5 hard truths about being a filmmaker
The reality of following your passion to become a filmmaker or cinematographer is not quite as glamorous as it seems online. We are constantly seeing success stories and scrolling through highlight moments from some of our favourite photographers and filmmakers, and while life is always greener somewhere else, we are often not seeing the whole truth. Following your passion to become a filmmaker is a viable career option if you have the motivation and dedication, but there are a number of hard truths that you will have to face.
Our first bitter truth is that life as a filmmaker is not at all how it appears on social media, and life at least in my experience rarely looks like one of those cinematic travel films. Life as a filmmaker is extremely hard work, don’t get me wrong if you’re passionate about filmmaking it’s a lot of fun, but it’s absolutely nothing like the false realities sold over social media. If you were to pull back the curtain on any of your favourite storytellers or filmmakers, myself included, you’ll see the endless amount of days, weeks or months in preparation one of these shoots, the weeks spent emailing, hustling and networking, the weeks in post production, and all of the weekends spent behind the computer tending to the business aspects of being a filmmaker.
For every day spent on location filming something epic, there’s likely another 10 days spent behind a computer tending to the business and commercial reality aspects of the job. Social media showcases the highlight moments, but the truth is if you’re ever going to be successful as a filmmaker most of your time is going to be spent in meetings, networking and running your business.
This ties is nicely into our second hard truth, and that is that filmmaking is very much still attached to the corporate world. Like many filmmakers and aspiring filmmakers, we have this dream of leaving the corporate world behind to follow our passion and find financial freedom beneath a tropical sunset. I was no different. In my previous life as corporate lawyer, there was nothing more I wanted than to leave the corporate world behind, and make a decent living following my passion.
And while it is certainty possible to make a good living as a filmmaker and cinematographer, the only way to do this is to approach filmmaking through a corporate lens. While it always looks grand on the internet, the simple truth is that 99% of the funding for film projects, and documentaries come from the corporate world, and are only ever really undertaken to turn a profit. so, if you dream of leaving those corporate budget meetings behind, filmmaking is probably not for you, as everything is tied back to the bottom line.
As we’re being funded by the corporate world, most of the time we also have limits on what we’re able to film, and have limits placed on the style of our work, as everything we do is a reflection of the entity who funds the project. This is by no means a bad thing, but it’s important to understand that our job as a filmmaker or cinematographer is most of the time, to work to achieve specific business goals, within the corporate world.
Our third hard truth surrounds job satisfaction. As filmmakers we’re often passionate creatives, and are always seeking to improve the quality of our work, grow our client base and experience, and we’re often chasing a dream client or project. You know, if only I could work for this client, or work as a DP for that film I would finally be happy.
If you work hard enough and you set realistic goals, more often than not you will eventually land that dream client, and sure enough you’ll be stoked for quite a while and you’ll put everything you have into that project to ensure the client is blown away. But you’re anything like me, it’s very hard to be satisfied for long as we are always chasing the next greatest thing, and the next rung up the ladder.
Throughout my career I’ve had countless moments where I landed my next dream client, the one that I thought would finally solve all my problems. But there’s always more we are chasing, the next project. I don’t think this is a bad thing, if anything this is the drive and determination that constantly make us improve as filmmakers. It pushes us to greater heights, and encourages us to further our skills and become better at our craft. But just know, that there’s always more that we need to finally be content.
It's a largely reason why I have recently started filming my projects on the RED Raptor, because I’m chasing additional experience to appeal to new clients in the world of documentary cinema. Maybe once I’m a DP on Blue Planet I’ll finally be satisfied.
Number four, is the harsh reality that you will not have any free time. If you’re chasing filmmaking as means to escape the corporate world and leave your 9 to 5 job, the hard truth is that you’ll be trading your 7.5 hour work day for 12 hour work day, with no weekends, no annual leave, no public holidays, and no sick leave.
I work far far harder and far more hours as a cinematographer than I ever did as a corporate lawyer. But it’s a trade I would make any day as I absolutely love what I do, and I’m passionate about underwater filmmaking. I’d much rather dedicate my life to pursing my passion, than working a tiring week doing something I didn’t enjoy.
The hours it takes to run a successful business as a filmmaker and cinematographer is seemingly endless. It takes dedication and a serious amount of passion to be able to be successful in this world. Any time off you have, is likely immediately hijacked by the desire to film and work on passion projects, and expand your skills. Honestly it takes a special kind of person to succeed in this world, but if you don’t mind working every hour of every day, the reward is well worth it.
The final harsh reality of the filmmaking world is that you will probably need a bit of luck. While talent and hard work are essential, breaking into the industry often requires that lucky break – the right project, the right connection, or the right timing. Everyone’s lucky break will be different, but at one point or another, someone is likely going to have to take a chance on you if you’re going to break into the industry.
That moment where an unprecedented opportunity presents itself and is grand enough that you quit your job to pursue it, doesn’t happen every day. But luck no doubt favours those who are busy hustling hard, and have spent years honing their skills such that when a fluke opportunity arises, they’re in a position to take advantage of it.
It takes time, so don't be discouraged if success doesn't come overnight.
So there you have it, life as a filmmaker isn’t all what it seems, it’s a challenging but incredibly rewarding path for those who are truly passionate about visual storytelling. If you're ready to put in the work and face these realities head-on, the world of cinematography can be an incredible adventure. I hope that you enjoyed the read, and I’ll catch you in the next one.