5 THINGS FILMMAKING:
EGO
By Nicholas Nesbitt & Gentlemen
Hi! I’ve teamed up with Gentlemen to bring you an article on the process of filmmaking. Enjoy ;
1. FAILURE IS NOT OPTIONAL, IT’S INEVITABLE
Before it gets good, it’s going to get bad and then probably ugly. Failure is not optional… it’s inevitable.
When you are starting out as a filmmaker, what you lack in experience, you make up for in confidence and, not surprisingly a mostly intact ego. Ego will get you places but when things start to turn bad and you have your first taste of failure, it’s important to take stock, to learn, and not let your bruised ego turn you to tumbleweed.
When Wes Anderson first screened his film Bottle Rocket it was met with such disdain that he almost quit. While reading the horrible review cards from the audience members, he found one card from a young woman who pointed out some positive elements from his movie. He realised that this person got it, he had an audience. All you need is one. He turned this experience into something that defined him and his work from that point on.
Your ego is going to try to tell you that you have to have everything under control but, we are human, and our world is inherently unpredictable. As much as you need to be prepared the real key is being able to be quick on the draw, turning a bad situation into a good one by making it work for you.
Dig deep and use those failures to your advantage. Failure keeps your ego in check and stops you from becoming a raging megalomaniac and that’s a good thing. It’s a little tap on the shoulder to help you redirect, remain humble, and stay with the beautiful unpredictable.
2. I DON’T BELONG HERE
We’re all imposters and shapeshifters. Even the most successful of us feel like we’re somehow cheating the room. The key is to keep pretending and keep showing up. The truth is that everyone is too stressed about being found out themselves to notice you’re also faking it. That is until you make it.
Tarantino believes that if you love film enough you can’t help but make a good one and, if you love the process you do deserve a seat at the table. Directing doesn’t really require any tangible skills but the one aspect that can’t be taught is having a unique vision, a specific perspective, and the confidence to lead. It’s about nurturing those qualities in yourself that will help you show up without the makeup, giving you the confidence to own your truth and your vision.
Your job is to act like a compass that points over the horizon with the promise that something wonderful awaits. Even if you can’t see it right now. Think of yourself as Professor X telling a group of misfit mutants that they are indeed the X-Men, and their quest to kick Magnetos ass is noble.
3. DON’T BE GROSS MAN
It’s a bizarre job, as you’re constantly convincing people that your vision is the only way forward, so you need to be somewhat deluded and believe the world must bear witness to your film/music video/commercial vision. This can tip over to the dark side sometimes and you need to keep that “ego” in check.
The healthy mix of qualities a director must have is humility, arrogance, creativity, strong will, and patience. You don’t need to be mean-spirited to get your way, this is a myth.
Seriously. It doesn’t matter how good you are — if you’re a dick, no one will work with you. Hold on to your integrity but also know when to let things go.
Don’t be Gross Man.
4. BE A HAPPY REJECT
You are going to lose pitches. This will feel very eina! You are going to win pitches, this will feel amazing but you only really know you have it in the bag when you walk onto that set.
Rejection is looming at every corner. The entire filmmaking process sometimes feels like you are being the last person picked in PE class and you are basically a teen wolf freak.
Chances are, you’re going to get rejected more times than you would like. So it’s infinitely more fun to get rejected on the merits of something you actually think is cool than to try to make someone else happy and get rejected anyway.
Be true to yourself and the work you create. As much as you can, don’t try to please others — make yourself happy first. It’s a fun job — so you might as well enjoy yourself while doing it and that enjoyment will make all those rejections feel worth it.
Be the weird thing you are, be a happy reject!
5. NEVER SAY DIE
Sometimes the only thing that can keep you going in this industry is your ego. The people who make it, are the last ones left standing after the smoke clears, once the ice has melted and birds start singing again.
Ego in Latin literally means “the self”. So look after yourself first. Don’t do anything detrimental to your mental health and make sure you’re taking care of others in your team too. Burnout is real and the resilience that is required for this industry is huge, the rejections, the no’s, the testing and pushing of boundaries of your ideas and creative vision, cancellations… they can leave you feeling like you have been mauled by a bear.
Longevity, persistence, and showing up is crucial to staying alive, but keeping yourself protected, keeping your ego intact is vital — never say ‘die’.
