Last week I turned thirty-one. Nothing momentous. But I realised something – I’ve been making feature films for ten years now! That’s one whole decade, and seven feature films. Surely I’ve learnt something along the way that could potentially help others with their filmmaking, or general creative journey. So here we go: Things I’ve Learnt From a Decade of Feature Filmmaking.
1) No one cares that you’re making a film
You have to really want to do this. The reality is, especially when you’re starting out, a sum total of zero people will want to see you make something, care about it, or encourage you to pursue it. Generally speaking, the idea of filmmaking, like any art-form, is beyond their comprehension. It’s a stupid dream, something Californians do with billions of dollars, not a craft that can be gradually learnt, which you can succeed at. As disappointing as this can sound, you learn the most important lesson for being an artist – be resilient and keep moving forward with your work. The thing I’ve come to realise about this harsh truth, is that indifference is something you are always going to face. It can actually be freeing though. A few times over the years I’ve tried to make my work more accessible or focused less on what I want to say, and more on what might be more entertaining. The best thing about no one caring that you’re making something? You can make anything you want! And you should! Trust me, you’ll be more proud of your work knowing it’s original, what you really wanted to make, and not some genre knock-off that anyone could’ve made.
2) Collaborators are key
Someone will have a better idea than you, and you should encourage that, from both your cast and crew. When we made our first feature film ‘ENNUI‘, it was just me and lead actor Tom Bridger every single day, simply trying to keep it together, for more than twenty days of production. We had composer Sebastian Moody on board, but there was no real crew to speak of, not every day at least. It was through necessity that we had to do everything ourselves (from setting up camera and monitoring sound) to get the film made. We refused to be stopped during production – the one thing I’m most proud of from that time. The subsequent two feature films ‘RESTLESS DUST‘ and ‘I WORK‘ were made with a similar mentality, to avoid the disappointment of unreliable cast or crew members (we couldn’t pay anyone anything at this point, so it was kind of understandable that some people might agree to help and then not). Over the years though, the thing that became readily apparent to me, was that you need to find more crew members, who are better at their jobs than you ever will, build strong relationships with them, and they will stand by you as a result, every time you want to make something. Not only is it rewarding to have someone else believe in your work, the quality will incrementally improve each time you make something too, as they continue to improve in their own skill set.
Oh, and budget enough to ensure you feed everyone throughout, it keeps them really happy…
3) PREP. PREP. PREP.
For me, pre-production is the worst part of filmmaking (aside from the emptiness you feel once a project is finished). Over the past decade, I’ve come to realise just how significant this period of production is though. The more you plan, the better your work is going to be – it’s that simple. For ‘ANHEDONIA‘ I worked twice as hard, ensured Plan Bs and Plan Cs for every second of production, and it paid off whenever we hit minor snags along the way. It was less stressful, the lack of disruption meant that the cast and crew could maintain their energy throughout. The same can be said of rehearsals too. I used to be against the idea of rehearsing because I thought it stagnated a performance. I’ve come to realise I was wrong, and that the rehearsal period allows you all to figure out what isn’t working and fix it, before getting to set. This means you can shoot more efficiently, and enjoy the experience more as you go.
4) Never Stop Learning!
I cannot emphasise this enough. When you think you know everything there is to know about directing actors, composition, structure and storytelling, what your themes and style are, you’re just being plain ignorant of how much more you can progress. Let go of the hubris and admit there are people who know more than you at different stages of your journey. There are people who have seen more films than you have (though I’m giving them a pretty good run for their money at this point), and people who can help you to progress by listening to what they have to say. I try to watch a film a day, and continuously have a book of theory on the go, to keep analysing why something does or doesn’t work. And I apply the same process to my own work – each time we finish a project, I look at what did and didn’t work and utilise that the next time round. I’d like to think you can see the progress in our work from each production. Those who have followed us from our humble beginnings to where we are now, all seem to be impressed by ‘ANHEDONIA‘, finding hard to fault many things with the film, whereas earlier productions there would always be something obvious to critique. And to those people I am grateful. It can hurt a little to hear someone tear apart what you’ve been working on for one or two years of your life, but you have to learn from the criticism, and use it. The first few projects you work on will not be exceptional. I openly admit that our first three feature films, though they had soul, were pretty bad. The next three (‘NARCISSIST’, ‘TIME AND PLACE’, ‘MUTE‘) were a lot better, but still showed room for improvement. As for ‘ANHEDONIA‘? It’s the first time I’ve gushed with pride for a project of my own. Although I still see small things we could improve on, ten years of progress has finally paid off. If we had stopped, or hadn’t learnt anything, at any stage of that process, we wouldn’t have succeeded as we now have. You have to start somewhere and gradually progress.
In short, listen to what others have to say, learn from them, and learn from those who came before you in your chosen field. Never stop challenging yourself, and constantly strive to expand your knowledge.
5) The Work is the Reward
It took me a while to realise this, but most people expect the reward for months or years of effort, to be awards, or the love shown by people who appreciate your work; in fact the most rewarding aspect of making a film is the work itself. It’s never as good as when an idea comes to you, when you’re working with other people who care as much as you do about what you’re making. There is no reward for your hard work quite like the feeling of doing the work. I’m at my happiest when I’m formulating ideas, writing, or during production, when we’re actually making something. It’s only by looking back over the past ten years, working on these films, that it’s really hit me how much the people I’ve spent countless hours, days, weeks, months, years of my life with have meant to me. The vast majority of my fondest memories have come from tireless conversations, shoot days, and behind the scenes insanity…so thank you, all of you.