Why We Do It.

I heard a comedian on the radio the other day, he told a story. I'll paraphrase:

I was standing in line at Starbucks the other day, waiting to get my fix. And these two twenty-something guys are sitting there sipping their lattes, and the one guy says kinda out of the blue to the other, "You know, I realized... I'm really good at chess." Which to me is kinda like saying, "You know... I'm not good at a lot of things."

And that's why I write movies.
 
iamlance said:
Egg, I cannot tell if you are replying to me, or stating your own reasons, but in light of my own opinions, your response kind of makes me sad. Please don't take this as me against you. I see this in most fields. Where you said you reassessed your goals and shrunk your ego, it seems to me like you slowly began to settle for less. This isn't anything against you, as it usually must happen to succeed financially in life, but it kind of reminds me of when adults tell children that they cannot be artists, or singers, or astronauts. I love working with others on normal projects, ones that I am not necessarily emotionally attached to, but those do not become my reason for filming. I mean, those kinds of projects will pay the bills for a professional (student here) and are enjoyable, but are not my reason for filming. Like all of you, I dream to reach a point in my career where I have the ability to surround myself with those totally dedicated to the project, overwhelming focused on attaining the ultimate emotional response. I like your analogy of the ship; it does seem rare, and impossibly difficult, and unreachable, but it is the goal. I haven't been happy with many of the films I've watched and made for that same reason: each part of the film was not used to its full potential to capture the minds of the audiences. The reach for the stars cliche is very telling in this situation. Everyone knows that you cannot actually grasp the stars (yet), but that doesn't stop all of us from trying.

I've worked with people focused on the film, and others simply trying to do their job. Some people (volunteers) struggle to even do that. The films are certainly more compelling when more effort is put into the story, acting, and tools. But again, a compelling film is not my goal. My goal is so, so much more.
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I wanted to respond earlier but I haven't had a spare 2 seconds to give your thoughtful reply a worthy response. I didn't find it at all confrontational and I respond in good faith. I just today delivered on my first paid work, this week has been momentous. And I'm not talking a few bucks, if it wasn't for the fat fingers and long reach of the taxman I would have paid off my Veydras and then some. I worked both my dayjob (which was also blowing up with emergencies) and on a media project for my company and put in a timesheet for over 90hrs this week and almost 70hrs the week before, all of it high stress. I did not until this point know that weeks had that many hours in them (I checked on the calculator, they do).

I was both answering your title question and offering another perspective, as was done for me by a major tv director (former hollywood, also responsible for some of the biggest australian tv shows) who retired local to me for the windsurfing. He encouraged me to look beyond what I thought my dreams were to exploit every opportunity I get to hone my skills. If you never get the work, you never get the skills. Getting paid seriously does not hurt and when you've hit the wall, mentally, physically, spiritually and financially...that external pressure/incentive can get you across the line when you're ready to give up. Don't feel sorry for me, I know exactly what I am doing, exactly what I am getting out of it and I am genuinely thrilled to be doing corporate work. It is not selling out or giving in. It is an unique challenge, but the requirements are the same. Story, story, story. This is what differentiates the work I just submitted from the lackeys and drones that throw together similar content in power point.

The project was screened for the first time today and was extremely well received by all reports (I couldn't be there). The CEO of my company heard my name today. Tens of thousands of people will see this. I held the attention of everyone in the room for 10 minutes in a dry corporate environment and I'm told it is the talk of the event. People who didn't contribute to the project are complaining they weren't represented and enthusiasm to participate in the next one is palpable. The content may even influence company policy from some things I heard today on the grapevine. At the very least I will be getting more work out of this and I've proved to some important people that I can manage the responsibility of a big project at short notice and deliver well beyond the brief. All from one little 10 minute video.

Video is a powerful medium when used correctly and we are the ones who harness it. There is no such thing as edited content with no agenda, without an agenda it is simply a series of images. My managers backed me 100% and ultimately deferred to me on every request in terms of content, tone and balance. I didn't want to deliver a puff piece but a genuine reflection of the state of our business at all levels. Does any of this sound bad? In my assessment I have achieved every single thing a filmmaker could hope for in this project. An audience, influence, personal input, story, emotional response, development and practice, earned respect for my skills (which are better than I thought when tested under extreme pressure). It's a matter of attitude and approach. The pressure cooker I was in has done more for my confidence and development than the last 2 years doing my own thing.

I'm really proud of it. It wouldn't mean much to anyone outside the company but I really wish I had leave to share it with the forum because you guys have been a huge part of my journey. I haven't settled for less, I've settled for more. This wasn't about the money but the opportunity. I originally submitted only a quarter of the hours I worked but when my bosses found out they insisted I bill them for every single minute, even time spent scouring the net for answers to problems or learning CS6 which I used for the first time and had a bit of a learning curve (conclusion: it is awesome).

And I haven't given up narrative personal work. Or working on other peoples films. I have another local film I'm helping out on in January. I've worked with them before and they've brought me in at the preproduction stage this time as part of the core film crew. And this is what I'm talking about in terms of shrinking the ego. It's not shrinking ambition, it's about caring less about credit and more about the project. Being a team player and someone people want to call back for the next project. About being careful to not behave like a tool as so many ambitious underskilled starting filmmakers are guilty of. Good people skills, letting people vent without biting. Being a calm influence. Working hard whether there is pay or not. Someone from every single set I have worked on has called me up with an offer since I adjusted my attitude. My network grows! Just goes to show that a good attitude, perseverance and keeping an eye for opportunity can make a difference anywhere. I didn't used to believe it and I'm still on my first steps towards that end but I am on such a high right now.

Never dreamed I could actually get this past the hobby stage, I live so far from anything that one could call a film industry, in the most isolated city in the world. As the director I mentioned pointed out, Perth is no place to seek a career in narrative film. Even most corporate work is farmed out to the other side of the country. They fly them in. Apparently local filmmakers are successfully making a living out of documentaries and web content is doable but no-one is otherwise a full time narrative filmmaker.

So that is my alternate perspective. I would love to spend a life making narrative films but that is just not reality where I live. But I don't consider corporate or even advertising should I get the opportunity to be a demeaning pathway to my goals. Porn might be. And I don't even like attending weddings, so I can't see myself doing that. One of my filmmaking buddies does and he reluctantly takes every one. But if you did like weddings as an event I can see how with the right attitude you could enjoy and elevate that craft. I'm not advocating this pathway if it doesn't float your boat but I wouldn't close off opportunities, you are too young to know what you will like in even 5 years, let alone 10. I'd try anything once in the right circumstances.




My sig should be 'king of the ridiculously long posts....'
 
egproductions said:
He who dies with the most toys wins.
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Word


Eric Boellner said:
I heard a comedian on the radio the other day, he told a story. I'll paraphrase:

I was standing in line at Starbucks the other day, waiting to get my fix. And these two twenty-something guys are sitting there sipping their lattes, and the one guy says kinda out of the blue to the other, "You know, I realized... I'm really good at chess." Which to me is kinda like saying, "You know... I'm not good at a lot of things."

And that's why I write movies.
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Love it.
 
I'll provide a less flattering reason for why we film, one that was told to me by an older cinematographer-

"We film because we fear time."

According to my sibling I work in film and tv because I refused to grow up and get a real job.
 
ReelFilmGeek said:

It's at the point now where every where I look, everything I see somehow ends up being film related. I meet someone new, I first think how I would light them. I walk into a building and see 2 different color temperature bulbs right next to each other and it bugs me to death because I instantly know it wouldn't look good on camera. I'll be in the most boring conversations and imagine what camera movements I would do to try and make it interesting if it was a cinematic piece. You could show me a picture of a beautiful women but the first thing I'm probably going to notice is how it was lit and the composition. It's just the way my brain works anymore.
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I may have it even worse. Often I find myself imagining the muscle movement it would take to rack focus from one object to another. Someone in a group I am standing with is talking and I slip into "feeling" the movement it would take to rack focus from the person talking to the wall behind them. A conversation inside my head of- "Okay, it would take about a quarter turn of the focus ring from the back wall to that chair...and then another small turn on the lens to the person who is talking". At times everything I see is a distance on the focus ring. A house I see is not just a house but a house that is halfway to infinity!
 
I'm probably older than most DVX'ers, having made my first film as a kid on Super 8 around 1970. Got introduced to 16mm film in 1977. Went into a completely unrelated field and my only filmmaking for the next 20 years was making commercials for whatever business I had at the time. I've always been an equipment junkie and once (way before the internet) literally risked my life to get the latest piece of gear, the very first VHS recorder, driving over iced roads (the one time it happened in the FL panhandle) to get to an adjacent town to buy it the day it came out. When the Sony VX1000 came out, I started to realize what was coming- the "democratization" of filmmaking. I owned one immediately and made my first feature with it, along with a huge shoulder mount Sony Hi-8 camera. I knew nothing about lighting but had a Lowell softlight and just blasted everything with it. Even back then I was a stickler for sound, hiding a mic in plants, etc. and getting it as close as possible. That film dragged terribly and only parts looked good, but I learned a ton. Later I upgraded equipment wise, getting an HVX, AF100, FS700, and now an FS7. My wife got interested in writing and directing and since then we've made four more features, each a little better than the last. about 6 years ago I started really pushing myself- getting educated via books, websites and seminars (such as the Shane Hurlbut "Illumination" seminar on lighting I took last month). My wife has done the same with screenwriting courses and professional script vetting. We still shoot with a crew of 3 or 4 and for a paltry budget. Asked "Why do you do it", my main motivation is to prove, both to myself and others, that a quality film and budget level have little to do with each other, now that equipment price is no longer a barrier. Also, being a producer of faith based product, another goal I have is making something that anyone, not just the target market, can watch without cringing. Based on the reception the current film is getting from secular reviewers, I think we are making progress.
 
Well I give a lot of these reasons when I talk to people and they are true... creating emotions in powerful ways.. communicating so much in such a little time... creating something out of nothing.. storytelling... etc.

But really on a candid total thing.. why do I film.. because I don't like the idea of ever holding a "real" job and punching the clock. Of not having freedom, the endless variety of new projects, new challenges, new missions, new clients, new adventures, new locations, the chance to travel locally and abroad, the thrill of "getting the shot" or pulling something off.. the satisfaction of loading the footage up and seeing something spectacular that looks better in camera than in real life even.. of presenting a video and having people be giddy with excitement.. of building something for my own and for myself... an excuse to keep buying new toys, new upgrades, and staying up late excited about new technological announcements that will totally change your workflow. Of being paid for a hobby what can seem like an unfair amount. To be able to take 2 weeks or 2 months off at any time on a whim. The challenge of selling yourself and services to new prospective clients. The creative energy of a new concept. Of having a "mission" when you travel somewhere new, not to just wander through as a tourist but to engage and tell a story both on film but also to your friends and to yourself of what it took to actually get that story... that in itself is a story that most people don't get to have, a story outside the standard tourist attractions and places to visit. It's an endless chance to learn, one day about hardwood floors and another day about social work in africa and another day about homeless youth and another day about laser cutting and another day about medical procedures and surgeries. To see stuff and be part of things in an exclusive, inside access way that only a camera makes possible. The way people open and share on camera things you could never just come out and ask in a normal small talk conversation, but now have an excuse to pull from the depths of their soul a story that would take years to earn otherwise, if you didn't have a camera providing the reason to be asking.

Well, I could go on... but those are the reasons I film. Selfish maybe, about me, maybe. But also about emotion generating and storytelling, sure... but filming is a lifestyle that opens doors I never would have dreamed of and I seriously doubt I could easily just go back, turn around, and punch the clock in exchange for stability and a 5pm end time.
 
filmguy123 said:
Well I give a lot of these reasons when I talk to people and they are true... creating emotions in powerful ways.. communicating so much in such a little time... creating something out of nothing.. storytelling... etc.

But really on a candid total thing.. why do I film.. because I don't like the idea of ever holding a "real" job and punching the clock. Of not having freedom, the endless variety of new projects, new challenges, new missions, new clients, new adventures, new locations, the chance to travel locally and abroad, the thrill of "getting the shot" or pulling something off.. the satisfaction of loading the footage up and seeing something spectacular that looks better in camera than in real life even.. of presenting a video and having people be giddy with excitement.. of building something for my own and for myself... an excuse to keep buying new toys, new upgrades, and staying up late excited about new technological announcements that will totally change your workflow. Of being paid for a hobby what can seem like an unfair amount. To be able to take 2 weeks or 2 months off at any time on a whim. The challenge of selling yourself and services to new prospective clients. The creative energy of a new concept. Of having a "mission" when you travel somewhere new, not to just wander through as a tourist but to engage and tell a story both on film but also to your friends and to yourself of what it took to actually get that story... that in itself is a story that most people don't get to have, a story outside the standard tourist attractions and places to visit. It's an endless chance to learn, one day about hardwood floors and another day about social work in africa and another day about homeless youth and another day about laser cutting and another day about medical procedures and surgeries. To see stuff and be part of things in an exclusive, inside access way that only a camera makes possible. The way people open and share on camera things you could never just come out and ask in a normal small talk conversation, but now have an excuse to pull from the depths of their soul a story that would take years to earn otherwise, if you didn't have a camera providing the reason to be asking.

Well, I could go on... but those are the reasons I film. Selfish maybe, about me, maybe. But also about emotion generating and storytelling, sure... but filming is a lifestyle that opens doors I never would have dreamed of and I seriously doubt I could easily just go back, turn around, and punch the clock in exchange for stability and a 5pm end time.
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You nailed it for me, filmguy. I'll add the coolness, albeit immature, of having a backstage pass or security badge that allows you to go where most people are not allowed. Backstage at concerts , being allowed in a secured military base, etc.

Another aspect that is rewarding is being able to help bring an issue to light or tell the story of an average Joe who thought that no one would be interested in their life.

In my bias I think it's one of the greatest jobs that there is. Particularly since it never feels much like a job and instead feels more like getting paid to do cool things and go awesome places.

I am reminded of a slogan on t-shirts I sometimes see on film sets- "Why grow up when you can work in film?". Also reminded of the motto of a magazine called Crew- "Do what you love.".

loosely related- have you heard the Adam Corolla discussion about Cameramen ( and Camerawomen ) and the props he gives us in the piece? It's hilarious while at the same time paying homage to the camera op-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3tz6QSk3iI
 
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You guys are getting me excited! I can't wait til I get to experience some of those things.

Love that video, JPNola!
 
have you heard the Adam Corolla discussion about Cameramen ( and Camerawomen ) and the props he gives us in the piece? It's hilarious while at the same time paying homage to the camera op-
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Adam comes off as a true gentleman towards the people who work for/with him....he always has high praises for production crew, editors, etc. You reap what you sow.
 
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