The Little Movie That Could

As a writer, producer and director I’m always looking for ideas to develop into scripts then gather the talent to produce them. Sometimes this is easy, sometimes it’s a pain in the butt. The most important thing I have learned about movie making is that movie making is, in reality, problem solving. Nothing ever goes right once you get started; no matter how well you have it scripted or planned it.

So, why do I do it? Good question!

Like most of us in this business I have a passion for it. Where else could I contribute ten to sixteen hours of my day for very little money or sometimes no-pay at all. Then come back the next day and do it all over again. It has to be passion!

Putting a movie together these days, even without any cost, is a big endeavor. By the way, there is no such thing as no-cost movie. There’s always some negative cost involved; stock to purchase, location fees, gas to get there, and of course, you have to feed the crew. There’s always something coming up that you need to cover that you never did account for.

So, what drives us? Another good question!

To most of us it is the belief and that ever nagging question; “what if our little movie could make it?” The driving force behind every film is someone’s idea taken out of their head, written down on paper, visualized into a shooting script, produced and then shown to the masses. Most of us fail at the first step, getting it out of our heads. What we need to do is become better secretaries to our own minds. Write it down; get it out of your head, so that you can share it with the rest of us.

I watch the Independent Film Channel a lot because these are people just like me trying to make “The Little Movie That Could.” I also watch the big studio movies so that I can continue learning from the big guys. The beauty of this business is that it is un-ending. There’s always something to watch and learn from.

If you haven’t done it yet, join a local film makers group, start making your movies by helping others makes their movies. It’s a win-win situation, you learn from them and they learn from you.

Independent film making is about film makers coming together for the passion and love of the game; not for the pay check! But movies like these need to be supported because that’s where you see movies that are very close to people hearts. They have individuality and a perspective that you don’t usually see in movies coming out of Hollywood.

Indy films are where the actors wear their own clothes and their trailers are their cars. And still you’ll find the people on the set and everyone surrounding the film really pulling together for each other creating stories that are unique. Maybe the corporate bottom line wouldn’t tolerate or couldn’t find a way to support them. These little films are swimming up-stream and there’s plenty of energy and the feeling of freedom that surround each one of them.

So, if you’re a film maker and you have a story you’d like to have told, your script is your voice – let it be heard.

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