more do-able if he was able to do it somehow?

Edited September 16, 2021 by ironpony

[Happy Lemming]

1 minute ago, ironpony said:

Well it's just I was told that I should go into the field I want, because I will do well in a field I want, rather than trying to learn skills for a job I will not want.  Is that true, or do those friends have a point?

In life you don't always get what you want. 

You are autistic and have some limited abilities, I am sorry.  We can't change that, so we have to work within the parameters of what you can do.  The vocations you can do are not what you want to do. I understand and you are correct that isn't fair, but life isn't always fair. 

Time is passing, the years are rolling by and soon you will be a 40 year old man. 

Being independent and living on your own should be a important & attainable goal at this point in your life.

[ironpony]

I can see that.  I just don't know what I want to do for a job.  I took some vocations but I didn't like the results.  One said detective work, one said customer service, etc.  I don't really like those fields, but not sure what to do therefore.  The only thing I have done is gone to filmschool as far as my education goes.

Edited September 16, 2021 by ironpony

[Happy Lemming]

2 minutes ago, ironpony said:

The only thing I have done is gone to filmschool as far as my education goes.

Well that was a waste of your time and money.  This (producing a movies) isn't a vocation that you can perform based on your disability.

3 minutes ago, ironpony said:

  One said detective work, one said customer service, etc.  I don't really like those fields, but not sure what to do therefore. 

Perhaps there are other testing facilities.  Have you looked into any other tests or testing facilities.

Customer service doesn't sound fun, but it does sound like something that will "pay the rent".  I've done all manner of jobs to pay the bills, as long as it wasn't illegal... I've probably done it.  Was I happy doing those jobs.. no, but I did it to pay the bills.  From Janitorial to Cotton Candy vendor... you name it, I've probably done it.

[ironpony]

Oh okay.  I am in customer service now, but it's minimum wage.  But I was told I should go for a career I will be happy in because then I will do better in it, if that's true?

[Happy Lemming]

3 minutes ago, ironpony said:

I am in customer service now, but it's minimum wage. 

Have you ever thought about working two jobs??  When I was first starting out, I always had a second job to make ends meet.

4 minutes ago, ironpony said:

But I was told I should go for a career I will be happy in because then I will do better in it, if that's true?

Work is work, some days are good and some days are bad.  I'm sure you've had some good days at work and some bad.  In the end, 85% of people hate their jobs.  Source: https://www.staffsquared.com/blog/why-85-of-people-hate-their-jobs/

I would not be looking for something that makes you happy, you should look for a job that you can tolerate.

At the end of the day, I really thought I liked my last job, but I didn't... I tolerated it because it was a decent wage.

[ironpony]

Oh okay.  Well I've tried working two jobs in the past, but I never could because the times would always get in the way of each other and it was impossible to find two jobs that would line up perfectly as to not interfere with each other.  Therefore, I would probably be better off with one full time, job, rather than try to work two that kept conflicting with each other likely.

[Happy Lemming]

4 minutes ago, ironpony said:

...it was impossible to find two jobs that would line up perfectly as to not interfere with each other. 

I think it is possible... Yes, it requires more effort, but it is indeed possible.  There are many individuals that work more than one job.  Again, I worked two jobs for many years.  Were there ever conflicts between the two jobs... yes, but I figured it out and made it work.

[ironpony]

Oh okay, in the past, when I tried working two jobs, the employers would always give me an ultimatum to not let the times conflict with each other, and I either have to work here, or for them, etc.

But how do I know what to do for a job then, or how do I figure that out?  The vocational stuff seemed useless, because it gave me options for jobs that are low paying though, assuming that I will not be able to find two that do not conflict.

[Happy Lemming]

When you interview for a job, find out what the hours are. If they are 8:30 to 5:00 (Monday - Friday) then look for a second job after 7:00pm or on the weekends.  Your main full time job should have set hours, then flex in your part time job and work on those off hours.

4 minutes ago, ironpony said:

The vocational stuff seemed useless, because it gave me options for jobs that are low paying...

Until you have exhausted every avenue and tried every vocation out there, you don't know if you can do the job or not.  There may be some obscure job out there that pays a living wage, that you really like.

As an example, I knew one woman that was a pharmaceutical statistician.  It's a really obscure job, but it fit her perfectly and paid the bills. 

[ironpony]

Oh okay thanks.  Well it's just in the past, employers would change the job times on me once I started and then got that second job later, so if the change the shifts they want you to work, then of course it's a problem.  Right now I work a job with different shifts as the weeks go along so a second job would be impossible I think.  But I can keep looking.

[Happy Lemming]

@ironpony  I have a question... I was thinking last night after re-reading some of your posts.

How many times have you mentioned to your girlfriend that you are going to make a movie??  Was it just once??  Multiple times??  Is it part of your continuing conversations with her??

[ironpony]

Oh I brought it up a couple of times, and then she brought it up a few times since.  Why?

[Happy Lemming]

9 minutes ago, ironpony said:

Oh I brought it up a couple of times, and then she brought it up a few times since.  Why?

It kind of reminded me of when I was dating this woman that was getting divorced... Instead of her saying "I'm gonna get a divorce" she told me each step she completed in the divorce process.  Her attorney sent this document, his attorney responded (it was fairly involved and took a while) and eventually the divorce was finalized.  I think her reason for doing this was to show me her progress vs. just saying I'm gonna get a divorce. 

I had a lot more respect for her, as she didn't keep saying I'm "gonna" do this, she completed the necessary steps to accomplish it. 

In my opinion, I wouldn't bring it up anymore.  By saying "I'm gonna make a feature film" is bragging about something you have not completed or accomplished.