When things don't work out

alex whitmer

alex whitmer

Veteran
Far more often than not, things don't go as planned.

Shocking, I know.

Sometimes a working relationship will sour, and for any number of reasons: bad chemistry, poor communication or clarity of purpose, stubborness.

Other times it's just not possible to finish a project. The filmmaker is in over their head, broke, or just inexperienced. They didn't factor in that crew and actors won't or don't show up, equipment isn't where it should be, and when it is, it may or may not be in working order. A promised location is suddenly unavailable. An overfed ego drives a wedge between crew. Or, the filmmaker simply doesn't have the wits to follow through.

A committed filmmaker will triumph, the others ...

... sell the equipment, move on to another career, and blame the cat.

Everybody who put 100% into the project is out an opportunity to further their own careers. Hey, it happens. Part of the business. I knew that (sorta) when I signed on.

So what's my point? More bad experiences as a writer.


Many of us here are fledging filmmakers, writers, actors, etc., and trust is about all we have.

Working on trust often works out, but sadly it also often does not.

A


www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
 
Last edited:
True words, Alex.

I've also noticed something in relation to this. People disappear. I can't tell you how many times I've been exchanging emails with a producer who has been very interested in my script -- then suddenly he just disappears. Doesn't respond to attempted contacts. No explanation. Nothing.

This has happened to me several times, even with people from DVXuser.com. And it's not just me -- other screenwriters I know have said the same thing has happened to them.

Is this some 'norm' in the industry? Because in my opinion, it's just rude and unprofessional. What do you think?
 
You build on what doesn't work, learn from it, don't travel down that road again. Collaborating is painful at times, albeit, so very necessary. Keep at it.
 
a lot of people say that if you work hard, put in 110% and never give up, that it will happen for you.

for those people, i remind them about 4/16/2007 when 32 young people who worked hard, put in the effort and managed to get into a good college came into school, minding their own business and were murdered just for being there.

sometimes, despite your best efforts, your talent and every opportunity int he universe, it just doesn't happen. such is the way of the world. but, still, you should be out there giving your best, because you DEFINITELY won't get success if you don't.
 
I don't think a school shooting is the best parallel to success (or failure) in filmmaking.

You're also under the assumption that these people gave 110%, but that's a different point altogether.
 
The Aphorism Committee did think long and hard about it, but in the end decided by a 5-2 vote that "Work hard, give your all, and you may or may not be killed in a school shooting incident" was simply not as inspiring as some of their previous work.
 
chapelgrovefilms said:
I've also noticed something in relation to this. People disappear. I can't tell you how many times I've been exchanging emails with a producer who has been very interested in my script -- then suddenly he just disappears. Doesn't respond to attempted contacts. No explanation. Nothing.
Click to expand...

Actually, this seems to be becoming the norm all over. I've had it happen with screenplays, yes. But where it really bugs me is when I interview for a job and then hear nothing back. Nothing. Even after the company has spent a grand flying me in for an interview. It's just so bizarre. But hey, maybe I'll get that job at Best Buy HQ that I interviewed for 13 months ago after all.
 
Yes it happens to me too

Yes it happens to me too

I probabaly have over 30 screenplays written for people (many here on DVX) that simply vanished, with the majority being AFTER the final draft is sent.

And yet I keep doing it with the hope that someday, one project will actually pay off.

It does seem to be the norm, so I go with it, and hope karma really does exist.

A
 
It's tough to make a film. There's a lot of people who don't realize that, who set off with a script and a dream and then quickly realize it's not going to happen. Or those who start with the best intentions, good plans, but run into money trouble and have to bail on the project. Or those who shoot a project and then realize it didn't come out how they planned, and toss the whole thing. Or... you get the point.

I wrote 4 or 5 scripts for other people here to use in SpyFest. I expected that most of them probably wouldn't get made, but in the end, none did! What happened? I have no idea. But it didn't actually cost me anything, since those scripts were still good writing exercises and I still actually have ownership of them. As long as you enjoy writing, it shouldn't be a big setback when a script doesn't get produced as planned. If there's money on the table, or if we're talking about features, then those are different situations. It's frustrating either way, I guess.
 
It's not that it's a huge setback, or even that it's a major disappointment -- it's that you're left in limbo, not knowing if you should pitch the script to someone else or not. I understand that all kinds of things can cause a planned production to fizzle, but it doesn' take 30 seconds to shoot out an email saying, "Sorry man, we're just not going to be able to make it happen. But thanks for the opportunity." It's just common courtesy, and good business sense.
 
Alex,

I was going to suggest that if all these works you've been doing is for free, then to seperate the time wasters, you simply charge them for your time and service.

That should seperate the men from the boys.

EJ
 
I've lerned a lesson: do it yourself. Don't let anybody else destroy your work, your dreams, your winning projects. Don't let anyone tell you that you aren't up to that.
The world is full of jealous people who only want to kill you. They are afraid of your success.
So i learned that if i really believe in what i'm doing, i just do it and i follow every single little step of that project. I double check everything, and last but not least i try to have an objective perception of what i'm doing and i try to correct myself and i try to grow.


.
 
someday said:
I've lerned a lesson: do it yourself. Don't let anybody else destroy your work, your dreams, your winning projects. Don't let anyone tell you that you aren't up to that.
The world is full of jealous people who only want to kill you. They are afraid of your success.
So i learned that if i really believe in what i'm doing, i just do it and i follow every single little step of that project. I double check everything, and last but not least i try to have an objective perception of what i'm doing and i try to correct myself and i try to grow.


.
Click to expand...


As a producer myself, I certainly can't argue with this. However, I would stress -- DON'T try to DO everything yourself. That's the sure way to destruction. Instead, OVERSEE everything yourself, so you can make sure it conforms to your vision. But hire the people who know how to do the jobs. As a producer, my Rule #1 is: "Always hire the best trained, most talented, and most experienced person you can afford for every job."

Am I the best Director available? No.

The best DP? No.

The best gaffer? The best sound guy? The best editor? No. No. No.

Then if I do any of those jobs myself, how can I expect the finished film to be the best that it can be? I can't.

I do believe the best producers in the world are the people who are completely convinced that their vision of the movie is the very best one, and they don't compromise that vision. But these people are only successful if, in fact, they're right -- and their vision WAS the best one. That's the rub.
 
chapelgrovefilms said:
As a producer myself, I certainly can't argue with this. However, I would stress -- DON'T try to DO everything yourself. That's the sure way to destruction. Instead, OVERSEE everything yourself, so you can make sure it conforms to your vision. But hire the people who know how to do the jobs. As a producer, my Rule #1 is: "Always hire the best trained, most talented, and most experienced person you can afford for every job."

Am I the best Director available? No.

The best DP? No.

The best gaffer? The best sound guy? The best editor? No. No. No.

Then if I do any of those jobs myself, how can I expect the finished film to be the best that it can be? I can't.

I do believe the best producers in the world are the people who are completely convinced that their vision of the movie is the very best one, and they don't compromise that vision. But these people are only successful if, in fact, they're right -- and their vision WAS the best one. That's the rub.
Click to expand...


No, you may not be the best at all those jobs. But if you're one of the MANY creative people out there who simply don't have access to large amounts of funding required to pay a crew to do that work for you, you BETTER learn all those jobs to the best of your ability. You should never plan to do everything yourself, but if you CAN'T do it all yourself, you are setting yourself up for failure.

I feel bad for the writers and directors out there who have seen their projects fall apart around them, because they can't get the support from their team necessary to finish. But I've been through it now. And you know what? When your DP doesn't show up, F-HIM (pardon my french) But now you need to replace him, or learn how to do it yourself. Don't let other people's jealousy, laziness, and lack of vision destroy your creative endeavors. You need to make your movie IN SPITE OF everyone you're working with, not make it with their help. It's a horrible world out there, and you're very lucky to find one or two people who actually believe in you and really want you to succeed.

On my feature (which is almost done after 2 years) we came up with a motto. "Independent Filmmaking is about cutting corners and burning bridges" And if you can do those two things, you'll be a lot closer to being able to finish a project.
 
EJ Pennypacker said:
Alex,

I was going to suggest that if all these works you've been doing is for free, then to seperate the time wasters, you simply charge them for your time and service.

That should seperate the men from the boys.

EJ
Click to expand...

Yea, that's my new policy. Still cheap, but something is something.

The writing was good experience, but to have that many projects go nowhere speaks volumes about the business in general, and about profoundly unprepared young filmmakers specifically.

Million-dollar dreams with dimestore wherewithall.

Most. Not all.

A


www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
 
It's easy to get spoiled, working in the Los Angeles area. Many if not most of the people you wind up recruiting for small projects, are full-time film/tv/theatrical production people, in their day jobs. So they mostly already have a handle on the requisite show up and do the job ethic.
 
This is true. Here, I would find fleaguit's advice to be absolutely terrible and destructive to anyone who actually wants to do this for a living and be respected. But I remember out in the middle of nowhere how impossible it actually can be to find talented crew members who are honestly aware of the 12-hour days, etc. So maybe that line of logic does apply to a certain degree there.
 
Yes; all due respect to fleaquit, cutting corners and burning bridges are things that you will benefit from trying to avoid, rather than adopting as basic policy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top