… for Random Weirdness

Tip #846: 8 Reasons Why You’ll Fail in Media

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

The road to success starts with lots of hard work.

As if life wasn’t stressful enough, the folks at MotionArray.com have compiled a list of eight reasons why you’ll fail as a filmmaker. See how many of these apply to you. (This is an excerpt of the original article.)

Becoming a filmmaker is a dream for many people. But… Here are some reasons why you might fail in the film industry and ways to overcome them so you can become the next big shot in Hollywood.

1. You’ve got a cool camera. While it’s true that a good camera can “allow” you to get better shots, it doesn’t matter at all if you don’t know what you are doing with it.
2. You memorized the shortcuts. Editing skills run much deeper than button mashing and speed. You have to learn about pacing, rhythm, and storytelling. Spend your energy focusing on the art of the edit.
3. You saw the tutorial. Look, tutorials are great educational tools. We watch them all the time. Go ahead and watch those tutorials, but then take what you learned and expand on it. Experiment with new ideas.
4. What does music have to do with filmmaking? You are a “visual” storyteller, not a musician. Think again on this one. Unless you are making a silent film, and we mean totally silent, the music and audio you use will be just as important as your visuals. Try thinking about music earlier in the process. Think about the emotions that you want to get.
5. Your friends are great actors. Your friends might be great friends, but they probably aren’t great actors. If they are, lucky you, but let’s not kid ourselves. You aren’t going to ask your friend to mend your broken leg just because you don’t know any doctors off hand. Think about actors in the same way.
6. You went to school for this stuff. Getting through film school will definitely give you a leg up over the competition, and education is never bad. But just remember that it’s a first step, not a straight shot to the top.
7. Practice. What’s practice? Many of the best filmmakers of our time started with shorts. It’s a good way to get your feet wet before putting on your big boy pants. And remember, they give out Oscars for shorts too.
8. You’ve got big dreams. Dreams are what lead us to create great things. Without big dreams, we run the risk of selling ourselves short. But… it’s not just about dreaming it into existence. Success comes from hard work.

Here’s the link to the full article.