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I'm not sure you are right about movie directors doing the same thing, pouring their life savings into a movie. Most made their first movies in film school on shoestring budgets.
Is the "fortune" you are pouring into this film leaving you financially insecure? How close to completion is this project? Can you estimate how much work is left and how much it will cost, and then stick to those estimates? Or is this still an open-ended moneypit? Do you have a solid source of income, or are you depleting finite financial resources? These are the concerns I would have.
What will you do when it is completed? Do you know how to sell a movie? Your backup plan of "getting noticed" seems worryingly vague. Who are you expecting to notice you? What will they do if they notice you?
If you were a starving writer, a starving musician, or a starving painter (I've known a lot of each), I'd say follow your muse as long as it makes you happy and as long as you can keep a roof over your head. Those pursuits require relatively low out-of-pocket expenses, and are easier to turn into income (maybe not much income, but every little bit helps) Making a film can be a very expensive proposition, and they aren't easy to turn into income high enough to make up for the expenses. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it is no easy feat. If you lack a network of acquaintances in the film industry, it becomes a very daunting task.
My advice would be: set a deadline and a spending cap on the film (real studio movies always have both), and stick to it. The discipline will do you good, and film studios are far more impressed with competent directors who can work with a budget and time limit than they are with auteurs who sink all their money in pursuit of their vision. If you can set a deadline and budget cap, you can tell others that you've got it all under control and not to worry.
It is hard to ignore the voices of others, but they shouldn't always be ignored. Instead, you need to consider what their objections are and make sure you have those bases covered. Then you can tell them how you've got it all planned out.
Well I haven't started the feature yet, but I want to. Right now I am working on some other filmmaking projects for other people then once those are done, I want to get started. What counts as a shoestring budget though? Right now my life savings are almost 200K USD. That's pretty microbudget for a movie, and you still want the movie to have enough money for some kind of marketing in the end.
What these people aren't telling you is all the little (and some not so little) things they did or that they lucked out on along the way before the "rolled the dice on their life savings."
I 100% guarantee this.
It baffles me why people don't tell the full 360-degree version of their story. I find all the little bits in between far more compelling and inspiring than the "spent my life savings" hyperbole.
IMHO...don't get down on yourself for assuming you're not doing the right or bold thing. Your path should and need not be a cut-and-paste of someone else's.
Well people in the industry have told me not to do it and that I am not ready, so what scares me, or discourages me is that I feel since they have had more experience, that they probably know more than me, and I could be wrong.
Plus other people have told me not to pursue it and that I am not thinking clearly for wanting to risk so much money. Here is a thread on here before from months ago, where people were making me think I should reconsider:
Well people in the industry have told me not to do it and that I am not ready, so what scares me, or discourages me is that I feel since they have had more experience, that they probably know more than me, and I could be wrong.
Plus other people have told me not to pursue it and that I am not thinking clearly for wanting to risk so much money. Here is a thread on here before from months ago, where people were making me think I should reconsider:
Well that's just it though, I feel like some people are telling me in order to get ahead I have to listen to myself and no one else, and others say it's wise to listen, and should remain in my cell until getting outside approval from the experts. So now I don't know what to do.
Unless you are asking for help with financing the project, then it's nobody else's business what you do. I put my kid in drama classes and voice lessons, and some people think I'm a "stage mom" for doing that. I have to wonder sometimes if they are jealous.
I've been wanting to become a movie director or have some kind of career in filmmaking for years now, but find it hard to break into the business.
Basically I feel it's best to break in by making a feature film and trying to either sell it, or get noticed that way. However, it seems that almost everyone is not supporting me at all in this and I keep being told that I am nowhere near ready and that I don't have "it".
I am pouring all my fortune and savings into it and everyone thinks I am crazy. However, if you read what other movie directors had to do go get there, they all had to do the same thing, and put their life savings on the line.
So I feel I am not doing anything different than almost every successful movie director had to do to get there.
But I find people's warnings incredibly discouraging and can't help but feel that I might very likely be making a mistake. I talked to a movie director about it, and he said that it's true what directors say that they had to throw everything into the pot, and not listen to anyone, and that the only beliefs that matter are one's own.
But what do you think? How do other people in this kind of position do it, where they have to convince themselves that they are the one right person and that everyone else's opinions don't matter?
Some of the things I read move me and make me think and eventually I embrace the 'philosophy' of it and try to really live it. I have to say this helps me a lot, but as they say, 'your mileage may vary'.
How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.
With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.” ~ Wayne W. Dyer
Along the lines of breaking into the arena of film, whether it be acting, producing, directing, writing scripts or what have you, I think it boils down to talent, blind persistence, timing, and a smidgeon of luck and serendipity.
I ran across an article recently on the film director Richard Linklater, perhaps you have as well (I am a huge aficionado of the film industry, not necessarily the most knowledgeable but certainly very enthusiastic of the process and the end result). You should read the article and maybe you will be inspired to listen to your 'inner person' and believe in yourself and what you want to do with your life.
Good luck Ironpony, I wish you the very, very best of everything and look forward to seeing some of your work someday!
‘American Masters: Richard Linklater’ review: What you see is what you get August 30, 2017 2:36 PM
Well that's just it though, I feel like some people are telling me in order to get ahead I have to listen to myself and no one else, and others say it's wise to listen, and should remain in my cell until getting outside approval from the experts. So now I don't know what to do.
Don't you see the irony of this statement?
From what you've posted here about your work, and the links to the work, I would say your path right now is to work toward gaining as much practical skills as you can and not spend much time philosophizing about what to do.
From what you've posted here about your work, and the links to the work, I would say your path right now is to work toward gaining as much practical skills as you can and not spend much time philosophizing about what to do.
No I am not seeing the irony, what is it?
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