Blogs » Why You Shouldn't (Try To) Be A Director
Why You Shouldn't (Try To) Be A Director
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The short answer to this one is so I can get in with less competition of course. But that would also be the wrong answer (atleast that's what I'm telling you). The truth is you shouldn't try to be a Director so you CAN be a director. None of the top twenty directors I researched went in looking at director internships or had the sole purpose of directordom (atleast not that they openly admitted to) so neither should you. They got in however they could, they talked to people, they met people, they put their works into contests and sold them to friends. James Cameron, the king of film, went through atleast 3 other film positions before he got to be a director. A certain Roberta Munroe put it beautifully in her book 'how not to make a short film' when she said that on average less than 1 percent of aspiring directors get into any paid directing. Hollywood's something stupidly smaller than that. Ok so you love film, we all get that, but first what are you good at? All my friends tell me I'm good at directing and editing, so I'm going to direct as a hobby, and edit professionally (someday). The point is lots of people are good at directing, and sometimes those who aren't good at directing get good directing jobs anyway so you've gotta find a niche with barriers to entry. I'm the only one out of my team and all my film friends who enjoys the editing, and lot's of people love to direct and have someone else edit. So that's my personal foot in the door, what's yours? If you don't have one don't worry, that probably means you're doing too many things at once. A good way to fix it is find some buddies who do film to and force them all to take up on position for a few films: director, gaffer, concept artist, props artist, even website manager. You take up one that looks interesting or easy and just focus on it. Work at it so much that you'll impress your buddies, shame them for being interested in film by being professional in it. if you're the concept artist go watch interviews with concept artists, become the member at a bunch of artist sites like devart, watch tutorials on youtube, draw it out professionally. Make sure whatever you do consumes you because if you keep trying different things and you work on it regularly you WILL become an expert at it and it will get easier and it will look better. And then you've got your foot in the door, go advertise your concept artist talent, go ask craigslist people starting on a film, tell them you've got some ideas for costume or that you want to make their storyboard. "There's more opportunity out there if you pigeonhole yourself" that was what one of the two writers of hangover told my class a few months ago. By pigeon hole he meant lock yourself into ONE profession and one genre. More on genre tomorrow... http://studentfilmmakers.network/file/smile/wink.gif" mce_src="http://studentfilmmakers.network/file/smile/wink.gif" alt="" phpfox="image-protect">