Wilbur's Epic "YOU CAN DO EET" thread.

pixelated said:
The vast majority of humanity allow fear of ridicule to trump desire to excel.
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Fear of ridicule is ... ridiculous. If anyone is afraid of ridicule, well, too bad because I ridicule you for being afraid of being ridiculed. So you can't escape it. :evil:

Look, here's the raw unvarnished truth -- your first film is going to suck. Horribly. It's going to be awful, and if you hold it out as something professional and ask people for critiques, they're going to tell you it's awful. Why? Because it's awful.

AND THAT'S OKAY. It's supposed to be awful. It's your first -- and by very definition, you don't know what you're doing yet!

Think about a baby learning to walk. Babies are terrible at walking. Really, they're awful. They pull themselves up, take a half step, and fall on their face. NOBODY walks right on their first try. It's called a "learning process." If the baby decides that they're afraid of ridicule, they'll never walk.

But most babies do persevere, and master the art of walking. And some of them go further and further, and by the time they're sixteen years old they're world-class gymnasts. But those world-class gymnasts fell flat on their face the first time they took a step.

So -- if you're afraid of being ridiculed, get over it -- because I guarantee you, your first film will absolutely, unquestionably, be awful. Just like your first step was. So what? It's all part of the process. Your first ten films are going to suck. Best to get them all over with and out of the way right away then, isn't it? Get all the "suck" out of your system. Get some experience. And get on to making the good stuff.
 
Wilbur Eddings said:
I recently invested into a film student's film purely because of his confidence. His show-reel was crap. Really crap! ...but this guy oozed self confidence.
My common sense said "hell no!" but I decided to give him a chance anyway... a man who believes in himself enough to maintain his confidence in the face of failure will inevitably succeed. Experience may be a harsh teacher, but she is a great one!
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or he will continue to confidently make crap.
 
Wilbur Eddings said:
I see your point and respect your view.

Humility and servant hood are very important keys to promotion in any field.
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I think what may have irked a few in this forum, especially the older guys who have been around the block a few times, is that part of your attitude seemed like a guy looking for a shortcut. You put too much emphasis on the appearance of confidence, which sounded like "I can just bullshit my way through this even though I don't know what I'm doing", instead of getting to where you want through hard work. People who are truly competent don't walk around putting on airs. They just quietly go about their work and get it done well. Being insecure to the point of being crippled is not healthy. But questioning yourself in small doses I think can be healthy and help you grow as an artist and technician. I've seen more than one interview where an actor has said Martin Scorsese will come up to them in the middle of a shoot and say he doesn't know what he's doing. If anyone has earned the right to pompous arrogance it's Scorsese, but remaining in touch with his neurotic insecurity is probably why he's remained vital as a director, while his peers have become less relevant. Even Spielberg said he still throws up before the first day of shooting. I guess what I'm saying is that someone who isn't afraid when by all rights they should be is probably not to be trusted. Better to make that fear work for you instead of trying to ignore it.
 
You know what doesn't fit into the picture? You talk about all this confidence Wilbur and then you don't even reveal your real name or your work. Am I missing something?

I really like most of your posts on here on dvxuser! You've got an upbeat attitude, so you might just go one step further. The one step you even promote so much.
 
Batutta said:
I think what may have irked a few in this forum, especially the older guys who have been around the block a few times, is that part of your attitude seemed like a guy looking for a shortcut. You put too much emphasis on the appearance of confidence, which sounded like "I can just bullshit my way through this even though I don't know what I'm doing", instead of getting to where you want through hard work. People who are truly competent don't walk around putting on airs. They just quietly go about their work and get it done well. Being insecure to the point of being crippled is not healthy. But questioning yourself in small doses I think can be healthy and help you grow as an artist and technician. I've seen more than one interview where an actor has said Martin Scorsese will come up to them in the middle of a shoot and say he doesn't know what he's doing. If anyone has earned the right to pompous arrogance it's Scorsese, but remaining in touch with his neurotic insecurity is probably why he's remained vital as a director, while his peers have become less relevant. Even Spielberg said he still throws up before the first day of shooting. I guess what I'm saying is that someone who isn't afraid when by all rights they should be is probably not to be trusted. Better to make that fear work for you instead of trying to ignore it.
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I don't recall at any point telling anyone to put on airs or bullshit their way through anything.

My sincerest apologies for offending these people who have been around the block a few times, I assure you that my motive is merely to inspire people to take the first step boldly and keep going.
I am far from arrogant and conceited.
A humbled, broken man who has achieved his dream types these words in the hopes of inspiring others to do the same. I have absolutely no desire to offend or mislead.

As for the older guys who have been around the block, if they feel my posts are out of line I ask that they would PM me and I will stop posting immediately.

@Simon
The simple answer is Google.
Forums are uber SEO'd for ye olde Google. Until I have total investor confidence, I will be controlling what comes up when my name is Googled by investors. You wouldnt belive how skittish an investor can be when the guy he Googles is slated on a forum.

I'm also learning how to (sort of) DP my own stuff because I could not afford a proper film school before I shot my first movie (I know, I know) so I'm asking some really dumb questions about technical stuff on DVXuser - Imagine how competent THAT would make me look to Investors. They don't understand the difference between a Director and a DoP, to them, a Director does everything and knows everything...
 
Wilbur Eddings said:
I don't recall at any point telling anyone to put on airs or bullshit their way through anything.

My sincerest apologies for offending these people who have been around the block a few times, I assure you that my motive is merely to inspire people to take the first step boldly and keep going.
I am far from arrogant and conceited.
A humbled, broken man who has achieved his dream types these words in the hopes of inspiring others to do the same. I have absolutely no desire to offend or mislead.

As for the older guys who have been around the block, if they feel my posts are out of line I ask that they would PM me and I will stop posting immediately.
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Just to clarify, it was more the advice being given that felt that way, not so much you personally. Just the fact that you made your own feature already puts you ahead of 99 percent of the mooks out there. I don't think you offended anyone, but I think the advice (especially the bit about helping out the super-confident guy for no reason other than his confidence) bristled some forum members. Your intentions are clearly good.
 
Barry_Green said:
Fear of ridicule is ... ridiculous. If anyone is afraid of ridicule, well, too bad because I ridicule you for being afraid of being ridiculed. So you can't escape it. :evil:

Look, here's the raw unvarnished truth -- your first film is going to suck. Horribly. It's going to be awful, and if you hold it out as something professional and ask people for critiques, they're going to tell you it's awful. Why? Because it's awful.

AND THAT'S OKAY. It's supposed to be awful. It's your first -- and by very definition, you don't know what you're doing yet!

Think about a baby learning to walk. Babies are terrible at walking. Really, they're awful. They pull themselves up, take a half step, and fall on their face. NOBODY walks right on their first try. It's called a "learning process." If the baby decides that they're afraid of ridicule, they'll never walk.

But most babies do persevere, and master the art of walking. And some of them go further and further, and by the time they're sixteen years old they're world-class gymnasts. But those world-class gymnasts fell flat on their face the first time they took a step.

So -- if you're afraid of being ridiculed, get over it -- because I guarantee you, your first film will absolutely, unquestionably, be awful. Just like your first step was. So what? It's all part of the process. Your first ten films are going to suck. Best to get them all over with and out of the way right away then, isn't it? Get all the "suck" out of your system. Get some experience. And get on to making the good stuff.
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Thanks for posting this Barry, I feel that people underestimate the power of written inspiration and motivation from those who have been where they would like to go.
I remember one particular moment in 2009 when my wife and I were literally homeless, trying to find money to finish our movie so that all the effort would not go to waste. Naysayers and 'Realists' preached their 'I told you so' gospel, a fog of hopelessness was pushing at the edges of my consciousness and something inside of me just said 'keep going'. But I just needed that little nudge to keep my head held high. That little nudge turned out to be an old article about Donald Trump - He was in so much trouble financially that he would take a bank or two down with him if he gave up. Lots of jobs, hopes, dreams all balanced on the shoulders and will power of one man - no pressure... He said that giving up was not an option, there was just too much at stake. That little article inspired me so much that I started trawling the internet , newsagents and libraries for any encouraging real life 'from-the-brink-of-destruction' articles. I can honestly say that it was those stories of triumph over adversity that kep me going - and still keep me going!

I really enjoyed your post here tonight. Very encouraging!
 
ugafan said:
or he will continue to confidently make crap.
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This is one of those comments that I simply do not understand.
If you were that student you might have felt differently.

Why not give him a shot?
If he fails, my investment has been into his bank of experience. the guy has a fantastic attitude - I almost feel some investments are more of a reward than an actual investment.

But that's just me.
 
Why don't you just write a detailed account of getting your film made? Start a thread, or a blog or something. If your goal is to inspire others, nothing will do it better than that.
 
I'm curious as to why you are posting what seems like the same thing multiple times?

It's like you are trying to pump yourself up to do something but in the end you're not really doing anything. Or am I mistaken?
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
I'm curious as to why you are posting what seems like the same thing multiple times?

It's like you are trying to pump yourself up to do something but in the end you're not really doing anything. Or am I mistaken?
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I love writing encouraging stuff... if you think this is bad, my blogs are nothing BUT 'you can do EET' articles.

Evidently it has something to do with my inadequacy issues as a child being the driving force behind my philanthropic obsession. I do a heck of a lot of motivational speaking, newsletters and all manner of motivational spam...
It might also be a cry for attention, although I get plenty of that in real life. (Married to a Goddess who spoils me rotten).
It could also be that I am so grateful for the books and stuff that have helped me make my dreams come true that I earnestly desire to share every motivational drop of information freely.
Then again, maybe I am a compulsive liar with an extremely rich imagination who seeks to trap you all in my web of motivational deceit.
Even people who know my real identity think I'm a nutter.
After seeing the JJ Abrams at TED clip I felt a lot better - that guy is firing on all 12 of his 8 cylinders! :)

You are right about the pumping though - I consider these kinds of posts to be like gymming my spirit so that I am consistently in a positive mode.
Why not drag one or two victims into my evil web of inspiration and motivation?

My fav. Quote from any movie, like. ever: "What is a man if he does not make the world better?" <-- Guess the movie.
 
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