The emphasis should be on the work you do. The value you give to others.
If you haven't done the work, why should anyone care?
Opportunity will arise when you show you can continually work to a quality higher than others.
The people who will hire you, cast you, sign you, are the people who know you and your work. They're people who know you.
Sometimes you need to reach out, send a letter, make a phone call, but the priority is the work. The art.
Because you're in this to make art, right? To give someone the feelings films gave you when you were a kid.
Social networking is a great tool, but harass people too soon and they'll hate you forever. Exhaust the Hollywood contact too soon and you'll be seen as an amateur.
Do the work. Be better at it than the others. There are no excuses anymore, no barriers; the technology is in our hands. Stay away from Starbucks for a week and use the money to rent a good camera. Stay off Facebook for a week and use the time to write your dream project.
You'll be discovered when you're amazing. People don't care for talent. Nearly everyone has talent, they just never nurture it, never drive the car far enough. Be so good at what you do that nobody can deny you.
I agree - everyone has talent. Not everyone has the stamina to develop their skills. I think this is true for non-artistic work too. People want the high paying job (or the one job that's open) but never put in the time to become the best in their field.
ReplyDeleteThose are powerful words. I was going to say that you give advice like someone who is making films already, but then I forgot that you are.
ReplyDeleteI've read your posts about working on movies, and I don't have to see your work to know that you are out there doing it. Just because you're not in Hollywood doesn't make you a director.
I listened to an interview with Doug Benson on a podcast called "Making It" this week. As a standup comedian, people often as Doug after shows how they can do what he's doing. His advice?
Just do it. If you want to be a writer, director or whatever, you're right. There's nothing to really stop anyone. We have access to all of the tools we need, we just need to use them.
Thanks for posting honest, inspiring words.