Finding Time to Pursue Your Filmmaking Dreams Ep79

Are you a filmmaker struggling to find your way? Join me for this episode as I discuss how to have a long-term career in the industry.    Filmmaking has so many parts and I'm sharing what I've learned over the past 15 years in producing impact films that reach their intended audience and support real-world change.  

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Hello and welcome back to this week's episode of the Moonshine Moonshot Podcast. I'm Sue Collins and I am your host. Today I want to share with you this was the title of a Reddit thread that I came across recently. Help! I'm a delusional filmmaker who's slowly losing hope. And it was written by a struggling screenwriter who clearly wanted to make films for a living but is getting nowhere with their current approach. And my heart really went out to this person. And interestingly, over 160 others felt really compelled to comment, mostly with very supportive and enthusiastic responses to what the person should do. And most of it was pretty reasonable advice. It was, you know, things consisting of move to LA and network, write long form and stop making shorts as they're no help for screenwriters in the long term. Go work for somebody else and do your own thing as a side hustle. And I really lean in on that last bit of advice. Get out of camera and just make a film on the side and let your day job support you through this initial period. Because how do you go from being an early day filmmaker to a career filmmaker? Welcome to the Moonshine Moonshot Podcast. I'm your host, Sue Collins, and if you've landed here, it means you're wanting to find out more about how to make filmmaking a sustainable career. And you're also curious about how to make meaningful work that fills your cup. You're ready to learn how to make movies that matter, build a sustainable career, and have a positive impact on your audiences. So you are in the right place. Filmmaking has so many parts, and I'm sharing what I've learned over the past 15 years producing impact films that reach their intended audience and support real-world change. So let's get started. Well, by making work. And you know what? It doesn't have to be non-fiction work. This is the beauty of documentary films. You don't need anywhere near as many cast or crew. You can be more nimble and have a very small team, and it doesn't involve the same level of intensive script writing. This is definitely how I got my start in the business. I worked as a freelancer and I learned as I went. And then I started to make my own projects. In the beginning, you have to adapt filmmaking to your lifestyle. And if you can't make films full time, then do the day job and make films in your spare time because any choice is the right choice as long as you implement it. And I know, I hear you already, but I don't have the time. So let me ask you this is it that you don't have the time or that you don't want to make the time? For example, if you spend 90 minutes a day, let's say 45 minutes in the morning before work and 45 minutes in the evening after dinner writing your script or working on your project, that's actually seven and a half hours a week, which is a full workday. You could then dedicate up to eight hours on the weekend to filming, I don't know, like a scene or writing or editing or researching. And all of a sudden you've spent 15 and a half hours a week on your project, which is pretty much two days a week working and creating your own project. And after six months, you could have a finished script, a complete treatment, half a dozen interviews already filmed, overlay to cut together and create a great teaser or trailer, a full proposal for potential investors. You could have select scenes cut together as a really impressive sizzle reel. There are just so many options. And then you could switch gears and start using the time to film and edit the film together. And voila, in a year, you could have a finished film and be working your day job. And I know it might not be a high-budget feature ready for theatrical release, but you'll have a finished film, a year's worth of working in collaboration with other filmmakers, loads of experience in writing, directing, producing, finding locations, working smart to get it done. And then you can show your work to your peers, you can hold some screenings for your networks, you can build an online audience with some behind the scenes that you created as you went along, and you'll be making a movie all the while being funded with your day job. But I think the real question on everyone's mind is how do I make money from producing my own work? And it's really important that question because what I have just suggested will help fill your cup as a filmmaker and will also help you skill up, but it won't necessarily give you the income. So my recent podcast, number 76, was on how to monetize your film with marketing strategies and distribution tips. And it's been really, really popular and for good reason. Because if you can't make a living out of your work, then you can't build a sustainable career. The first step is that you have to treat filmmaking as a business. Oh, I was just looking for a place where I could learn everything I need to know to make an amazing film that changes the world. It's such a shame that that place doesn't exist. Oh what? Hang on. It does. Oh, if you're looking for inspiration, ideas, tools, and ways to learn how to make movies that matter, head to Moonshine Communications Academy over at Instagram and all your problems will be solved. Warning, results may vary depending on the questions, and success is not guaranteed. Always read the label. All the major studios are businesses. All production companies are businesses. So if you're an independent filmmaker, you have got to treat yourself as a business person, not a starving artist. And I feel very much like I'm scolding when I say this, but I hear people all the time just constantly complaining how hard it is to make a living as a filmmaker. So my question is this what sort of filmmaker do you want to be? Do you want to work for other people and earn an income that way? Or do you want to create your own work and be your own boss and make money out of your own work? If it's the latter and you're listening to this, I'm guessing it is the latter. So an option is this. One suggestion I have to get you going. Are you willing to do more commercial work to get yourself financially set up? For example, making short form content for businesses to use in their marketing or corporate videos. This can keep you financially stable while you begin to produce your own work because raising finance to produce a documentary can take a lot of time. And often you need to start way before you get the first funder on board. And that's okay. But you still have to sustain yourself in the meantime. And that's where doing some corporate work can be useful. So if you're pursuing a non-fiction feature film, then that's also time consuming to raise the finance. And the same principle will apply because doing corporate work has some other advantages. You get exposed to filming all sorts of different talent, which is really good for developing your skills as a director or particularly as an interviewer. You'll work with a variety of people, which is very helpful for building up your network of freelancers to call on when you roll camera on your own film. It's also a great way to learn more about how to manage budgets and meet deadlines. And sometimes you can be really creative with corporate videos, and it's a great way to try out new equipment or purchase equipment you may not otherwise be able to afford. So it might feel like a big compromise, but there are certainly benefits, and if you keep your eye on the prize, it's just a stepping stone. I feel like I've gone really off track, but the point I'm trying to make through this podcast is that although filmmaking is more accessible than ever, it's also a completely saturated market with many early career filmmakers trying to get a foot in the door. So if you want to stand out in the market, then you have to be flexible and adaptable and make really good quality work. Make work that is worth watching and will impress people who watch it. Build an online following by sharing your behind-the-scenes work and then turn that following into an audience for your film when you finally release it. Change your expectations. Does your film have to go out into festivals or is video on demand okay? Could you simply sell it via Vimeo on demand where you can actually set up that whole platform and sell pay-per-view yourself? You don't even need a distributor for that. Or are you totally fixed on getting a distributor and hoping that they'll sell it to Netflix for you? And there's a warning with this one because that may return cents on the dollar. There is so much to learn with filmmaking, and you can learn it bit by bit, film by film, and you can have a long and rewarding career. And it all comes back to how creative you're willing to be on the path to getting there. So thanks for listening through. I hope this episode has just given you a little bit of food for thought, you know, about different ways to approach having a long-term career as a filmmaker, because, you know, it it breaks my heart when I hear those titles like I did when I said I read that Reddit title, Help, I'm a delusional filmmaker who's slowly losing hope. I mean, filmmakers should not be delusional. We create amazing stories and put them out into the world and keep people really entertained. And there's so much depth and culture involved in filmmaking. So, you know, put your heart and soul into it, but also put your business sense into it too, and make yourself a long and rewarding career. Anyway, I'd love to know what you think of this episode. So please leave me uh a comment. Uh, you can DM me over at Moonshine Communications Academy on Instagram, or you can email me at support at moonshinecommunicationsacademy.com. And I will be back next week with all things indie filmmaking. Speak to you soon. Thank you for joining me today and every week here on the Moonshine Moonshot Podcast. If you're wanting a deeper dive into the topics being discussed on the show, then I would encourage you to head over to Moonshine Communications Academy.com and sign up for the weekly drop of moonshine via your email. Being on our newsletter community means we can support your filmmaking journey in a more tailored way as well as keeping you up to date with the resources we share on how to make movies that matter, and so much more that we deliver inside your inbox every single week. So head over to Moonshine CommunicationsAcademy.com and at the bottom of the homepage you'll see a little box to add your email address, and as a thank you for signing up, we'll also send you a bonus ebook to support your messaging. So voila, you'll be on the way to receive all the best content weekly.