Is putting the audience to sleep a mistake...or a blessing?
Award-winning filmmaker sets new screenwriters and directors
straight.
1. Contrary to current belief, keeping the audience awake is the
biggest mistake a first time filmmaker can make. If viewers are
asleep, they will never notice your other mistakes.
2. Waiting to get famous till after your movie is made is
another error common among those new to the medium. Why do
people pay to see and hear Jessica Simpson (this goes double for
Ashlee)? Because they're already famous. While having people
actually see your work is not advisable, you still want them to
buy tickets or DVDs, and they are more likely to do that if they
feel they already know you. Consider inviting hundreds to your
wedding, then escape just before The Big Day and make up a story
about being kidnapped.
3. Almost as devastating to your new career as the first two
mistakes is not knowing when you're done putting your film
together. While having a feature to your credit can be a career
maker, don't spend the rest of your life perfecting it.
Remember, the audience will not be awake and so will not be as
critical as you are.
4. Most new filmmakers try to get their movie seen. Big mistake.
Smart new filmmakers try to get their movie heard of. Hollywood
big shots who hear of your movie may well sign you to a three
picture deal. Hollywood big shots who actually see your movie
are more likely pass in favor of an American Idol loser who says
he had sex with Paula Abdul.
5. Expecting to make your money back on your first film is the
least of the five biggest mistakes new filmmakers make because
you're not going to max out ten credit cards just because you
read that Robert Townsend did it and his movie made
millions...are you? I mean...are you?
Unlike advice by filmmaking gurus, which has to be padded to
fill 200 pages and make claims that help sell books, this
no-nonsense list by award-winning filmmaker and 1,052,569th top
Amazon.com contributor Sondra Lowell can be trusted. Sondra's
first film, WebcamMurder.com, is the first officially sanctioned
digital feature in the Film Sleepy genre, the category that puts
the audience to sleep.
To learn more about how to avoid first time filmmaker traps,
visit Sondra's guide, So
You'd Like to Avoid the Five Biggest Mistakes Made by First Time
Filmmakers.
For specifics on how to get heard of, don't miss So
You'd Like to Get Famous on Amazon.com.
If this list has made you think twice about pursuing a
filmmaking career and you're looking into something more stable,
read the definitive guide to careers in tap dancing newscasting,
So
You'd Like to Tap Dance the News.
|
