Remember: Winners never quit, and quitters never win.
Anyone with a camera can call themselves a filmmaker, right? #1 - Filmmaking is just a hobby and a non profession until you get paid to do, whatever you do on a set, ie - write, direct, production design, edit, spfx, you get the idea.
If I read a book on pulling teeth, then pull a few teeth, does that make me a tooth puller or a professional dentist?
No one can honestly consider themselves a professional filmmaker, until they get paid for what they do. Putting a short on YouTube or having a 15min. mini DV short running @ your local film fest does not constitute professional filmmaking, it's a start, but just the begining.
For the record, Zov Simons wrote a good book and desigend a "3 day film course" that's been hugely successful because of all the dreamy eyed amatuer/hobbiests that buy the book and take the class. Zov does not make a living directing or w! riting or filmmaking for that matter and the last time I checked, no one had hired him to do such in 20 years.
He pretty much admits this in his book - that he never was a good filmmaker, if he was, don't you think he's rather be making films than giving the same tired seminar over and over again?
Hollywood IS and always will be (for the majority) - a YOUTH driven business. #2 - With very few exceptions, most "A" list directors started very, very young and had experienced an early celebrated success. From Speilberg to Coppola to Lucas to JJ Abrahms to Inarattu to ... you get the picture.
Of course there are acceptions, but the Robert Altman's of the entertainment world are few and far between. At any rate, it's best to start YOUNG!
It takes a lot more than a 3 day crash course and a book to make money in the film business.#3 - Filmmaking is a career like any other and it takes as much time, probably more to develope your skills because of the nature and intensity of the competition.
Where else can you make a standard salary of around 30 grand for a week's work directing a sit com?
You get to have fun and get paid more than 90% of the American Population to have fun and the only guys making more $$ and having more fun are the stars and some of the writer / producer / show runners.
Filmmaking is so specialized these days that I think it would be
prudent to focus on a specialty.#4 - If you want to hit pay dirt, the best way is to write and write and write then write some more, write tons of spec features, sit coms, 1 hour pilots, read lots and lots of books on screen writing structure and process.
The quickest way anyone in Hollywood earns respect, even a non professional filmmaker, is via selling a spec script.
I know more writers who never even went to film school, couldn't much less point a camera but, they were writers and provided the "CONTENT", that which goes up on the screen.
By the time 2nd or third season rolled around, they got to direct one, two even several episodes - then on to movies.
And that is how the Ed Zwicks and Paul Haggis did it.
It's a lot cheaper writing a script than buying land, gear, cameras, etc.
Talent - the Overlooked Necessity#5 - There's one more essential element that no one has discussed and it is mandatory to succeed in "Hollywood" and that is Talent.
If you don't have talent in this arena, you'll pretty much be relegated to what I call the perennial class, always reading books on "How TO" always going to various classes looking for the answer to why you're not succeeding and it may be what all creative people fear.
You're just not talented to make it in THIS particular art form (for a lack of better words)
Everyone is talented, but not all are talented in this arena.
There is hope. #6 - There are many arenas of production, so what if you can't write or direct, perhaps you've got exceptional organizational skills, you can prodcution coordinate or field produce, maybe you have a great eye for color, palates and a flair for style and clothes, whammo - you're in the wardrobe department, maybe you like playing with fire and used tp blow stuff up in the army- boom! you're in special FX, good with computers and graphic design, maybe a career in digital fx is beckoning you, good cook? - catering it really is a traveleling circus out there and if you rally want in the "business" there's probably a job out there on the crew that will get you closer to the action.
good luck
John Aguirre
