Backstory
If you want to be a doctor, you go to med school - work hard, pass the exams and you will be allowed to practice. But the film industry doesn't work like that at all. You can keep banging on the door as hard as you like but chances are, unless you ae very lucky it will stay firmly shut.
I believe the only guaranteed way to enter the "club" is to turn your back on it, at least at the start of your career. Finance and make a good low budget movie of your own which is both critically acclaimed and a commercial success, and you will be taken seriously. You will have been seen to suffer (your baptism by fire) and demonstrated that you are not some purist who wants to make movies purely to satisfy their ego. Many books say that the industry is called 'show business' for a reason and that most people forget that the emphasis should be on 'business'. To make a film that you know is going to fail financially is irresponsible. Make a movie that's fresh, brave and intelligent and it's obvious that there will be some very loud knocking on your door.
When I first started writing there was basically just the one book, by Syd Field. It's not a bad starting point but there are so many great books on the market now. Even the mediocre ones will come up with a few interesting points. You really need to buy as many books as you can. Yes, it costs money but you are investing in your future. You have to treat this period as your own degree in script writing. I don't know about the merits of doing a formal course at Uni. I'm sure that some of the courses are very good. But ultimately, you are going to have to teach yourself. No one is going to give you the tools on a silver tray. It all boils down to how much time you are willing to spend with your bottom in contact with your chair. You're learning a new skill and there is no quick fix, unfortunately.
The first script I ever read was Pulp Fiction. Great movie but what a nightmare to read. The multi-stranded story and fragmented time line meant that it's all over the shop. I toughed it out, read another and another. Plus made notes, pages and pages of them. And slowly, as if by osmosis, the skills started to sink into my pores. I can't see me ever stopping my education. Movies and the way of telling stories advance, so it's crucial that I keep working all the time to improve my skills. Scriptwriter magazine is a terrific publication and the best £35 you will ever spend. Read, write and be the best writer you can.
If you can be a writer/ director that is such a powerful combination. As a writer, it means that you are never going to have to sit back and be butchered by someone who hasn't a clue about the intricacies of your script. And as a director, it means that you don't have to sit back hoping that you get lucky and that a great script suddenly drops into your lap. Martin Scorsese said some time ago that the future of the film industry lay with some teenagers working away making movies in their bedrooms. He is right. We have already seen it happen in the music industry. And the same will happen with film.
Digital technology is blowing the industry wide open and demystifying it. It is now possible to make something visually stunning for next to nothing. I have seen loads of shorts which look amazing. But the challenge is to blend visual treats with great stories and performances. And modern technology can't write amazing stories or give terrific acting performances. If you do manage to perform on all levels, then you are not going to have a problem getting your movie seen. Blair Witch, Snakes on a Plane and many other movies have shown that finding the audience for your masterpiece is perfectly possible. I have read somewhere that Steven Spielberg makes a huge effort to see just about every feature made - slot the DVD in at home and away you go - and that he often goes up to young film makers at festivals and says that he liked a specific scene in their movie. I don't know whether this is true or not but I'd like to think that it is. So get yourself a digital camera and start learning today.
About 10 years or more ago I attended a lecture by Dov SS Simens on film making. His basic message was just go out and do it. Unfortunately, I didn't take enough notice of his simple message. Why not? Lots of reasons, I guess. I thought I knew better. I thought the strength of my scripts would be enough. I couldn't see how I could get 50k together (the minimum amount to buy and develop the film stock in those days). But I guess that the main reason was that I was scared. Scared of the process, scared of my own ignorance, scared of failing. All really bad reasons for not doing something. So I wrote my scripts, had endless meetings with absolute tossers within the industry, grew frustrated and waited. And waited. All the time with no control whatsoever over my own destiny. My usual proactive nature disappeared... time passed, I grew older and not much wiser and then one day I decided I'd had enough. I wasn't going to let anyone dick me around anymore. So thank you Dov, and I'm sorry that it took so long for your message to get through this thick head.
I remember reading once that it takes about 6 full feature length scripts before you produce something really special. I think that at the time I was on about my third script. It really horrified me when I read that. If you take about 3 months minimum to come up with a good idea, 3 months to research it, 6 months to write/rewrite, then that means that it is going to take about 6 years (minimum) to become really good. When you're in a hurry, 6 years is a Hell of a long time, especially when you look forwards. Does anyone know where they are going to be 6 years from now? But in reality, I think that is how long it takes. And that means that some of the scripts you really rated at the time will sit there unmade on your lap top. That can't be right. The only time you realise that it is right is when you have written that 6th script and suddenly it all starts to come together. You're maturing as a writer, finding your own voice. If you want to be an architect it takes about seven years, a lawyer six. So it's almost impossible to fast track - there is no easy way. Some film makers have got lucky but in most cases their first movie remains their best and they get seen as a chancer who got lucky - beginners luck. I'd like to sugar coat this message somehow but I can't think how. The sooner you start your training, apprenticeship, journey, call it what you will, the sooner you will be crossing the finish line. Which is, in fact, merely another start line.
There are loads of film making organisations and networks that I am a little wary of. They often consist of what I call the "cappuccino" film makers. The Caps, as we can call them, are generally very pleasant company, can talk about movies endlessly and certainly look the part. But, they will never make anything. And if you have true heart and soul, are hard working and therefore possess a quality they don't, they will latch onto you because they know that by hanging onto your coat tails they might get dragged along and end up being caught up in the creation of a feature by default. You must not hang out with these people. They will bleed you of all ambition. You need to take a look at friends and people you have met who you trust implicitly. What you are looking for first is integrity, then transferable skills. Get these friends on board and that is the core of your gang. Then, when you are short of a team member, put out a call. Now you are looking for personal recommendations. Meet up and have your eyes wide open. Ask lots of questions. Listen carefully to the answers. Are they credible? Can you spend hours in a stressful situation with this person? If the answer is no, then walk away. The quality of your crew is everything. Get this wrong and the project will fail. Get it right and you're half way to making next year's smash indie hit.
