So you want to make films. The way I see it there are two options; make something or find something else to do. There is a  third option, where you work your way up, which I tried for a minute and never liked it. I’ve also done the second option a ton, the finding something else to do one.

Let me address number 3 for a second here. The world needs PAs and the world needs grips and techs and all the other people who work on films. There are people who want to be on set, that’s where the magic happens. And if you have no clue what the fuck you’re doing and can afford to spend time getting coffee or painting sets and all the other wonderful things that Production Assistants do that’s how you learn. Then you do know something and you can maybe grip or AD and work your way up from there. The caveat there is ‘if you can afford it’. If you can’t afford it, it means you work a day job and PA or grip when you can make the time. The issue is that there are other who are able to be there more and they move up. I’m not shitting on the idea, that’s just the way the world works. So when you got bills to pay and need steady income taking a week or a month off work to help out on the no budget indie your sort of good friend is cinematographer on is impracticable, if not dangerous to your overall well being.

I’m a rather practical person, and as such have never been able to just say fuck it and not worry about paying my bills. Therefore the times I tried to PA and get in on the ground floor with a company or a production I’d get burnt out before (well before) the point that there was ever a shot of it paying off. Being practical meant I knew I wasn’t gonna get paid, but you do the job and ‘help out’ so that maybe 4 projects from now you’ll be entrenched enough with the company that they’ll pay you for your time. But after 40 hours a week at the day job and what feels like very little time on set you just simply don’t want to give up that free time for the potential of sorta maybe getting paid in like 9 months when there might be a spot for you.

And so option 2 is your best bet. Write a blog, write a novel, learn to play the peddle steel guitar; you find something else that is personally rewarding. This is a really great option when the day job is the day job and you crave something else. For me personally the other thing was always writing and I wrote, mainly to entertain and satisfy myself.

But then one day, if you’re stubborn or lucky the number 1 option shows up. The opportunity to make something. And essentially that is what you’re reading about right now, the attempt to make a film out of a great deal of stubbornness.