This is a an updated repost of a previous blog.
I’m travelling right now, and as I write this I am currently sitting in the Raindance Toronto office surrounded by the hardworking Toronto team. A punter just called up inquiring about the terrific events planned here in Toronto and wondered if you needed to have the talent to attend Raindance. Ah. The Talent Myth.
Then on this past weekend, I did the Toronto edition of the Saturday Film School, and an attendee came up and asked how she could tell whether or not she has talent. Ah. The Talent Myth.
It’s amazing how often I get asked about talent.
Let me debunk the the Talent Myth.
1. Talent is irrelevant
Do you really think the good Lord, or whatever you call the superior life force, attend at births deciding that one baby has talent, and the next doesn’t?
I don’t think so. I believe we all come into this world with an equal amount of talent. When I went to art school in Toronto, I had to study Picasso. He himself said he had a small amount of talent. He also said that at seven he could draw like an adult and that it took him the rest of his life to learning how to draw like a child.
2. Talent is workflow
I have been very fortunate at meeting dozens of artists in all different media: filmmakers, screenwriters, poets, novelists, musicians and sculptors. In fact, for a while in the early 70’s I worked for the sculptor Henry Moore. Here was a man who used his talent, and then honed his craft. He developed a system to get the ideas out of his head and into bronze, wood and stone. The are many things that filmmakers can learn from Henry Moore.
My point is that talent is how an artist learns over time to apply their craft to their ideas and make them happen. It’s no different for screenwriters and filmmakers.
3. Talent is passion
I don’t want to sound like a patronising founder of Britain’s largest film festival, but I love what I do. I walk, talk, dine and sleep Raindance. You know what? If I didn’t I couldn’t work the insane hours and commit to the travel schedule that I do. That’s passion.
To attempt anything without passion means you will ultimately fail. And people will think you don’t have talent.
4. Talent is confidence
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? Do you think writer’s block has anything to do with talent? Absolutely not. It does have everything to do with confidence.
How do you build up your talent? Through experience.
Stop reading this right now, and go write, shoot or direct your short, a feature or a documentary. Power through.
Then do it again.
5. Talent is feedback
So-called talented artists know how to learn from feedback about their work. I don’t mean you need to heed feedback. Just learn to listen to it.
Talented filmmakers also learn how to enhance their craft skills to make their movies and stories sounder and stronger – which is why at Raindance we run so many film training courses in London and around the world, and why we say that we make talented filmmakers.
6. Talent is never enough
No one is born with talent. You can be born with an aptitude. But talent is something that one acquires. There are other nuances to filmmaking that can easily be acquired.
It’s a bit like watching a jazz quartet where the ‘talented’ musicians talk to each other through their instruments. And ‘talented’ filmmakers understand the commercial realities of producing and marketing their films.
What talent is
The film industry is obsessed with money. It is a business after all.
If you want to impress the movie-business moguls, all you really need to do is understand exactly what the realistic income is for your movie. Then make it for less than that. You will be deemed to have talent.
I have the best job in the world. I meet dozens of the most talented people every week. Make my day: show me your scripts and films. Show me how you have overcome the Talent Myth. Need help? What are you waiting for? I do a weekend masterclass called Lo To No-Budget Filmmaking.
Hope this helps. Why not comment below – I will respond.
Photo Credit: Bertie Watson
I founded Raindance Film Festival in 1993 because the British film industry was closed, polite, and congratulating itself while shutting new filmmakers out.
I co-founded the British Independent Film Awards in 1998 because British indie film deserved more than a shrug, a pat on the head, and a Tuesday night screening.
Raindance didn’t start as a brand. It started as a rebellion: film training without gatekeepers, a festival without permission, and a community built by filmmakers who weren’t waiting to be invited in.
Later, we took it global: Toronto, Vancouver, New York, LA, Berlin, and Brussels, because independent film doesn’t belong to one city, one class, or one accent.
I’ve produced 700+ short films and seven features, including Deadly Virtues (2014) and ALICE, which won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize (2019) not because someone “discovered” us, but because the work earned its place.
I’ve written three books used by filmmakers worldwide because too many courses taught compliance instead of survival.
In 2009, I was awarded a PhD for services to film education, ironic, given that most of my career has been about tearing down the rules that education insisted you follow.
I don’t believe in waiting for permission.I believe in making work, building systems, and forcing the industry to catch up.
Specialties: Independent Film (the real kind) · Producing · Writing · Film Education · Festivals · Breaking Broken Systems
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