It really is the terrible job everyone wants. Here’s the catch: Hollywood studios are hiring fewer filmmakers and giving them less power. So, what is wrong?
Making a movie is probably one of the most challenging things you could try to do.
Yet nearly everyone in the world of Raindance is an aspiring filmmaker, which means you have to:
- Banish your personal life and become totally absorbed in your project
- Ask every single person you know or meet if they can help you (or not)
- Pour your blood, sweat and tears into your movie
- When it’s finished wait years before you get paid (if at all)
So why does everyone want to get into film?
Here’s the Catch. To really make it as a filmmaker you need to be able to make compromises to the faceless moneymen who finance your film. And as any astute observer of the Hollywood system can see, filmmakers are allowed fewer and fewer choices.
Even the Christopher Nolan’s of this world are allowed the creative freedom to make Inception IF and only if they concede to a demand from their financiers – in this case Warner Bros – in exchange for directing a 3rd Batman.
Yet, this ‘terrible job’ is something that everyone seems to want to do. And why? Because when it works out, being a filmmaker is probably the most powerful, rewarding and satisfying job that there is.
So, what is the secret formula that filmmakers like Nolan and Tarantino use to make it to the top?
They all started at the bottom, learned and honed their craft by making films – films with incredibly modest budget. Nolan’s first film, The Following, made for a modest £6,000 and screened at Raindance.
What better way to study and learn about filmmaking than coming to this year’s Raindance Film Festival and seeing the Nolan’s and Tarantino’s of tomorrow. Most of the filmmakers are attending making it the ideal venue to listen, question and learn.
Quitters never win. Winners never quit.
Let’s make a movie.
😉 here’s a cool place to look for film work
Fade Out
I don’t want to pat myself on my back too hard. I might hurt myself. But, did you know that I designed the Raindance Film School programme to answer your questions and teach you what you need to succeed.
Will you get a diploma at Raindance Film School?
Damn right you will. Remember that a diploma doesn’t mean anything. It is a symbol that you paid your fees and completed your coursework. It doesn’t mean you have any clue how to get a job in the film industry.
At Raindance we don’t teach filmmaking. We make filmmakers.
Did you know?
- Raindance members save 20% on filmmaking courses?
You can join online >HERE< and access freebies and discounts immediately - Our open courses are FREE for our HND, top-up BA and postgraduate/MA/ students
- You can book a free 1-1 consultation about our full-time degree filmmaking courses HERE
- The Raindance Guarantee: We don’t teach ‘filmmaking’ at Raindance. At Raindance we make filmmakers.
Ask a question about Filmmaking: The Terrible Job Everyone Wants
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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