The “20-Something” Perspective

[Andy Jackson]

Well Bob you have taken the words right out of my mouth.

Could not of explained it better myself.

[Joseph W. bourke]

Bob –

You’re completely wrong! If you are a kid who has a 5D, your are now a Cinematographer!

Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com

[Patrick Reagan]

Absolutely phenomenal responses and thoughts, all of you. I love this forum more and more because you guys are so reliable and helpful when all I’m used to (with the people around me) are broken promises and “YEAH MAN WE SHOULD TOTALLY DO THAT” (then three months later nothing happens and you can’t get a hold of them).

Nick, I could not FATHOM no-showing a job like that. It would be a death sentence for reliability and reputation. And not even manning up and having the courtesy to return your calls after he blew off a project? Wow, talk about a complete lack of class and integrity.

Bob, as I near-instantaneously learned when I first encountered your replies on my original thread, your comments are deeply insightful and helpful.

[Al Bergstein]

All great thoughts and touch on all my ideas. At 60, I can tell you one thing that someone your age forgets, or doesn’t know yet, Patrick. We all were your age once. We all had your kind of passion for shooting movies on film back then, or the beginnings of video. We had energy and nothing to lose, everything to gain. Now, that’s not true for a variety of reasons. Some of us just don’t care to work that hard, though are still passionate, some of us can’t work that hard, some can’t afford to. But hell, I’d love to have an assistant with your ability to know when to help, and when to just stand back and learn.

The problems for the established businesses that have risen lately are built on the changes from a business where someone your age was unlikely to be able to afford the gear, and *had* to apprentice themselves to the older folks (like I did), to today, where the cost of entry is essentially zero. Now, it’s all about your vision, your professionalism, and whether you can survive on the unlikely pay that you will get for doing great work, which often is zero, or close to it. And anyone can buy a camera and swagger around pretending to be a “filmmaker”, (young or old!).

But there are young filmmakers *kicking butt* right now. Eric Becker in Seattle. Fabulous. And my Vimeo account has over 190 “likes”, most of them your age or close to it. Check out Cascada for an example. https://vimeo.com/57343365. Brilliant filmmaking. You won’t catch me down there in the jungles of Mexico doing this! Chase Jarvis, now in his 30s, is also a kick ass film maker, who also knows how to market himself in this new world.

I actually got back *into* the business because of all this. It’s the best time to be telling stories with movies. The best. But there are still basics that you can learn from those of us doing it for decades. Shortcuts, how to tell a story, business management issues that they don’t teach you in film school, like how to actually succeed in running a business, getting loans, lease vs. buy, etc. A lot of what I didn’t know at 23 was how to tell a story in a filmic manner. I had lots of ability, but no history.

You can buy all the gear you want, but it won’t help you succeed in the *business* of production. It’s all about trust, completing on time and under budget, getting out and marketing yourself, and letting the gear come in secondary to the storytelling. My clients could care less what camera I use. They care that I can tell their story. My main client continually has told me, since the first day we started a few years ago, “I hope we can make champagne on a beer budget”. So far, so good. And the comment above about “your friends telling you, that you are awesome”, will not pay the rent. Believe me, been there, done that!

Please don’t think we hate you because you’re young. It’s a bit of jealousy, and yes, some people are losing their livelihoods to the fact that the price of production has fallen through the floor. The problem for those that you have read that are complaining, is that, after the best of intentions and work, they are being priced out of the market, for no fault of their own. It’s also happening in the music business. We are in a time of massive destruction of industries and have been for a few decades now, because of the Internet. There *will* be winners and losers, as always. Where it will lead is anyone’s guess.

Best of luck, and if you ever are near Seattle, give a shout.

Al

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