How do other filmmakers develop so much confidence in themselves?

[paulears]

Ryan, if you want experienced people, who can work better, quicker and with experience you must budget for it. You can use amateurs and other keen people but you then need to be a solid and effective director, able to read people to know when you ask to much. Personally, I will not use volunteers for key roles because they are unreliable and in some cases, a liability. Any product that needs an audience at the end to pay the bills needs funding in the early stages. In my early days in the 70s I worked for free for one director because I loved what he did, I loved his way of working, and I used it as a learning opportunity. I also started my ever growing list of people to not work for unless there's no alternative. Even in lockdown, I am still saying no to people who are either too risky, too demanding, or just produce crap.

Are you a producer/director or are you the reluctant leader of an amateur group of (from what I've seen) quite talentless individuals. Forget the lenses, the editing, the sound but you MUST have decent actors. Who cares about ultra sharp images of terrible actors. Your audience don't! They want realism and people they believe in. I'm watching a series at the moment and the actors and the story are key. I forget they're actors, I totally believe what I see. Not once did I think about where or how it was shot? I do actually think about the editing. There's a story so far each week and they use the clips in a totally different way to do the catch up for new viewers and that's fascinating, but that is just showing how clever the editors are at storytelling. Can unpaid people do this sort of stuff.

If you want us to say amateur actors are just as good, we simply cannot.

 

[JimS2]

Oh okay, so I should not try to direct people on a zero budget, and hire out more experienced people then pretty much... Well that's what makes me so nervous is investing in such a large budget though, hoping it will still be good in the end. But that is what I am asking, is how other filmmakers have that much confidence when that kind of money is at stake.

 

[paulears]

NO - that is not what I'm saying. Good directors can get amazing work out of amateurs, bad directors can get average work out of the best actors. Frankly, if you have no money, and very limited directing skills, don't spend your money on projects that need it.

Good directors have total belief in the product they are peddling. The great ones listen to others, consider it, but never have any doubts about pressing win with their quest when they know it's right. You do not have these skills. The sheer number of very basic, and often inconsequential questions you ask actually show how making decisions for you is so hard, as to be almost impossible.

You read in conclusions that are just wrong. NOWHERE in my last post did I say you shouldn't try to direct on a zero budget - I simply pointed out that some directors 'collect' good people keen to work with them, while others make people run away. In lockdown, people are producing some excellent one and two hander work. No huge crews or cast, no massive sets, just good drama, shot simply and easy to edit.

Have you ever made a black box short? We used to do these to wannabe directors when I taught in college. You take two actors, place them against a black backdrop and tell a short story. All you have is a single camera, and a very basic lighting setup. Students write it and take part in it. The director directs and edits. Success is totally in the words and the acting. The most basic director can at least produce something. Good ones read the words and encourage, and of course have to make the critical shooting decisions - where cuts will come, where angles matter, what cutaways to shoot, what reacting shots - and of course the process is the learning goal. The end product far less so. The actors learn and the directors learn, all in maybe 15 minutes.

 

[Guest]

Oh okay, so I should not try to direct people on a zero budget, and hire out more experienced people then pretty much... Well that's what makes me so nervous is investing in such a large budget though, hoping it will still be good in the end. But that is what I am asking, is how other filmmakers have that much confidence when that kind of money is at stake.

People are so confident in their ideas until it requires paying for skilled labor.

 

[Barry_Green]

Please, for the love of all that is holy, stop. You are spinning in a hundred different directions, and all of them are bad.

Start at the beginning: write a brilliant script.

If you don't have a brilliant script, DO NOT MAKE A MOVIE.

You cannot make a watchable, sellable film without a brilliant script. Period.

And a brilliant script costs you nothing. You don't need actors, you don't need a DP, you don't need equipment, you don't need money.

I can give you the answers. I am giving you the answer. If you have a brilliant script, then you can raise the money, and good actors and good crew will want to work on it. If you don't have a BRILLIANT script, then you are simply wasting everyone's time and money. Why would you want to do that?

 

[JimS2]

NO - that is not what I'm saying. Good directors can get amazing work out of amateurs, bad directors can get average work out of the best actors. Frankly, if you have no money, and very limited directing skills, don't spend your money on projects that need it.

Good directors have total belief in the product they are peddling. The great ones listen to others, consider it, but never have any doubts about pressing win with their quest when they know it's right. You do not have these skills. The sheer number of very basic, and often inconsequential questions you ask actually show how making decisions for you is so hard, as to be almost impossible.

You read in conclusions that are just wrong. NOWHERE in my last post did I say you shouldn't try to direct on a zero budget - I simply pointed out that some directors 'collect' good people keen to work with them, while others make people run away. In lockdown, people are producing some excellent one and two hander work. No huge crews or cast, no massive sets, just good drama, shot simply and easy to edit.

Have you ever made a black box short? We used to do these to wannabe directors when I taught in college. You take two actors, place them against a black backdrop and tell a short story. All you have is a single camera, and a very basic lighting setup. Students write it and take part in it. The director directs and edits. Success is totally in the words and the acting. The most basic director can at least produce something. Good ones read the words and encourage, and of course have to make the critical shooting decisions - where cuts will come, where angles matter, what cutaways to shoot, what reacting shots - and of course the process is the learning goal. The end product far less so. The actors learn and the directors learn, all in maybe 15 minutes.

No I haven't done that. I've made shorts before, but not with a black screen background. Okay, well I can try to have great confidence and no doubt, I just hope that all my decisions will be right in the end, but I will try to get in that mindset. And if I can get in that mindset than others will follow if they see me with great confidence and no doubt?

 

[JimS2]

Please, for the love of all that is holy, stop. You are spinning in a hundred different directions, and all of them are bad.

Start at the beginning: write a brilliant script.

If you don't have a brilliant script, DO NOT MAKE A MOVIE.

You cannot make a watchable, sellable film without a brilliant script. Period.

And a brilliant script costs you nothing. You don't need actors, you don't need a DP, you don't need equipment, you don't need money.

I can give you the answers. I am giving you the answer. If you have a brilliant script, then you can raise the money, and good actors and good crew will want to work on it. If you don't have a BRILLIANT script, then you are simply wasting everyone's time and money. Why would you want to do that?

Oh okay, I didn't think people would invest in a script, if I hadn't made a movie with good acting or cinematography in before. But would they still?

 

[Barry_Green]

If the script is brilliant, nobody will care if you have ever made a movie before.

If the script is bad, nobody will care about the script, the writer, the budget, the movie or anything else.

Getting a BRILLIANT script is the ONLY thing that matters.

 

[JimS2]

Oh okay thanks.

The thing is, I talked to an actor I worked with before, and a friend who has helped me on projects before. They both told me that no one is going to give you a free hand out to do what you want to do. If you want something done, you got to go do it. But no one is going to give me the opportunity and I have to seize the opportunity myself, and thus be ready to use my own money, if no one else will.

Do they have a point, and if you want to invest in a career move, no one is going to give you any hand outs, and I have to do it myself? I was told I shout not rely on looking for validation from others on whether or not to go for a project and just do it, if no one else wants to pony up. Do they have a point, or should I only invest in a career move, with validation and hand outs?

 

[groveChuck]

You need to practice. Everything. Writing, casting, producing, directing.

With practice comes experience. With experience, comes competence then confidence.

Keep practicing with shorts and develop your skills, which will develop your confidence.

You want to run a marathon and you haven't run a successful 100 yard dash yet. Practice, practice, practice...

Now that covid is slowing down...

It is? 44,703 caught it yesterday and 508 died in the US. Yesterday. 5 times the number of daily deaths in car crashes.

At least 13 states are expected to have increases in deaths over the next month.
You might want to work on your information gathering as you work on your filmmaking skills.

Best of luck.

 

[JimS2]

Oh okay. Well actually it's been the opposite for me. I started out superconfident and had very little doubt, but then after each short, I kept being told they were bad, so that dropped my confidence, because I couldn't believe that I was right, when everyone was telling me I wasn't right. So it's been the opposite and I have had less confidence over the shorts, rather than more.

Well I meant covid is slowing down in my area, and now we can have 30 people in a place now max I read.

 

[Barry_Green]

If your stuff is actually bad, then maybe you don't have what it takes to be a filmmaker. Look, at least 90% of the indie films that get made are atrociously bad. Unwatchable. Horrible. Every one of those filmmakers had people telling them "just go for it, believe in yourself, you can do it." What they needed was someone to tell them "this film is horrible. Burn it before anyone sees it, and go put your efforts into dental school instead."

Filmmaking is a dream for many people, but very very very few are actually good at it.

But I have told you the secret. Get a BRILLIANT script. Not a "good" script, not a "pretty good" script; those should be burned. Write a BRILLIANT script. Send it to some major national screenplay contests and win one. You do that, and you will have a golden ticket.

And it doesn't cost you anything.

And you can do it yourself, without help.

That is the way forward. Anything else is going to be a waste of everyone's time, effort, and money.

 

[JimS2]

Oh okay thanks. But I was told the problem with my previous works is the acting and cinematography. So I thought solution was just try paying for different actors and a different DP. Isn't a director as only as good as the cast and crew they collaborate with? Is true what they say about 90 percent of directing is casting? I was told by people that I could be better if the acting and cinematography is better. So are they perhaps right then, that I could be better, if improve in those areas?

 

[Barry_Green]

I have told you the answer. It's up to you to listen.

 

[JimS2]

Okay thanks. What if I didn't win any script contests, but I was still able to find people who were interested in making it? Should I go ahead and make it people say it's good and they want to be a part of it, even if it doesn't win anything?

 

[Alex H.]

I was told I shout not rely on looking for validation from others on whether or not to go for a project and just do it, if no one else wants to pony up.

And yet, seeking validation seems to be all you ever do. Because here we are. Again.

Okay thanks. What if I didn't win any script contests, but I was still able to find people who were interested in making it? Should I go ahead and make it people say it's good and they want to be a part of it, even if it doesn't win anything?

Stop trying to identify every possible point of failure before you actually do anything.

Listen to Barry. Where’s your script? Let’s start there. Until then, there’s nothing else to talk about.

 

[Batutta]

The biggest hurdle I had in making my first film was definitely myself. When I was alone with my thoughts before production, going over the film in my head, thinking about all the things that had to be done I would sometimes get overwhelmed. I'd start thinking about the whole thing all at once and everything that could go wrong and the anxiety started building up. Then I'd want to give up and quit. I found all that noise went away when I was finally on set, doing the work. Always remember films are made one shot at a time. Be present and focused on the one moment, the one problem, the one thing you are working on that day, that hour, that second, doing the best job you can and keep building up the individual pieces you need to tell your story.

Make your first film by any means possible, and as cheaply as possible, so the risk is low. My film cost less than an economy car and I paid for it with cash so if it never makes a profit I won't go bankrupt. The experience I got making it was invaluable. Maybe it's not Schindler's List but I'm proud of what I was able to achieve with almost no resources. I made some great new friends along the way and even had fun on occasion. My only regret is that I waited so long. Don't wait. Make your movie. You don't need anyone's approval or permission to go after your dream. And remember, films are made one shot at a time.

Here's my film. It played a couple festivals and won Best Indie Feature in one, and got picked up by a small distributor. Maybe it will inspire you. Or maybe it won't. I shot it with no crew, with a single GH4 and production gear that fit in two suitcases. If it wasn't for this pandemic I'd probably be shooting my next film.

https://tubitv.com/movies/504501/de...FAIChlW6okRO31yu6EDlFBJO9qvO-uF4k3i6YMFkcXuMQ

 

[ahalpert]

Regarding confidence -

1. Remember that nothing separates you from any other director but a lot of hard work and experience. "Talent" or "genius" are only a small part of the equation. Desire, motivation, hard work and experience are what builds a great director over time.

2. Most auteurs' first films were bad (Tarantino, Kubrick etc). They're called apprentice films. Give it your best shot, but be ready for failure and ready to make your 2nd movie

3. By the time you are in love with your screenplay and dying to share it with the world, you will have more confidence. Probably your screenplay needs more work. Jordan Peele spent 10 years writing Get Out, and it shows

4. Make your movie so cheaply that you could make a 2nd one without going bankrupt. Don't waste money on effects and bells and whistles. Part of being a good director is getting a good performance from the actors and the DP you are working with, not complaining about their skill level

 

[ahalpert]

One last thing - I disagree with the other posters who say your work is good or it isn't and you'll make it right away or you won't. There are many many hugely successful actors and directors who toiled without reward or recognition for decades before having a breakout film

 

[Batutta]

3. By the time you are in love with your screenplay and dying to share it with the world, you will have more confidence. Probably your screenplay needs more work. Jordan Peele spent 10 years writing Get Out, and it shows.

I'll add that you may NEVER love your screenplay. You may always have doubts about it, think it's dumb, or have looked at it so much you are bored by it. Shoot it anyway. You may find you were wrong, and your fears were unfounded. Only when you finally see your words up on screen will you be able to more accurately judge what good writing looks like. It's an important step in your growth as a writer and the sooner you take it the better.