Why being adaptable is vital for Indie Filmmakers Ep. 67

From the point of ideation you'll have to think through your film in every detail.  You’re thinking about the story and all the elements. You'll spend months planning everything.

But filmmaking is a constant balance between detailed planning and flexibility.  How will you handle it when things change, you hit a road block or something goes wrong?

This episode is all about adaptability and why it's so important for filmmakers.

So what are you waiting for? Listen in and let's make a movie!

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:03

Hello everyone! Thank you for joining me on the Moonshine Moonshot podcast this week. I am talking to you about why being adaptable is important for filmmakers. This is a topic that probably is a little more philosophical than usual, but I think it's super important. And if you've been listening to the last few episodes, you'll know that I'm smack in the middle of launching a new film, Live the Life You Please Across Cinemas in Australia. And it has been a fantastic week. It launched last Monday night at our capital city, Canberra, at Parliament House, no less, which was a really fun event. And I had the privilege last week of listening to four different viewings of the film, followed by QA's. And that was really special and amazing because, as a filmmaker who makes impact films, hearing the direct impact of the film on an audience in the discussion afterwards is really, really important and super meaningful because that's how you can really gauge how the audiences have taken on the message and how they've interpreted it and how they feel about the stories that they've been shared. And it was it was a really um affirming experience. And I I feel like we've done really well with that particular film, and it really seemed to cut through and engage and connect and be really meaningful. So that was a huge thrill. And I will be breaking down more of how we got that film into distribution and into cinemas as a documentary across Australia, which was no mean feat, I've got to say, and um, there'll be more on that to come, but it's part of why being adaptable is important for filmmakers because even the process of getting that particular film onto cinemas was a big adaptation in the way we originally were planning to distribute the film. So every time you do something with your film, it usually involves having to adapt your thinking. And so that's what today's episode is all about. And if you're wondering why I'm the person to be telling you about this, it's because I'm Sue Collins and I'm the host of the Moonshine Moonshop podcast on making movies that matter. And I'm part of a team, and the team is all part of Moonshine Agency, which is an impact film production house producing multi-award-winning films that have positive social impact. Now, impact films are films that are designed to take an audience from passive viewing to being an active participant, it gets them doing something, getting involved, and being part of probably some sort of a solution. So, for the example I just gave, you know, the QA session, creating discussion, opening up dialogue. So I've also realized that learning how to craft films is a really challenging process. There is a lot to it. And when I was just starting out, it was really hard to find information and learn about filmmaking unless you were going to go and do some sort of formal study or find yourself a really strong mentor. So avoiding pitfalls, being pigeonholed, running out of funding, or simply not understanding the business side of the industry. That's meant that I have seen many really talented people over the years give up or simply move on to more stable work. And I think that's really disappointing. And my hope is to actually see the industry here in Australia thrive and around the world. And I recognize that to do that is partly my sharing my own skills. So that's what I'm doing here on this podcast, The Moonshine Moonshot. And I've also started the Moonshine Communications Academy, which has a lot of online courses and lots of resources, and there's a whole section where you can get free downloads like check sheets and ebooks. So really encourage you to go and check that out over at Moonshine Communications Academy.com. Today I'm talking resilience. So let's get into this because right from the very beginning of your film, from the very point of ideation, you have to think through your film in every single detail. You're thoughtful about the story and all the components, you know, everything from the nuts and bolts stuff, like how to obtain informed consent from your participants through to how will you conduct your film shoots and you know, booking locations, what gear to use, what the talent should wear, every single detail beyond just the storytelling. You are months and months in planning, and then you get out on the shoot and poof, it does not go to plan. And that is when you have to be adaptable. So what do you do when everything goes out the window? Do you just go into a little old meltdown, or do you just look at the situation and think, okay, I've got a problem to solve this? And you know, if you've been listening along to this podcast, you'll know that a few episodes back, not I think in the uh probably last five episodes, we actually did three or four simply on troubleshooting because so many things do go wrong on set, and you've got to be adaptable to figure out how you're going to get through them. How will you get it done? And you know, this is where you really got to draw on that inner strength and really stay true to the why. Why are you making this film? Why are you, why are you tackling this? What is so important about it that, you know, you really need to finish this project. And it's that deep why that's gonna give you that resilience to help you adapt and make the changes needed to get through whatever problem it is that you are facing. And the good news is that once you've stepped over a huge hurdle, you can wear it with a badge of honor. And you'll know that you'll be able to get through the next problem. And then you face the next one and you get through it, and you face the next one and you get through it, and that builds the resilience, it's that adaptation that builds the resilience. You know, there's this great expression rolling with the punches, and it's so true. In in any film that you're going to produce or direct, you are going to have to roll with a lot of punches because things just happen. Yeah, it's just life. I mean, it's like everyday life. No matter how much you plan things, things just happen. So when you're working with actuality, which is the unscripted world of documentary filmmaking, it is kind of like life. Stuff is just going to happen. So, what mindset, what is the mindset you're going to bring to the production process? Taking some time to think about that well ahead of your first shoot is actually going to help you a lot because if you know what attitude, what mindset you're bringing into this production, no matter what goes wrong, it's going to help you connect to that why. It's going to help keep you grounded, it's going to give you something to come back to. And, you know, there's this famous expression on about Murphy's Law. And if you haven't heard of what Murphy's Law is, it's basically that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And I think that really applies very closely to filmmaking. And resilience is how you approach the idea that stuff's probably going to go wrong. Look, there are so many different ways to tell a screen story. Documentary can be done in so many different ways. There is no rights and there's no wrongs. But what there is is just that attitude of staying positive, taking on whatever challenges come your way, being adaptable, building the resilience, and you know, try and have a bit of fun on the way. Enjoy the journey. Because frankly, not very many people get to do this type of work. So you're part of a pretty elite bunch. There are actually not that many documentary filmmakers who do this as a career and, you know, build it and make it happen over the long term. And the ones who do, they really do have tenacity and resilience and adaptability at the core of the way they approach things. So I really encourage you if documentary filmmaking is in your heart and it's where you want to put your time and energy and build your career, it is worth thinking about the things I've mentioned in this podcast. And I feel like I'm saying it a lot, but I'll say it again because I think sometimes you have to hear it a few times. You need to really be adaptable and tackle problems with that real, I can overcome this. I I know why I'm doing this, I can build up ways to get through this, I've got the tenacity, and that resilience is going to help me get through to the other side, and then I will have the confidence to know that I can make the film that I want to make and put it out into the world and make the difference that I am aiming to do. So, you know, I feel very uh a little bit preachy in this episode, but um, it's it's all very true. And um, so this has been a bit short and sweet. And next week I am talking about publicity, which is something incredibly close to my knowledge base right now because of all the work that we have just done to launch Live the Life You Please, and it's involved a huge amount of publicity push. So I'm looking forward to sharing more with you next week on the learnings that myself and the team have had around publicity when it comes to launching your film. So, really looking forward to speaking to you again next week. I hope this has been helpful. I would also love it if you could hit subscribe on whatever podcast platform you're listening to because it helps me to um know that you're actually getting value out of this. And if you want to leave me comments, I would greatly appreciate that too, because then I can actually tailor content to what you're personally trying to look for and what information you are needing. So just go to any of the social platforms Moonshine Communications Academy. You can direct message me on Instagram, and I really look forward to hearing from you. And otherwise, I'll be back next week talking publicity. Happy filmmaking.