All our lives are a movie, and we are all the directors of it. We all have our unique individual stories, and we adjust them or tell new ones as we grow. Look at it this way, start separating people around you from your family members to your friends to individuals that you walk past or come across. Divide them into crew roles, the people that are the closest to you can be the ones that carry the Skeleton roles and the people you come across when you walk around, drive, purchase something are all extras. In a way, you've already started making a movie and all that's left is to shoot it!
Many people that don't know much about the film industry have the misconception that a director has to be a person that already has a film-making background or has gone to film school. However, to make a film, and be a filmmaker, is something that any person can do, no matter your background or what you want to do with your life. It will teach you how to be a good leader and a great communicator.
Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No Matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you're a director. Everything after that you're just negotiating your budget and your fee. - James Cameron
Let's say that you want to start your own business: Do you know that a director and a CEO of a company have more characteristics in common than what you may think?
When you are a director making a film, you need to consider many things:
You need to know how to deal with and manage people because all your workers depend on you to give them and show them what you want.
A good director will have a clear idea of what he/she wants, and it's your mission that everyone works together towards the same goal.
You have many departments to manage, and if one does not understand what you were trying to say, that may ruin the entire film, and it would be your name who gets blamed not the department that made the mistake.
If we apply that in a company manner, it's the same idea: if something is not working, the client will blame the CEO, not the worker.
Secondly, even if you don't know the answer to something, pretend that you know the answer! What I mean by that is, when you are directing all eyes are on you: cast and crew. You will have many people that will try to eat you alive if they see that you don't have your ideas clear. So, to avoid that, you may want to look like a person that knows what he/she is doing, even if at some moments, you don't know the answer. With that, you will gain the respect of the cast and crew and more importantly, they will believe in your vision. At the end of the day isn't that what it takes to be a leader? Make your team believe that what they do is important.
Another point, if you are a leader of a company or a director, you are a problem solver. And what makes the difference between good and bad directors is that the good ones solve problems quicker than the other. A reporter once asked actor Jonah Hill: `Who is the best director that you have ever worked with?' and in just an instant he responded: 'Martin Scorsese'. When they asked him why he said as a filmmaker you will always face problems and situations that are not what you first thought of, but for Scorsese, when that happens, instead of complaining, he gives you a solution in no time.
In real life, you can control a person's behavior but you can't control his emotions nor his inner feelings... but film does both. It delivers my thoughts and expressions throughout my moving image... my music, my actors, my world, and my way of story-telling. - Jasem AlMuhanna, Director, Cinemagics
Finally, Tarantino once said: 'Your motivation to make a movie is simple: what is the movie that only you because of who you are can do and no one else, that is your reason to make a movie'. With that idea as an entrepreneur, for example, it gives you the motivation to have your unique idea to do something that only you can do for a customer, that no one else can offer. Shooting a film can be pure freedom and complete personal expression.
So why not go ahead and shoot your first film? In the worst case, it's no good and you don't have to show it to anyone, or in the best case, it's great and you've just opened yourself a new door and discovered a new goal to concur. Isn't that what life is all about? No matter the outcome of your film, you can be proud that you've shot your first ever film, and well, the rest is history.
At Cinemagic, we encourage individuals to explore new hobbies and take on new challenges for self growth.
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