5 Attributes you must have if you want millions of people to see your work.
I am out of town this week. Yes, I am currently on a bus travelling between Yangoon and Bagan in Burma (Myanmar). As always, I have my camera shooting as much as I can of what I see on the journey. I have enclosed some photos from Sunday in Yangoon. It always makes for an interesting edit when I return and a great addition to our Youtube Channel.
I love the process of travelling in new worlds. It means that one can think creatively and deeply. For me, so many creative ideas flow on trips like this with the stimulus of a different world. A trip into the unknown, for me, is one of my creative microcosms where often I will get my best story ideas.
Looking out the window at a rural scene of peasants working the fields in wet season, I found myself thinking about Film-Makers who have made it big. What is it that determines who breaks through to the very top of the film-making world? What are the special attributes that determines who makes it big?
Being Specific, Making it big means that hundreds of millions of people all over the world see the film-maker’s work.
So what is it that makes a successful film- maker? In all cases of the film-makers I have known who have made it big, they have the following attributes:
- Craft and Talent: One needs to practice their craft. Keep learning via really good film courses and then make films as much as you can. This is the Number One Attribute.
- Persistence and Time: After talent, this is the most important attribute for the successful film-maker. You have to keep at it. You have to keep making films and keep producing and promoting. You have to take rejection when it happens and quickly move on. You have to give it time if you want to make it big. If you have a flop,move on and make another film. Please read our Free E Book on how successful film-makers such as Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino and Ridley Scott made it as successful film- makers and you will see this clearly. They all took 10 years or more from when they started out on their dream to their first successful movie that went mainstream.
- Networking: Keep meeting people at the top of the film business. Join the guilds such as the Australian Directors Guild or the Australian Writers Guild or SPAA and go to their events. Also, The AFI (ACCTA) has really interesting film nights with successful film-makers. Go to these and network. Join our Film Social Night and learn from other film-makers.
- Visualise and Enjoy Now. See the future success as clearly as you can. Also, enjoy the
process now of moving on your journey to being a successful film-maker that gets his or her films seen by millions of people around the world.
- Luck: Many people say you make your own luck. However, some people seem to be luckier than others. Take Tarantino for example. From Video clerk to successful film maker, he seemed to get a very lucky ride. Of course, if you read his story about how he made it in my free book, you will see the above attribtutes in spades. He had talent and persistence. He also was a brilliant networker and he had a certainty that he would make it. It all added up to Luck.
In Summary, Think Big and go for your dreams. If you would like a helping hand please attend one of our social nights, or better still, have a look at our 4 Month Film Course. It all started for them with their first film course and a passion for making films.
Colm O’Murchu is an active film-maker and film instructor at Australian Film Base. He is also the owner and regularly blogs about film making.