David Calson Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 A man once told me, "Do what you love, then you'll do your best work and people will throw money at you to do it." though some will attest to how untrue that last part is, I believe you have to follow your passion though even if it not as a career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Keith Mottram Posted June 26, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted June 26, 2008 If you've got talent you'll get paid. If you haven't got talent then... well the bbc still employs people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Parker Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 While I talk about moving to Austin to start working on student and indie films, and finding work with a rental house or post house, she talks about me living close to home I notice you're in Carbondale, Illinois... have you looked at Chicago? There's a pretty vibrant indie film scene there, and a ton of commercial work. Also, Michigan has killer production incentives in place and is set to be quite busy over the next couple years.... It could be a way to make yourself AND your mom happy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Holland Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 If you've got talent you'll get paid. If you haven't got talent then... well the bbc still employs people. Yes they do but mostly Health and Safety Officers Equal Opportunity bods , Accountants and people to keep their Website expanding . Thay got rid of DoP's Directors and anyone with anything creative to offer about 15 years ago . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K Borowski Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 I've vowed to my parents a long time ago that I am going to become a master criminal when Kodak stops making film, so everyone just pray that the big K doesn't do it anytime soon. I am a big fan of Clyde from the Bonnie & Clyde duo. I like the cold-blooded killer side especially :wacko: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted June 26, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted June 26, 2008 > In some ways it was more difficult as one could not really work with out an ACTT card Actually that makes it easier - at least you know if you're in or out. Get the card and you're sorted - that's actually an easier thing to do because it's a fixed goal. I used to be upset that I've very rarely worked for Auntie - perhaps I shouldn't be! P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted June 26, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted June 26, 2008 Not to beat a dead horse here, but my dad, before his passing, was so againt me going into film (why don't you learn computers he would say) only because he himself had worked as a gaffer/dp for so many years. Now, i didn't listen of course (how could i?) and I may never make a living off of shooting. And I just don't give a damn. Just give me a normal job to pay my rent/bills etc with the least amount of hassle for calling out "sick," and i'll be good! Thankfully I fell into something like that recently. I think that if you REALLY want something, no matter what, you can make it happen. The only time you really fail is when you give up and pack it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted June 26, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted June 26, 2008 > I think that if you REALLY want something, no matter what, you can make it happen. I want to be able to survive 10,000ft falls... P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Paul Bruening Posted June 26, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted June 26, 2008 I want to be able to survive 10,000ft falls... P Sounds completely reasonable. Could you hold this running Eyemo when you do? I promise, I'll pay you when you get back down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Matthew W. Phillips Posted June 26, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted June 26, 2008 > I think that if you REALLY want something, no matter what, you can make it happen. I want to be able to survive 10,000ft falls... P Hey, skydivers do it all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted June 26, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted June 26, 2008 Skydivers really do survive them. But, point remains, that in terms of job one wants, you can make it happen. Though often the sacrifices for that make it not worth it; it becomes a personal value judgment at the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Keith Mottram Posted June 27, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted June 27, 2008 Yes they do but mostly Health and Safety Officers Equal Opportunity bods , Accountants and people to keep their Website expanding . Thay got rid of DoP's Directors and anyone with anything creative to offer about 15 years ago . think you missed my point john i mean i know this is a predominantly yank board, but surely there's still a place for irony. when i said 'If you haven't got talent then... well the bbc still employs people' i was talking about the people they hire in... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Holland Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Keith i did get your point ! so my reply was supposed to be a bit sarcastic ? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted June 27, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted June 27, 2008 > If you've got talent you'll get paid This is not necessarily the case... I've known some people I thought were fantastic and never got anywhere. And conversely we live in a world where Torchwood exists. I remain unconvinced that there is any correlation whatsoever between talent and success. It seems to me to be much more predicated on luck and failing that one's willingness to be despicably mercenary. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Holland Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Phil its . 1 Who you know helps if daddy /mummy work in the industry ? . 2 Just Who you know . 3 Luck . 4 Talent tends not to be.looked at anymore . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Winter Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 No doubt this industry is ridiculously tough but I got into it knowing no one in film (also, my family is firmly middle class - so no easy hand outs there) and now I make my entire living as a director/dp of music videos. I run my own company and I have a manager and he keeps me shooting about 1.5 jobs every 2 months. Sure, I won't be buying a Bugatti anytime soon (in fact, I'll be lucky to get a Corolla) ;) but I love the work and I enjoy my life. Still, I feel a lot of sympathy for Phil's POV and as I get older and life starts to get in the way it's really tough to make it through the ups and downs of freelance life. It's also tough to see all the friends I grew up with get on with things and buy houses, get married, have kids, etc. Filmmaking (creative freelance anything really) is a choice that comes with a lot of sacrifice. The best thing to do is get a sense of what you'll have to sacrifice (financial security mostly) and then determine whether you can live without those things. Evan W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maya Bankovic Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 The biggest lesson I've been learning since graduating from film school is (and will continue to be for the rest of my life) how to define success. It is essential to come up with your own perspective on it in order to be even remotely happy with where you are at. For me, it changes from day to day since some months I'm better off than others financially but maybe working on something not very creative, and other months I feel like I'm advancing creatively (but possibly scrounging). Also keep in mind that creative people are constantly on the lookout for other creative people (and it there IS a lot of money in creative industries, by the way). It's about making those small steps together. And as someone mentioned here before, I too think that if you're passionate enough about something you will find a way to keep doing it. I don't think that's naive thinking at all; it makes sense to want to devote time and energy to doing something you love, and that time and energy will pay off. Maya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hibner Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 How hard is it to get in the ASC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Stephen Williams Posted June 29, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted June 29, 2008 How hard is it to get in the ASC? Hi, You get invited by existing members, for producing excellent work. Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Greene Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Hi Brian, I'm a lucky guy in that I think my parents were so worried about other things with me when I was young, that the last thing they worried about was the career choice. (And I don't think I'd have made it to Harvard law school anyway:)) My in-laws were a different situation though... But your post reminded me of a story: A couple years ago a went out to dinner with some families celebrating a high school academic decathlon meet. My daughter and most of her friends on the team went to the "communications" magnet school where they had a filmmaking program. Her friend Peter dreamed of becoming a filmmaker and begged his parents to let him attend this program. At the dinner, Peter's mom was so proud of her son because he had been admitted to a famous university and had finally given up on his "ridiculous dream" of becoming a filmmaker. Boy she was so happy, she was bragging about her son giving up his dream! (in front of him and his friends no less). A few minutes later (we had just met for the 1st time this evening) she asked my wife what I did for a living...I mumbled something about shooting movies I think... Brian, I've told this story kind of as a warning about over protective parents, but also because at the same time: IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE TO MAKE A LIVING IN THE MOTION PICTURE BUSINESS! You might not win an Oscar, and you might not become a DP (who knows where this journey may take you?) but thousands of people in the USA make a living in some part of this business. WHY NOT YOU? I went to a major Ivy League university and studied economics. After graduation I had no skill that would make me employable (ie. skill that would make money for someone else). I took a job as a busboy at a seafood restaurant. As I pondered what to do with my life, I had an epiphany: No matter what path I took, I would be starting at the very bottom. (I was already at the bottom of the restaurant business). And then it hit me: YOU CAN START AT THE BOTTOM OF ANY CAREER! Do your parents dream of you becoming a top defense attorney? CEO? scientist? If so you will start at the bottom. All careers of any interest are very competitive. And in all of them you will start at the very bottom so why not start at them bottom of the film industry? So the next time your parents talk to you about your career explain to them that virtually all careers involve starting at the bottom and they shouldn't get too discouraged that you are at the bottom of the film business. After all, thousands of people make a living in the movie business, and almost all of them not named Coppola started at the bottom too. Good luck Brian. Never give up, never surrender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K Borowski Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 I went to a major Ivy League university and studied economics. After graduation I had no skill that would make me employable (ie. skill that would make money for someone else). I took a job as a busboy at a seafood restaurant. As I pondered what to do with my life, I had an epiphany: No matter what path I took, I would be starting at the very bottom. (I was already at the bottom of the restaurant business). And then it hit me: YOU CAN START AT THE BOTTOM OF ANY CAREER! [. . . ] Good luck Brian. Never give up, never surrender. Wow, that's quite a change in career goals, economist to steadicam op. Now, is it a good idea to give him a quote from "Galaxy Quest", a Star Trek parody, as motivation though? :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Greene Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Wow, that's quite a change in career goals, economist to steadicam op. Now, is it a good idea to give him a quote from "Galaxy Quest", a Star Trek parody, as motivation though? :P It just seemed better than "live long and prosper" or "here's looking at you, kid", which might have been taken the wrong way ;) It certainly beats telling Brian, "about your parents, 'make them an offer they can't refuse'", or tell your mother that "frankly you don't give a damn"... So, I'm sticking with "never give up, never surrender" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Greene Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Wow, that's quite a change in career goals, economist to steadicam op. Now, is it a good idea to give him a quote from "Galaxy Quest", a Star Trek parody, as motivation though? :P It also seemed more realistic than "to infinity---and beyond!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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