How to Become a Filmmaker - Part 6: Reflection and Future Plans

So you’ve finished the animation in your project. Give yourself a huge pat on the back, you should be proud of your accomplishment. You are now a filmmaker! No one can take that away from you.

When you finish your film there can be a range of emotions. Some people feel great satisfaction in finishing. Some are disappointed that it didn’t turn out the way they wanted. Both of these emotions are totally normal. I hope that you feel joy and satisfaction when you’re done. If you don’t, I’d like you to think about why you don’t feel satisfied:

1. Did you do your best?
2. Did your skill set not match up with your vision?
3. Did you get tired and take a bunch of shortcuts?

If you did your best and you tried really hard you should be very proud even if the movie doesn’t turn out exactly as you thought it would. A lot of people never finish a film so you should feel satisfaction that you DID finish. That takes discipline, hard word, and dedication. You deserve some serious praise.

If your skill set doesn’t match your vision for the project you’ll have to learn to be patient. It takes time to learn a new craft. We increase our skills slowly, over long periods of time. If you are feeling impatient try and understand that NO ONE is a brilliant filmmaker when they start. It takes 5 or 10 years to get really good.

If you got tired and took a lot of shortcuts consider taking some breaks. Work at a slower pace and just keep working until you get it right. It doesn’t need to be perfect but do the best work you can at this time. The film doesn’t have to be done tomorrow. Take the extra time to make the film the best it can be. Even if it’s just stick figures.

The most important thing to remember is your first film is just a single step on the road to becoming an accomplished filmmaker. When a novice painter begins her first painting no one expects that first painting to be good. Probably it will get thrown away. It might take 10 or 20 paintings before she gets one that she really likes.

Learn from your mistakes! Listen to feedback from others. Ask them what they like and what they don’t like. Then ask yourself what you like and what you don’t like. Remember what didn’t work so that you can address those issues in the next film.

Each time you create a film give yourself a new challenge. Start with a 10 second film. Then make a few more of those. Then increase the time to 20 seconds. Do several films at that length. Then maybe you do a film that has dialogue. Give yourself little challenges. Don’t jump from a 20 second film to a 5 minute film. That’s too big of a step. Work your way up slowly.

Think about what you love about other people’s films. Look at them closely. Study them like a scholar. Become an expert in that filmmakers work. This will help you when you get stuck on your own film projects. You can think back to certain films to get inspiration.

Think about what kind of films you would love to make in the future and slowly work towards that goal. Stick to your schedule. Stay positive. Give yourself rewards when you finish something.

I hope this series was helpful. I’ve tried to pass on everything I learned over the last 10 years so that you don’t run into the same problems that I did. I know it’s hard but it’s also very rewarding so I wish the best as you become a filmmaker! And please send me links to your films so I can see them!

How to Become a Filmmaker - Part 5: Staying Motivated During the Animation Process

Okay so you have a completed animatic and it looks good. You’ve shown it to a few people and they understand what happens in the story. This means you’re ready to begin working on the actual animation in your project. This next step is going to be difficult so it’s really important to get yourself into the right mindset because finishing your film is actually a mental game. If you can get your thought process right, you’ll finish no problem.

Now some of you may not have any problems with staying motivated. If that’s the case consider yourself very lucky. If you’re someone who can just complete a large task without any trouble then this video probably won’t be necessary for you. Now for others competing a big task can be intimidating:

1. You may feel insecure about your abilities.
2. You might get stuck or become frustrated and decide to quit.
3. You might feel like there is too much work for one person to finish.

For some people their mind starts filling up insecure thoughts that ultimately cause them to stop working on their project. Unfortunately, this is very common with artists. They second guess their ability when they are in the middle of a task. This is not helpful. If you quit you don’t grow and learn. Your goal should be to finish no matter what. If you finish and you don’t like the final product, that’s okay. It’s just practice. In fact each mistake is an opportunity to learn something new. It’s important to understand this pattern of self doubt, recognize that it’s something that happens often, so that you can IGNORE THAT FEELING that tells you to quit.

Now if you get frustrated as you’re working it’s fine to take a break for an hour or a day. The trick is to make sure you come back to the project and try again after the break. At some point it might feel like there is no solution to the problem you’ve encountered. That’s just another insecurity. THERE IS ALWAYS A SOLUTION. Your mind is a problem solving machine. Give it time and you’ll come up with something new.

For those of you who get intimidated by large tasks just work on it a few hours at a time. Set a goal for the day and when you’re done give yourself a pat on the back. Don’t worry about the whole project, just work on one tiny section for the day. Working 1 hour each day is just as good as working 7 hours on a Saturday. Find a system that works for YOU. If you are persistent, if you refuse to give up, you can get your project done one small step at a time. You might get behind schedule. Projects always take longer than you think. Just keep going. Finish it even if it’s two months past the projected completion date.

How To Become A Filmmaker - Part 1: Make Your Film Right Now!

Today I want to talk to you about how to become a filmmaker. Maybe you want to make a film but don’t know how to start. Maybe you feel like you need permission from someone. Maybe you think you need to go to film school first. Or maybe you think you need to become a better artist. Maybe you’re afraid the film won’t be very good. There are a million reasons for delaying your first film. I’m sure some of them are pretty good reasons. But guess what? It doesn’t matter. If you want to become a filmmaker you need to begin making films. That’s it. You just have to do it. Your goal should be to start right now because the longer you wait, the harder it’s going to be. 

The goal of this video series is remove all the roadblocks that you think are in the way. You need to get started ASAP because there is only one way to get good at something: Practice. Do something a lot and your skills will start to develop and eventually you’ll reach your goal. Is it going to take hard work? Yeah. Oh yeah. But hard work pays off if you have perseverance and you see the project to the end. Once you have a complete film you’ll be thankful that you stuck to your goals. You won’t regret the time that you sacrificed to make that film. In fact you’ll be asking yourself: why didn’t I start earlier?

So here’s the key thing you need to know about filmmaking: You don’t need film school. You don’t need a teacher. You don’t need to know how to draw. You don’t need a new computer. All you need is $20 and a used wacom tablet. That’s it. If you’re waiting for permission from someone to start, I’ll give it to you right now. You may start your film. There. Now you have permission. So now that you’ve to decided to seize the day, you need to find time. Next week I’ll talk about what kind of movie you should make. This week I want you to take a look at your calendar and figure out how you can schedule 7 or 8 hours per week to work on your film. I know you are busy. Everyone is. Think about how you can make time. Do you watch a lot of movies or TV? Maybe you play video games. Cut out some of that leisure time and dedicate it to your project. Maybe you have a busy social schedule that leaves you with very little free time. Consolidate social events and free up a day on the weekend. Do whatever it takes to carve out some space for your art. It will be worth it. I promise. Once you commit to a schedule put it in your calendar! Don’t be flexible with that time. Tell your friends you are busy. Some of them might not understand why you’re unavailable. Tell them how important art is to you and don’t let them talk you out of your work. If they still don’t understand, they aren’t really your friends. Friends that really care about you will give you the time to make your art.

So in summary: 
1. Make the commitment to yourself to animate a film. 
2. Schedule in the hours every week. 
3. Stick to the schedule, no matter what!

If you can do these three things then you’re on your way to becoming a filmmaker.