And if you’re winning at Powerball, you can hire people to make movies.

You know those stories about a filmmaker who maxed out every credit card and spent all their savings and retirement in a mad gamble at success? In those stories, just as this debt is about to rebound back, the gamble pays off, the movie is wildly successful, and everything turns out great?

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Plus, it adds adventure to your life!

Find those people who — when presented with a problem — ask “How can we make this work so we can keep moving forward?” Those are great people to have on set. Cultivate those connections.

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Nobody likes a Chatty-Cathy

Storytelling and dialogue are not the same thing. If no one gets the story, it’s not because there isn’t enough dialogue — it’s because the story doesn’t make sense. In fact, if you think you might need more dialogue, you probably need less.

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Unless you’re in the middle of the Giggle Loop™.

It’s not necessary that you weep at your sad scenes and laugh at your comic scenes, but if you don’t with some consistency, maybe you might want to think about rewriting them.

And then get back to work on the next one.

Make a big noise when you finish something. Celebrate, dammit — finishing a movie is a Significant Event!

“It’s pretty nice work, considering the source…”

You may run across people who try to discourage you. They may not even mean to do it, but whenever you talk with them, you’re discouraged. Your best defense is the following mantra: “Just get the shot.” Most of the folks who are discouraging are really trying to discourage themselves. Don’t buy into their limitations.

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A rising tide lifts all ships.

Share cast and crew links with your gang. For example: http://www.mandy.com/

Plus, celebrating is fun.

If you find out it’s someone’s birthday, take five and congratulate ’em, as a crew. Birthdays are fun.

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And this isn’t some European movie, now!

Always know what emotion you want your audience to feel, for every character, for every scene, and at the end of the movie. This is your compass, and as long as you follow it, you’ll always stay on track.

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A short…. Look — a bunny!

You don’t have to make a feature every single time. You can make a short movie, ten minutes long. Or five minutes. Or even a minute long.

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And Dinner!

Remember you have a life outside of production. Everybody else does, too.

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Look! The Sun!

Network, network, network! Meet other people making movies! You’re all in this together and you all offer unique talents. Yes, there’s a lot to be said for keeping your head down and working, but once in a while, you need to get out and meet other filmmakers.

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The world needs more ‘Lerts.

Be secure. Lock your personal stuff in your car or keep it on your person.

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…or hate it, but I recommend against that.

Making movies is fun. Never forget that. Maybe some folks do it only for the money, but I doubt it. I think they still want to have fun, and making movies is fun. If you’re not having fun, you’re probably not doing it right. Don’t get me wrong — it can be hard work, but the big picture is that it should be fun. Have fun!

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I keep losing my Personal Priority List.

There’s nothing wrong with getting paid, or with volunteering, or with accepting credit and copy. Some people need money, some people need a fun activity, and some people need to build up their portfolio. Everyone has to take care of their own soul, and no one ought to be lording it over anyone else.

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There’s honor, and then there’s practicality

If anything goes wrong, the Director takes the bullet. If anything goes right, the Director thanks whoever did it. It’s unfair, but that’s the way it is, so if you’re the Director, suck it up and move on. Anyone who does it opposite comes across as an asshole and no one likes to work for assholes. Unless they pay a lot of money, but then it wouldn’t be a low budget movie.

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The Director’s supposed to notice these things…

If you notice something that nags at your brain while you’re shooting, fix it then. Learn to trust that little voice. If you don’t at least speak up, then forever afterwards, you’ll see that same glitch and cringe inside. Chances are, three other people have noticed, but no one wants to be the first to say anything.

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