“In today’s world, spending all of your budget on one project is not smart.”
- Logen Christopher, Director
Logen dropped this piece of advice on us in Episode 24 of the MAKE IT podcast. This one really hit home for us because we strongly believe that we are now in a whole new wave of filmmaking and that traditional filmmakers need to adapt to it quickly.
Filmmaking has gone through a number of waves of content creation:
Wave 1: From 1900 - 1950 the art of the moving picture was introduced, augmented by sound and color, and pushed into the mainstream consciousness by Nickelodeon theaters and Hollywood.
Wave 2: From 1950 - 1970 filmmaking took to TV sets and the Hollywood behemoth took a hit. Independent studios began taking their share of the market and foreign films began getting wide recognition in the US.
Wave 3: In the 1970s, New Hollywood was built on the shoulders of auteur filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Woody Allen, Terrence Malick, and Robert Altman. The success of Star Wars shifted Hollywood's focus to the blockbuster film model.
Wave 4: The 1980s and 90s brought us the VCR and then the DVD. Major studios created their own "independent" production companies to create non-mainstream content.
Wave 5: The early 2000s brought us Blu-Ray, IMAX, 3D, and the proliferation of digital streaming platforms.
Wave 6: Streaming platforms are plentiful and content creation has been widely democratized by advances in technology. The major Hollywood Studios are focused on tent-pole films with large budgets and a high rate of return. Hollywood-based independent studios are making lower budget films to satisfy the growing appetite for content resulting from a surge in Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) viewing. Content creators are producing content at an exponential rate, competing with Hollywood and independent filmmakers for market share.
So, let's connect the dots back to Logen's quote: “In today’s world, spending all of your budget on one project is not smart.”
"In today's world", translates to Wave 6. Content creation is a mix of traditional media (dominated by Hollywood and major studios in India, China, Nigeria, and Japan) and non-traditional media (dominated by independent content creators on streaming social platforms). On both ends of the spectrum, content creators (large and small) are leveraging their resources to create slates of content. Big studios are using their resources to create tent-pole movie franchises while social media content creators are creating daily streams of consciousness. In the middle are the independent filmmakers who want to play on the level of the big studios (but don't have the resources) and are unwilling to embrace the new forms of social media content creation.
If independent filmmakers are to survive in this new wave of filmmaking (which is likely to shift soon once again), they need to embrace what has made their counterparts successful: leveraging their resources to create slates of branded content. Logen keys in on this idea with the second half of his advice: "...spending all of your budget on one project is not smart."
To compete in this wave of film, independent filmmakers must look to budget for the survival of their filmmaking brands and cast off the outdated model of budgeting for single, one-time projects. The field has become far too saturated and way too competitive for filmmakers to continue to chase project-based investment while betting on the success of individual films. This also translates into the types of content created by indie filmmakers. Sitting in the middle of the spectrum between studio and social, indie filmmakers need to find the balance between the feature film and the social media post. They will need to find a way to satisfy the need for quality content through micro budget, micro content.
Of course, all of this is easier said than done, especially when such a change requires the indie filmmaker to rethink everything. Feature films, short films, and laurels resulting from festival recognition no longer serve as high-probability pathways to filmmaking success. Recognizing this unfortunate truth is the first step to adjusting to this new wave of film and to making the mindset change needed to forge a new path.
As you look to build your career as a filmmaker, we invite you to take Logen's advice while considering the current wave of filmmaking we are in today. Build a budget against a slate of projects that can help to ensure your long-term survival as a filmmaker and not just the budget to get your next project off the ground. You can listen to this great advice and more from Logen on this episode of the MAKE IT podcast. We also invite you to see what Logen is up to with Stormlight Pictures.
As always,
Be Better. Be Creative. Be Engaged.
Updated: Jul 21, 2021
“If you have the means to make something, give it a shot and learn.”
- Drew Maynard, Writer/Director
In episode 23 of the MAKE IT podcast, our friend Drew Maynard gave our filmmaking audience a piece of advice that seems so simple but can be so complicated for filmmakers. Let's break this one down:
"If you have the means to make something..."
So many indie filmmakers get caught up in the traditional route of filmmaking. They set out to make a short, or an episodic, or a feature. This binds them to preexisting formats, preexisting, constraints, and preexisting expectations of what the resulting film is supposed to be. This way of thinking slows down the creative process because filmmakers think that they need to have all the things in order to make something: investors, a crew, a full cast, hair & makeup...all the things. The truth is that most filmmakers have the means to make something without having all the things. You'd be amazed at what you can accomplish with a cell phone, some lighting, a few friends, and an idea. Just take a look at the success of content creators on YouTube and TikTok. There is an abundance of great content out there being created by those with the desire and the means to do so.
When it comes down to it, "having the means" to make something is all about resourcefulness. It's about leveraging the people, the skills, and the technologies at your fingertips to bring a piece of art into the world. These days, the technology part is being democratized and simplified more and more every day. There are apps that serve as one-stop-shops for filming and editing and there are YouTube videos to teach you how to use them. There is even Udemy and Masterclass which enable you to take your skills even further through expert online training. People are starving for content, and it's becoming easier and easier to deliver it.
"give it a shot and learn."
A wise man once told us, "Do or do not. There is no 'try'." Dean appears to be a student of his teachings. (That was quote was from Yoda if you didn't know.) "Give it a shot and learn" is all about doing for the simple fact that the outcome will always be learning. The next piece of content you create doesn't have to be award-winning; it can be experimental. It can be the thing you create in order to test an idea whether that idea be for a story, a character, a way to light a scene, a joke, a camera angle, or a special effect. The thing you create next doesn't have to be a finished product or be worthy of a festival submission but if you don't create, you can't learn.
"Give it a shot" brings the "Just do it" mentality to filmmaking. It invites us all to put our limiting beliefs and preconceived notions of what "film" is aside and create something worth learning from. When you think about making content for the purpose of exploration and education, it's easier to shrug off negative self-talk about who might not like what you create. After all, learning isn't about them; it's about a better you.
We'd like to thank Drew for this awesome piece of advice and would like to invite you to check out his work at www.drewmaynard.com. Drew is the creative genius behind one of our favorite short films entitled 'The Saurus'. This is a must watch and it stars another of our filmmaking friends, Aaron Muñoz.
As always,
Be Better. Be Creative. Be Engaged.
Updated: Jul 21, 2021
"What are you willing to invest in something that may not have an immediate return?"
- Joshua Bermudez, Actor
When Josh asked our audience this question, it really hit home for me as I considered the most important long term investments for filmmakers. Considering the fact that filmmaking is a people business, it became clear that investing in people was the way to go.
1. Continuous Learning
We are avid consumers of the wisdom and insight of others. To this end, we read, we listen, we watch, and we collaborate with those who have experience in a variety of fields of study and across a variety of industries. We invest time and money in each of these endeavors because we know that the investment is bound to pay off in one way or another.
Often times, we don't know what they payoff will be, nor do we know the payoff period. What we do know is that by "sharpening the saw" and continuously improving, we position ourselves to better recognize opportunities and pitfalls while increasing our potential to provide real value to others.
We've often heard aspiring filmmakers say that they cannot afford an IMDBPro license ($149.99 per year) or a subscription to Masterclass ($180 per year). These are just a few of the resources that can provide more than 10x the return on investment in the form of education and industry awareness. This is where Josh's question comes into play. If you are unwilling to invest $150 a year, what are you willing to invest in yourself and your career?
2. Relationship Building
Over the years, we have spent our fair share on coffee and craft libations for ourselves and for our filmmaking friends. We've coupled that cost with countless hours in coffee shops and restaurants across the United States where we have had the opportunity to sit down and enjoy some quality time with old friends and new. To us, this isn't just the cost of doing business, it is an investment in strong, lasting relationships with our peers.
We are always willing to invest in building relationships because the long-term gains will always outweigh the short-term investment. Though you can't really put a price on friendship, we're certain that it's more than a cup of Joe.
Our thanks go out to Josh for offering his wisdom to us and to the filmmaking community and we invite you to reflect on that question once more:
"What are you willing to invest in something that may not have an immediate return?"
We look forward to all of the great things that Josh will do in the years to come and we hope to have him back on the podcast to share more of what he's learned.
As always,
Be Better. Be Creative. Be Engaged.