Quintessential Studios' Weblog

Entertainment in the world is probably the biggest money making proposition there is. (At least for what’s legal, ethical or moral! [Although there are elements of evil in any industry!])

Some of the world’s wealthiest people are entertainers. People can rise to fame in an instant. Talent doesn’t necessarily define what you can earn, either. We’ve all heard music and thought “I know better sounding musicians than that!” and wondered how did they get a record deal. We’ve seen some pretty bad movies at the theaters too, movies that cost millions of dollars to make. We’ve seen no-budget entertainers make the most beautiful pieces of art and thought, “They need to be discovered!” Some of us have even told the artists that.

That’s part of the glamour or intrigue to this whole industry, there are Cinderella stories out there! You can become a millionaire overnight. After all, “You could do THAT!”

Some, a whole lot, actually, feel they can do better or, at least, well enough and try to make a living at entertainment. So many, in fact, that whole industries spring up, feeding on that desire people have to “make it!”

Some easy examples to witness are actors and musicians. A Google search for “acting schools” gave me 4,790,000 results. “Music schools” gave me 84,900,000 results! Whereas “mechanic schools” only returned 589,000 results.

I’m an aspiring film editor and filmmaker but I’ve had other artistic interests before. One of them was music. I’ve “done it all” (on a small scale) in the music business. I’ve played bass in a band, was a lead singer in a band, managed bands, been a college radio DJ, booked bands and even ran a blues magazine.

One of the best educations I got during that time was from a home study course on the business of music. The name escapes me (that was a whole “‘nother” lifetime ago. But, I’ll grab it out of the garage later and fill in the name).

There the instructor (again, I’ll fill this in later) explained that in the music business, you needed to concentrate on one thing: being a musician! Of course there was the “business” side of things but that you didn’t need to build a studio in your bedroom, garage or what have you, like all the music stores were trying to tell you that you did. He went on to explain that there was a whole industry built around selling you on the idea that you just needed that one more extra piece to the puzzle and you could then “make it!” When the fact was, you just needed to learn how to be the best musician you could be and there were other people who were trained in recording, etc. that could do the other jobs.

I hope you’re having an “ah-ha” moment right about now. If you aren’t, I haven’t conveyed the idea well enough or perhaps you’ve been sold that idea too hard as well.

See, it isn’t just in the music industry. I mentioned actors before and acting schools. I also said that an artist should perfect his craft. You might be saying, “well then acting schools are a needed thing”. They very well could be. Then again, maybe not. I’m all for taking classes. After all, I’m a 42 year-old community college student! I think people should continue to educate themselves in some form or another, throughout their lives. What I’m trying to explain here today is that “the path need not be long! (nor expensive!)”

I guess in any endeavor one undertakes, there are expenses. There are millions of ways to tackle any goal in life. There are nearly 6.7 billion people on Earth all with their own tact on survival, eh? Money or no money, we’re all heading to the same end. We just each have our own flare about it, good or bad.

Let me get back to the movies and filmmaking, in particular, since that is my chosen path at this time in my life. Do I need to own a full movie studio and know how to run every part of it to make a movie? No. Do I need to even own a camera, a computer, a light kit and boom mic? No. These are what seem the basic tools of the craft. But, do I need to own them? No. Do I need to learn how to use them? No. Not even that! Does knowing how to use them help me with my craft? Yes! Would owning a studio enable me to create more within my craft? Yes! But, they are not necessary. And that is my point.

You are being bombarded with MARKETING constantly. “If you want ‘A’ you need ‘B’!”, “In order to make your movie, you need to buy camera ‘Z’!” “To be the best filmmaker out there, you need to learn how to edit on a MAC!” (Nothing against Macs, I own four!) Marketing has been defined as “creating want”. If you want something, more than probably, it’s been marketed to you!

I am a firm believer that anything can be done on any budget. (I was going to say within certain means but I re-thought that and stand by what I said.) Now, you may need others to join you who have the equipment or money or what have you, but it can be done. Filmmaking, they say, is a collaborative effort. It can or cannot be but, mostly, I’d say it is. It’s also a dynamic effort. Things change constantly, when making a film, just like life. It’s almost a living, breathing entity on its own! (Cue the Frankenstein clip, “It’s alive!”)

You are being sold gazillions of dollars of stuff (as the late, great George Carlin would say), all the time. You don’t need all that stuff!

Take a look at what’s being sold to you everyday as you pursue your filmmaking career. I took a class with producer Jim Lindsay, who had some great mantras. The main one was “Want vs. Need”. In other words, do I need this or do I just want it? Asking yourself this question every time you’re making a financial decision will save you a LOT of money down the line!

“That being said” (*Curb Your Enthusiasm reference), I’m entering a phase of my filmmaking career where I am heading a filmmaking enthusiasts group. One of the “benefits” of such a group is showing off the latest and the greatest products to help you “become a better filmmaker”. That’s all nice and fancy but I’ll be the first to point out that YOU probably don’t need that [name item here].

To learn more about the new group go here:
http://www.meetup.com/Independent-Filmmakers-of-the-Inland-Empire-Meetup-Group

A reference book that shares the concept that you don’t need to own anything to start (highly recommended!):
The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide