The Next Generation of Filmmakers is F*%@ed
People who are successful are people who are self aware.
Since the introduction of HDSLRS in 2008, HD filmmaking has evolved into a venture more and more within reach of the everyday consumer. No longer was HD limited to television and Hollywood, but it was in the hands of mothers, fathers, grandparents and teenagers all over the world.
YouTube, one of the largest and most recognizable online video platforms, had around 300 hours of video uploaded every minute in 2014 (Google). The market has been flooded with content and it’s not just cat videos and makeup tutorials. Good content. Content that a lot of creators wouldn’t have been able to create before HDSLRS due to budget restraints and lack of connections.
We even had channels like Indy Mogul and Film Riot came into fruition. Channels that were designed to help people learn how to utilize these new tools to create good content. The era of HD video was booming, which had a huge impact on incoming filmmakers.
The short film community exploded. Thanks to YouTube there was no more middle man. Creators could send their content straight to their consumers with the click of an ‘Upload’ button and thanks to HDSLRS the content being created was up to resolutions that were previously thought only to be withheld for professionals.
… but then there’s a problem…
In 2002, South Park released an episode called “Simpsons Already Did It”, which addresses a problem that every filmmaker struggles with everyday. The whole episode revolved around the idea of failing to make original content because “The Simpsons already did it”. Just like how The Simpsons is filled with story and every joke imaginable in it’s 27 year span, the film community has become filled with every story and every joke imaginable.
Here’s a fact. The story you want to tell has already been told. What matters is how you make it your own. What to do you bring to the story to make it from you and not a regurgitated piece of content?
Let’s step back for a moment and look at my original thesis. The next generation of filmmakers is f*%$ed. This wasn’t just a brash, in your face title to get you read this article. It’s the truth. There’s a real problem with this next generation and it’s pretty simple. It’s too much work to be original.
Today everything we do and every tool we use revolves around making things faster and easier. Nobody writes letters anymore because nobody wants to get up, get the paper, write the letter, buy the postage, go to the post office and wait for a response when you can stay in your seat, shoot someone a text and even get notifications when they have read it.
We use Netflix, which let’s us choose when we watch our favorite movies or favorite TV show. Scheduled television is dying because there’s lot of people who would rather wait a couple months for the next season of “The Walking Dead” to show up on Netflix than tune in to AMC on Sundays at 9.
We’ve created a system where things happen when it’s convenient to us. We text back when it’s convenient for us. We watch content when it’s convenient for us. How many of you grew up with a parent or a teacher saying “The world doesn’t revolve around you”? Well guess what, now it does and it’s the worst thing that could have happened to our generation.
So now, in a world where we are spoiled with instant gratification, being original is just too much work. The short film community is deluded by rip offs and derivative content because everybody can get past the initial idea phase, but nobody can get to the ‘Make it your own’ phase because they no longer have the drive to do so.
This next generation of filmmakers are filmmakers who’s cell phones shoot in 4k. Their f*%$ing cell phones. They’re being a fed the illusion that creating is easy. “Oh, Guardians of The Galaxy was shot in 4k? Well my phone can do that so I guess I can make a blockbuster too”.
This isn’t a bash on technology. Technology and innovation is great but people are tricked into thinking better technology makes them better storytellers. Before 4K phones and HDSLRS, you had to drop a good chunk of change to get started in filmmaking. Painters need a brush and a canvas, writers need a journal… but filmmakers? Filmmakers need a camera, the lens, the lighting gear, the sound gear, the editing platform… (the list goes on). Being a filmmaker was a commitment. A huge commitment. A huge monetary and physical commitment. That meant the filmmakers of that generation were people who were passionate, dedicated and understood the investment filmmaking requires.
Now everybody is filmmaker… or at least thinks they are because it’s so easy to get the tools. What people are missing in this generation is the blood, the sweat, the tears that people use to spill to get started. They don’t have the drive. You can give a violinist a Stradivarius but it won’t make him/her a better musician.
What does this mean? Should I give up on filmmaking? Change my major?Study engineering? F*%k no. The point of me writing this is to encourage myself and others to become self aware. In a world where every thing is given to us, we have to hustle twice as hard to get ahead. 4K cameras and expensive gear isn’t an advantage anymore. The only way to get a step up is working twice as hard as the guy before you.
The first step is understanding everyone else is now on the same playing field as you. Step two is how are you going to push ahead?
Aaron Field 2016
