Make Work
When you want to be a filmmaker, make work, document, & share.
One day I was riding my bike along the lakeshore bike path. It was late afternoon, there was a windy chill off the lake, and I was having a good ride. On the bike path, I saw a man walking along with a Rode blimp and a dead wombat. Ten feet after I passed him up and saw what he was doing, I stopped my bike and walked back so I could chat with him. It turned out he was a location sound recordist and he was out capturing sounds for his company’s sound library. He wasn’t busy, he was out making work.
If you want to continue to develop as a filmmaker, you can’t rely on the next film project to give you an opportunity to make work. If you are working, and you keep getting hired on film projects, then document what you’re doing in a way that is allowed by production. If you aren’t working on a film project, you need to make work.
When you’re a screenwriter, unless you’ve broken into the industry, you’re writing screenplays on spec. The thing is, you should always be writing. You should be writing scripts you can submit to competition and you should write scripts that can be filmed by your friends or local filmmakers. It takes me on average one hour to write four script pages. I can plot out a short film idea over lunch and write the script after I get home from work. Today, I had an idea for a short script. I started outlining and writing fragments of dialogue during the day along with a monologue. Before I sat down for dinner I wrote the first draft in one sitting (about eight pages). When I’m not in production for a short film, I’m writing.
Document the work.
Sometimes I post a photo of the screenplay I’m working on my computer screen or a photo of my notebook when I’m writing dialogue.
On our last film shoot for When Mother Calls (to be released Mother’s Day weekend), we had set photography. We also took a couple photos when we wrapped.
Sometimes when I’m in the midst of editing a short, I’ll take a photo of what I’m working on and share that.
If you’re a Make-up artist, you can post photos of your work via social media. If you’re applying a complicated look, you can set up a time lapse. If you’re not working on a film, maybe it’s time to experiment with new looks. All of this can be pushed to your social media and be used to update your portfolio.
If you’re an actor, you can hone two or three monologues so you have them in your back pocket. You can self tape and share that with your Instagram. If you do improv, shoot something with a couple friends and a smartphone.
Musicians practice every day. Composers compose every day. If you want to make filmmaking your day job, what can you do to make it a part of every day?
When you’re not on a film or you’re not on a job, give yourself opportunities to make work. What can you do with the resources you have available to make something in your field? If you’re not being paid to work in the market, make work for yourself.
Thank you to Heather Grogan on Filmmakers Forum. One of your comments on a previous article inspired in part this article.
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I post a new blog article on filmmaking or screenwriting every Thursday. If you have a question about filmmaking or screenwriting or are interested in a collaboration, contact me at: info[at]bridgeportfilmclub[dot]com.
Check out my previous blog: 50 hours a week — filmmaking when you have a day job
