Got a day job, trying to be an indie filmmaker?
 

Dear all,

Are there any of you out there who has a day job and is persuing becoming a filmmaker at the same time? I would like to invite everyone to join this thread and share their experiences of juggling knocking out the rent and pursuing your dream.

Personally I am not coping well at all. I work at a university here and although the demands of the job is not too taxing, I am unable to pursue my dream of becoming a filmmaker with any real conviction. Paying rent, bills and everything is tough whereever you are, trying to become a filmmaker on top of that is even worse. I am a full time writer here, my job is write and draft research articles for others. I got into screenwriting so I can write for myself and have been sitting on a script of mine for years and I realised I need to make something happen. Having a full time job means I get money to finance my first feature but doesn't leave me much time to work on it.

I always believed that if you want to do something, you need to put everything you have into it, structuring it, planing it every waking second. The closest thing I get to practicing is shooting weekly mass at church. I am planning on making my first feature and am deciding whether I should devote all my time to making it happen and that would mean having to quit my job and spend all my time on it.

If any of you have a secret formula of being able to live out the paralell life with success please give me some advice...

Daniel

Daniel,
I know just how you feel, I worked at a job I didn't really like for 9 years saving up money to buy video gear, all the time wanting to do only video work for a living. Because the digital video revolution didn't start till a couple of years ago, there was no way for me to make a living at video. I was limited to doing small camera work only jobs on the weekends and at night. The rest of the time I had to work my 8-5 job.

When I got all of the gear I would need to get started, G4 and an XL-1, I was happily laid off of my job, I knew the company was doing bad but I waited til I was forced out so I could collect severce pay. My wife and I ended up getting a cheaper place to live, and she ended up working more hours(actually, she used to take an extra day off so we could have sundays together, she's a hair stylist and they only have mondays off here). I'm lucky if I can make enough to pay the rent and gas/water bill, so far I've barely managed to do that. My hours are not set right now, whenever I get work the job decides the hours. So far I've spent a lot of time here at home working on my own personal video projects. When I do get busy then I'm not able to work on my own stuff, but at least now when I get busy it's because I'm doing video work and not my old job.

But right now, are you married? Living alone? The biggest expense we had was our apartment, moving to a cheaper place will help lower your cost of living. Also the more I went out and met people and told them I do video the more contact I made and I got some jobs out of that, plus I've been did video part time for 9 years so people knew my face. Meeting people and letting them know you are a film maker will eventually put you in contact with others like you. Working with someone will help you realize your dream faster. It took me 9 years to get where I'm at, still not where I want to be, but just don't give up. All goals are reachable. Can you take off a year from your job? If you can take an extended leave, then you can spend a year devoting every day working on your film. If in the end it doesn't work out, then at least you can have a backup plan. Don't worry if it doesn't plan out like you wanted, the main thing is to just go out and do it. If you don't at least make a good effort towards your goal then you'll never know what could have been.

We all start out at the begining, some move ahead faster than others but at one point we've all been in the same boat. when you need to talk to someone, get some advice, we are all here for you, good luck on your film.

I can completely relate to this thread as I am in the same boat. Back in April I was "surplused" from my last company. My life long goal was to be in video production, make movies, etc. Well I decided instead of going back to work, I would make a go of it.

Some days it can be a little overwhelming, but I hang in there. This last Wednesday I met with one of the lead design firms in Houston and pitched my services. They were interested in my proposition and are willing to work with me as a freelance video production company. This was pretty exciting news!

Currently I am working on creating so many different things. My web page, business cards, a demo real. So much to do with such little time each day, but I could not be happier.

The next goal on my list is to start shooting short films. I am working on a few script ideas and hope to start shooting in August.

It is exciting and encouraging to read that others are out there doing what I am doing.

I can relate too. I'm currently a computer programmer, and
although I like my work, I am thinking of going movie making
fulltime. The only problem is where to get the money from to
live. I'm single so I cannot rely on someone else. Also I need
to have some securities for myself, that is just how I work. But
I can feel the same pain. Wouldn't it be great if I could do this
all day long. Heh. What I tend to do at the moment is to do
all the pre-production stuff after working hours. So all the ideas,
script writing, resource gathering, location scouting I do in the
evening and the weekends. Then when I'm ready to shoot I
take one or two weeks off from work. This ofcourse means no
vacation for me.

All editing and post is also done after work and in the weekends
unless I have some time available in my little vacation after I
shoot (not happened yet).

But it is very difficult to get all this running. In a couple of weeks
time me and my film partner were about to start a new shoot.
I just found out that something went wrong and we misplanned
our vacations. So we are not available at the same time. This
might be a show stopper, which is very unfortunate. The next
time will not come before christmas. Which might be a little
advantage because I have more time planning resources and
thinking out my ideas. Perhaps I should spend my vacation on
my own to get to know the XL1S even better and learn some
other things like lighting. We'll see what happens.

I was working for a web based company, doing some graphics, web design, small stuff. Then, I worked my way into editing the video on their site. They never paid much, and when my PC started going south, I asked them to help me get a better machine. I won't go into details, but the answer was no.

I then went to the City's business development coucil and got a loan for $15,000 and started my own Video business. It's tough starting out like this, and if I'm lucky, I can pay my bills. If it weren't for my wife's income and understanding, we would be in real trouble.

But things are picking up. I met with the owner of a recording studio, and he had been thinking about offering video to musicians. He had all of the audio equipment, but didn't want to spend money on cameras, then learn how to use them. Another of my clients has a children's music program, and wants it to be on TV.

On top of it, I want to do a short feature. I have a screenplay, and just spoke with the local theater group about getting some actors for it.

It just goes to show, if you want it badly enough, it will work. Unles you are already working 16 hours a day, I bet you can find some time on the weekends to work on a film.
Best wishes,
Keith

Hello all:

I'm young and naive . . . and also a filmmaker. I didn't quite understand how much work it is to make a movie until I shot my first featurette. It was hard work, but I fell in love. Working 9-5 at a job hasn't really helped me in the creative process of making a movie at all. Neither has writing research papers at my university (considering its totally different topics and styles).

But then I figured out what to do.

Make a contract with yourself. And follow it. I know it sounds cheesy, but just writing your goals out really helps. But writing the goals isn't enough, you also gotta write how you plan on getting there. I plan on working on films for five years, then if I'm not going anywhere, I'm gonna get out. Next, I must work on projects a little everyday. One thing that has helped me is I communicate my love with my coworkers. They see how pumped-up I am. They get excited for me, then when I leave work to rock and roll with the movie, they wish me luck. Also, if things don't work out . . . they might be nice enough to welcome me back . . . . Of course, this isn't feasible for everyone.

The trick is, I think, is to stretch yourself. You have to take the calculated risk to go off and make a movie. Leave work, barely make rent, hope to be able to eat. Still, you have to take the risk if you want to get something done. The sad thing about life, is that a majority of people don't take the chance to live it . . . so, be a part of the minority - take the CHANCE to live life. If your definition of living life is to be a filmmaker, don't settle for less. Think of what you want, and do it. There's a million ways to do it right, but I bet, 90% percent of people that fail in becoming filmmakers fail because they don't even start. The reason why I made my first movie is because a friend and I had a great idea one day. And instead of being like the rest of our friends that talk big and never do anything about it (they don't follow through) we made our movie. No regrets, man.

Regards,

Kyle "Doc" Mitchell

Getting tears in my eyes... great write Kyle! Can only agree,
hard to do though....

* * SAILING THE BOAT * *
 

My situation is one of steady growth towards filmmaking. A little at a time and a lot of patience. Which runs dry from time to time.

I am an actor who moved to New York in 1994. I am still acting, 5% paid, 95% unpaid. My girlfriend and I started a production company to get the ball rolling. We launched a two week theatre run, which to our surprise, people saw (positive reviews) and the company benefitted financially. We used some of that income to buy the XL1S. Most of my income is through my computer consulting which I limit to 30 hours per week.

I have written a first draft of a screenplay and several shorts. I have opted to do all of the work on a short before tackling a full length screenplay. The only commodity that I fundamentally have a problem with is my own ENERGY, and ok, procrastination.

I like the idea of the CONTRACT TO YOURSELF, with an amendment or two.

* Use the contract as a postive motivation forward towards your goals.
* Don't beat yourself up if you can't follow it exactly. Life needs room to flow. If it feels too much like 'joe-job-work' then your enjoyment is lost. No sense in having that.

Don't let money bog you down. Find inspiration on boards like this... Support. There is always something to be shot and learned.

If you can taste your own work, its time. It only needs your start, your building momentum will drive you forward. If you really want to do it, you'll find your way.

Please keep me informed of your endeavors.

Cheers!

Derrick

Man what a great thread! I am sure that there are many of us out there working on following our dreams.

*** Suggestion ***
Chris - how about a discussion area where we could post on this topic?
***

Do or do not.
There is no try.

This would be a great addition to the forums. This was posted by Becky a couple of days ago http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2836 I could see this being a great boost to the community. Many of the younger film makers and entrepreneurs could benefit from the mistakes and successes some of us old timers have had. Us old timers could learn a few tricks from the young entrepreneurs and their guerrilla style of marketing etc. What do you think Chris?

Jeff

Hey!
I was in a similar scenario about 5 years ago. I mostly gave up on filmaking, although it always nagged at me when I thought "that would make a great movie". So life went on, I quit my sh!tty joe-job and started my own business based on what I had learned working for minimum wage, and life went on.
Then, 4 months ago, events started to move me back towards video production. I had a bit of cash and a few ideas for videos that could make me some money. I made sure my ideas were marketable and bought an XL1 and some gear. I started shooting my first video 2 weekends ago.
Will it be a commercial success? Will this be the path I follow for the rest of my life? Is there an Oscar in my future?
It doesn't really matter.
What matters is that I'm doing it. And whether it fails miserably, or makes heaps of cash, the satisfaction from having done it will be enough for me. And if it fails you can be sure that I will do another, and another after that.

So my advice is:
a) you'll never get anywhere working for someone else.
b) it's perfectly allright to quit your job to pursue your dreams, just make sure your dreams are based on a some sort of business plan.
c) don't make excuses for not doing it. It's complete BS. You are only lying to yourself. Unless you are working 3 jobs, you can find the time. Shoot at night, on weekends, during your lunch break, anything.
d) the hardest part is actually starting to do it. Once you've broken that barrier, the rest comes a lot easier.
e) you don't need an XL1, light kit, NLE system and expensive gear to make a movie. Buy a used S-VHS camcoder and just do something. Edit it with VCRs and a cheap analogue editing board if you have to.
f) if you have a big epic feature length, Oscar caliber script that is your life's dream and you can only do on a six figure budget, put it on the back burner for now. Do something else until you can make that kind of budget.
g) meet everyone you can. Get business cards with "Independant Filmaker" on them. Give them to everyone you meet. People will help you for free. Everyone loves movies, everyone wants to be a part. You don't know how people can help you until they know you are in a similar business. The guy across the hall from you could have a music studio in his basement and your mailman might have an Avid NLE and is looking for material to edit.
h) make specific goals for yourself, etch them in stone. Tell other people about them, so if you quit or don't get them done, you will look like a loser, and that is motivation.
i) Do or do not. There is no try.

The last one is the most important one.
Good luck.

Dylan

another view of life and story
 

WOW, after reading the experiences above I feel really lucky.

I’ve always had a dream to make movies of some sort, and my experience surrounding computers has enhanced the post production process.

When I was a kid we used to make movies with my parents black and white video equipment.
I was directing/acting/filming all at the same time (thanks mom and dad for the tripod =).
Our neighborhood movie was our claim to fame back then. It was an 18 min. short titled “The genie with the golden thumb”.
The “golden thumb” was actually tin foil, and we had great disappearing effects by using firecracker gunpowder lit off for the smoke effect that happened when the genie disappeared back into his bottle. We used this short to create our own theater on Saturday night for any of the neighborhood kids who were involved, or wanted to watch. Mom always had plenty of popcorn to use in her newfangled hot air popper.

It’s kind of funny looking back now, since the film is only stored in my head…..it was destroyed in an apartment storage area flood when I lived in Germany many years back.

My life took several twists and turns with a marriage gone bad, but it resulted in 2 beautiful upstanding children.
My oldest will be a senior in high school this year……jeez, how time flies……

I had zero official training, zero money, home video type gear, and lived pay check to pay check for many years struggling to bring up my children on my own as a single parent. The film making gig always went to the way side, since my new skill surrounded computers.

In the last 3 years a fishing partner and I always talked about making fishing movies, and always talked about how we could do it better than OLN, ESPN or TNN (yes, it’s a big vision =).

We knew what we wanted, and were at a point in our lives where we could afford to finance ourselves in a very small production, and buy gear that we had to have. We’ve always put money back into the company from anything that we earned(in my younger days we would of spent the money long before we got it).

I run the operations of a company with 3 branch offices and about 75 or 80 employees. I work 40+ hours a week keeping it all together. My partner in crime owns a small business, and runs his company on a daily basis. He also is stuck in the 40+ hours a week mode. This is how we generate operating capital for our productions.

It’s hard to keep everything together, but we have an ongoing list of activities, future shoot locations, and a post production plan….the list goes on and on and is a living document of sorts. We check off items on the list as we go, and we both know exactly what our goals are.

I wished we were financially independent, or had some kind of magical money to back us, but we live and work around reality.

This was kind of a “ramble”, and I’m sure it was more info than needed……..but it gives you documentation that you are not alone in your endevors.

I am in the same boat but my job is mostly 9-5 so I have time on the weekends and evenings. So far I have no plan beyond learning what is possible with the XL1s. I am in no position to give you advice but I can tell you what I am trying.

1) MEET PEOPLE - there must be some sort of film society or user group in your area. Don't just meet camera people, meet actors, designers, anyone who is interested in film. Just this last month from searching on the Internet I found a number of promising groups. Then again, I live in Vancouver where there are a lot of crews working. Even if there isn't any, you can start one yourself by posting an ad or poster. I bet you there are lots of people like you who have access to different resources.

2) Shoot film. Get outside and do it. I've just started doing this myself and I've been approached by lots of strangers wondering what I am doing (not cops ... yet :). Maybe this is just a byproduct of having such a cool looking machine but people do come right out and talk.

3) Work on other people's shoots. You cannot just go out there and announce you are doing a film. You have to build up credits (not talking union here but of course that would be great) with other people before they will come work with you for free. Maybe you will just be another cameraman on a shoot. Hey, if you meet two other people in the same boat, you have a multicamera set up! Obviously, not that simple but you get the idea. You talk about time but with more people, you can spread out the work.

4) Do something small first. It sounds like you need a 'win'. Just do a short one-scene thing. By doing a dry run you start generating ideas and seeing how much more you have to do to make your dream come true. I doubt very much I will be shooting anything longer than 10 minutes in the next six months.

The great thing about the Internet is that the knowledge is available AND you can communicate with like minded people such as on this board. I and two other people who live in different cities started as Delphi DV moviemaker board just last week. There are a ton of likeminded people out there. I don't to toot my horn on Chris' forum and actually it is more of a complement to DVINfo.net but if you are interested, email me.

Do or do not. There is no try.

Wow! Jedi rules applied to filmmaking. I guess old Yoda didn´t imagine this in his wildest dreams! :-))

I would like to add another paragraph to "the contract":

The next project must be bigger than the previous one.

Always keep thinking, what am I going to do next?

Cheers, Peter

Peter,

you forget Yoda isn't real (even if the CG guys are doing a heck of a job trying to convince us). Remember that those golden words are written by ... a filmmaker. In fact the greatest independent filmmaker of all time :)

And I thought Mr. Miagi said it best... Karate do, or Karate don't. Karate maybe, you get squashed like grape.
Keith

Wow! what a turn out!
 

When I first started the post I never thought so many people will respond. It's great to see this topic has struck a chord with so many.

I have read the post three times and I have to say it's a real confidance booster and great encouragement for filmmakers young and old all over the world.

I hate to sound like Oprah or Tony Robbins when I say this but I truely think that if you have the focus on achieving your goals you, its just a matter of time when you realise those goals.

I want to say thanks to everyone who has posted. And your advice has helped me plan my career. I have applied to go part time at work so I can devote more time on making video projects. It'll be tough but simply asking around my firends circle has gotten me two jobs to film birthday party and a formal (Prom) at a highschool.

It's no Goodfellas, but I can use this time to hone my skills and camera techniques... and besides who wouldn't want to see a long steadicam shot followed by a whip pan in an 8 year old's birthday party?

Am I right or am I right?

Thanks guys.... your comments really helped a lot.

Best of luck to everyone... I'll keep you posted about my progress as I am sure you will do the same on yours...

Daniel from Hong Kong

D00d. You are lucky you live in Hong Kong. Some of the most inventive films are coming out of Asia right now and it just seems from a fan's perspective that the conditions are good for anyone to put together a challenging and entertaining work. Wong Kar Wai is just one of the geniuses that operate out of there. Good luck.

WKW is a genius
 

Keith,

I have to agree, the first time I saw Chunking Express, I remember thinking if only I had thought of it, Chris Doyle's camerawork, playing with shutter speed and exposure, it was like a dream. And the writing could not have been better, the dialogue is the best I have heard. And for those who don't know, Tarantino was a fan of Wong Ka Wai and admitted to have wrote pulp fiction based on his films.

He reached the peak with In the mood for love. He is the master of the hallway/doorway scenes one technique of framing that Tarantino "borrowed" from him.

Chris Doyle also shot the recent Swingers homage"Made" by Jon Favreau and Vince Vaugn. For those who want to learn how to light on the cheap within tiny spaces.... go and watch these films. Too bad only these films have been given a decent transfer on DVD...

I had the honor of seeing Doyle in action, he is really the most creative cinematographer I know of. He is the Roger Deakins or Janusz Kaminski on a budget. I went through the phase where I was choosing movies by cinematographers and it's really helped me learn and understand the art and it is an art. This is as close to film school as I can afford but it seems to have helped me immensly.

So what are your favorite Cinematographers or Directors???

Daniel from H.K.

It's great that you mentioned Christopher Doyle. He paints the most wonderful pictures with a camera.

I think if you want to talk about cinematographers you should start a whole new thread. I'm sure lots of people will get in on that.

I can relate to you all. I hate my job, i am 23 i work for Microsoft and i hate every minute of my life. And then it dawned on my yesterday. This is not me. This is not my life. Sure you need to do things to make ends meet, but guess what, it doesn't have to be here. My life is what i choose and i think that i fell into a rut where i thought that i had to do both. Sure, people will say but you have to eat. Of course i have to eat, but if i was so concerned about eating i would have decided to be a general manager at a movie theatre. But i didn't. I didn't choose to have another life, you know why? Cause this is in my blood. This is what i am made up of. Filmmaking runs through these viens just like any other cell that i posess. I have to be able to make my life my own. I am not going to go out guns blazing and sleep in a park, but i am going to do what makes me get there. Sure we like to think that we don't need to be happy. That in order to get somewhere we need to suffer and live a life of poverty. But i ask why? We need to do things that make us happy. Why live your life at a job you hate? It is just that a job. This is your career, that is your job. You can always leave a job. A career will always be in you. I don't know if this answered you, but it was just my ramblings as i sit here at my job.

So.... Inferno, what are you going to do then?

<<<-- Originally posted by inferno2002 : Why live your life at a job you hate? It is just that a job. This is your career, that is your job. You can always leave a job. A career will always be in you. I don't know if this answered you, but it was just my ramblings as i sit here at my job. -->>>

I've had moments like this but now I'm trying to balance what benefits I get from my job with my new interest in DV. I work at a streaming media technology company. There is nothing wrong with the company or products and I would not hesitate to support my company. However, there was something a bit missing from my work, I guess a creative community. I'm the one designer there and there are not many people to talk to when it comes to generating ideas. At the same time, my job allows me the benefit of relatively flexible work style within it and internet access.

I took a long look at perhaps going to film school and went through the entire process and was accepted. Then I realized that I wasn't ready to toss my income and take a year out of working. Then I examined the benefits that my job actually gave me above and beyond the monetary.

I decided to use that flexibility, the company's technological direction, and existing resources (Macs, disk space, bandwidth, software) and decided to move into DV. Our company has always lacked the ability to create its own content. Therefore, I decided to take the initiative and be that creator.

So far my company has been very accepting of my input (since it cost them nothing but extra flexibility in my job) and I'm going to take a crack at the corporate video and in generating personal video-in-email (one of our prime products). I really think this will make me a better employee who does more than is required.

This company, because it is small, still doesn't have a creative community but thanks for forums like this I can at least get the information and part inspiration in healthy amounts.

Haha of course now that I've posted this love letter to my company, watch us get toasted by the market. :) Knock on wood.

Well, actually i am quitting my job, finishing up my first feature length movie and then moving to Vancouver. I see that Keith is from there. Any info/advice you can give me about moving there?

Vancouver is the most expensive city to live in in Canada on average. Expect to pay $1500/mo. for a small 2 bdrm apartment downtown, at least $1200/mo. anywhere close to the core.

The IT sector job market is quite poor except for admin people. We've had guys apply for a tech support position here who were very overqualified.

The film and TV industry here doesn't seem to have been harmed by the new protectionism being raised in Hollywood YET but there could be a dip ahead though there is a lot of varied work. Not getting a handful of big budget films here won't cause that much of trouble. It's the TV and cable productions that would be at issue.

I don't know anything about immigrating here. You'd best check with the government. http://cicnet.ci.gc.ca/english/index.html

Re: Vancouver
 

But on the other hand, Vancouver has some really kick ass weed. ;)

Seriously though, Vancouver is like living anywhere else (but more expensive than many places). You get a nicer view than most cities, with the water and the mountains. If you like the outdoors its a great place to live.

Inferno, why do you want to move here in particular?
I used to live in the Niagara region and went to Buffalo many times.

Dylan,

For two major reasons.

1. There is and never will be support for film in Buffalo. This is a theatre town and that will never change. Sure locales are great and maybe when i get to bigger projects i will come back. But right now no.

2. Vancouver is the new Hollywood. Or is soon will be. Within the next 5 years Canada is the way to go.

I could be wrong.

Hmm.. Film is big here, but I still I wouldn't bet the farm on #2. But Vancouver is one of the nicest places to live in North America, so either way, you can't go wrong.

Oh, you'll have to put up with the Vancouver Canucks if you like hockey.

I am very blessed to have the funds from my day job to buy the equipment I want to produce my scripts. I have written 2 that rely on no one buy myself. I have acquired a XL1s (with accessories), A brand new Alienware Area 51M laptop tweaked for maximum mobile DV work (for editing at *Ahem* Work *Ahem*) Avid Xpress DV 3.5 Powerpack, Boris RED 2.5, A Magiq Cam IIa Stabalizer system, a Starvision 7" LCD monitor, Lots of lights, A Maxtor 120GB external hard drive, and all of the accessories required to film the scripts I have written. I am currently waiting on the Alienware laptop and the Magiq Cam to begin shooting! I know that not everyone can afford a set up like this but believe me I have put in tons of hours and hard work to be able to get this set up. After a terrible hard drive failure all of my previous work was lost and was very depressed until I decided no one was going to fix it but me! So I started getting things together again for round 2! The scripts are primed, polished, and ready!

<<<-- Originally posted by Dylan Couper : Hmm.. Film is big here, but I still I wouldn't bet the farm on #2. -->>>

There are a few certain things that will keep Vancouver in the film / tv business, Dylan.
1) Our locations will always be good.
2) Our dollar will always be crap vs the U.S. dollar.
3) We speak English.
4) The flight time between YVR and LAX will be around 3 hours and we will always be in the same time zone.

Combine and two of those factors and you have good reasons to film here. I can't see anything changing those factors barring water levels submerging our fair city.

<<<-- Originally posted by Keith Loh : <<<-- Originally posted by Dylan Couper : Hmm.. Film is big here, but I still I wouldn't bet the farm on #2. -->>>

There are a few certain things that will keep Vancouver in the film / tv business, Dylan.
1) Our locations will always be good.
2) Our dollar will always be crap vs the U.S. dollar.
3) We speak English.
4) The flight time between YVR and LAX will be around 3 hours and we will always be in the same time zone.

Combine and two of those factors and you have good reasons to film here. I can't see anything changing those factors barring water levels submerging our fair city. -->>>

I didn't mean to say that our film industry is shrinking. I'm just saying that I think it is very close to being as big as it will get here, which is still pretty big. Hollywood is now very aware that there are many cities out there that are just as well suited to filmaking than they are, but much more cost effective. They will do what it takes to keep the money where they are, and they certainly have the political power to do it. Our industry will still do very well for a long time to come, we just won't be having V A N C O U V E R spelled out in big letters on the North Shore mountains anytime soon. :)

sorry Dylan, major Maple Leafs fan. The other nice thing about Vancouver is the many different seaons and the fact that you are not confined to making a city movie. NYC you can only make city movies, LA you can only make summer movies. That is the only nice thing about Buffalo. Movie can be any season and we can go into the country to make a civil war epic if need be.

Not only that, you can make any season any time of the year.
Want an artic scene? You can be standing in snow in July within a 2 hr. drive of the city.

Mountains, oceans, fields, lakes, and even a desert-like area just a few hours away.

The only real problem is the constant overcast sky and probable rain, throughout most of the year.


PS. GO LEAFS! I lived in Toronto before I moved here.

<<<-- Originally posted by Dylan Couper :

PS. GO LEAFS! I lived in Toronto before I moved here. -->>>

Scum.

Working hard, trying to make it happen.
 

I can feel everyone on this thread. I work from 11am to 7pm as a supervisor for a fortune 500 company, I am newly married and in the process of buying a home. My wife works at the same company. We make good salaries but of course, cost of living really sucks the life out of that paycheck.
I have always wanted to do film. Always has been my ambition, but I never had the guts to follow through. Back in 97' I wrote a dynamite short entitled "rain". And I sat on it. I've written many others also since then. Sat on them also. But, then on my 34th birthday I had what alcoholics refer to as a "moment of clarity" and promised myself or made a "mental contract" with myself to make my film come hell or high water. That was in June. Now it's January and I have my cast assembled, location secured, script written and ready to shoot. But no DP and no XL1. Can't afford one, especially with us attempting to close on a home. I want to shoot in mini DV with the XL1 but I do have a small panasonic palmcorder vhsC. I'm going to shoot with what I have while trying to save up and get the XL1. This is a painstaking process and very disheartening at times. I live in a city (Macon, Ga), that is artistically catatonic. My actors are either friends or local theater students, the students are very excited and ready to rock and roll. "rain" is my first shoot but it won't be my last. I want to make films full time and this is what i'm going to do, I will not stop, ever. My wife isn't the most believing or supportive of my ambition and we have had our battles but I will not stop. You only have one life to live and you have to do what it is that fulfills your heart and allows you to self actualize. With out that, what is your life really all about.
Anyways, everything is going along ever so slowly. It will get better, I will acquire the equipment, sharpen my skills and reach my goal...good luck to everyone out there, continue to share your stories. You are an inspiration.

I'll come DP it for you if you like if Macon isn't that far a drive from Vancouver? Can I drive there in a day? :)

Re: Working hard, trying to make it happen.
 

<<<-- Originally posted by Alonzo Anderson :
Anyways, everything is going along ever so slowly. It will get better, I will acquire the equipment, sharpen my skills and reach my goal...good luck to everyone out there, continue to share your stories. You are an inspiration. -->>>

To steal a phrase: "Just do it"

I love reading stuff like this, as it inspires me to keep pushing forward with my filmmaking dreams.

Nice write up.

<<<-- Originally posted by Dylan Couper : I'll come DP it for you if you like if Macon isn't that far a drive from Vancouver? Can I drive there in a day? :) -->>>
I dare you to make the drive to Houston... Always looking for a good DP.

oops
 

didnt' mean to post it twice...sorry.....hey dylan you serious?...come on down, get some southern hospitality!! we have great food!!!!

Thanks :0)