What It Takes to Become a Successful Filmmaker
I have a video to share with you today, one that might very well change your life if you put its simple message into action.
Now, this video isn't exactly related to filmmaking. It comes from Sean McCabe, a successful freelance designer, hand-lettering artist, businessman, and educator.
However, at its core, this video has a message that is both powerful and universally applicable to anyone who does creative work. It's a message that you can apply to any area of life where you want to achieve something substantial.
So without any further ado, here's Sean:
Here's a quote from Sean to sum it all up:
“Show up when it hurts. Show up when you’re tired. Show up when you’re not feeling it. Show up when it’s early. Show up when it’s late. Show up when everyone else is giving up.”
In terms of filmmaking, this simply means that you should be making consistent daily progress on your projects and on your quest to become a better craftsperson and artist, even if that progress seems small and insignificant. Small bits of consistent progress add up quickly.
It means that you can't let the many obstacles you face as a filmmaker stop you from making films. Realize that obstacles and roadblocks are an inherent part of filmmaking, and that everybody, including the artists you look up to most, had to deal with exactly the same nonsense before they made it big.
It means that you have to learn to love the process of filmmaking, divorcing yourself from the results, at least to begin with. When you love the process, no time spent making films is wasted time.
Now go forth, show up every day, and watch as your goal of filmmaking success becomes inevitable.
