Let me start by saying that YES! There is a way to become successful working in film. Now when I say working in film, I am of course including video production as well. While I am at it lets include all forms of production, feature films, Movies of the Week or (MOW’s) as they are known, short form television dramas, educational films, training films, television commercials, both the theatrical and non-theatrical areas of production.

Some years ago, before I went to film school in Hollywood, I was a press photographer for the Colonist Newspaper here in Victoria I was pretty good with a camera and figured that I had about 8,000 published photos over an eight year span. I won some awards and had some sales from photos in magazines along the way. At that time there were several other photographers working in the news game and still others that did weddings, postcards and commercial work. One guy in particular had his shots popping up everywhere; in magazines, posters, postcards, if it was anywhere but in the paper, his name seemed to be attached to it.

At the time I would say that we both had passion for our work, but he turned his passion into a very successful business because he educated himself in business practices and learned how to market himself. Most of us that get into this game do so because of our passion for what we do and how it makes us feel when we are doing the one thing that we know keeps us happy.

Remember the old saying, “There’s No Free Lunch”, well it is still true today. What I am getting at here is that passion for what we do is great but it has to be passion that causes you to take action. passion that moves you into learning all you can about the “business” of film production.

Do you remember meeting someone who really enjoyed their work and as you converse you can feel this coming through in their conversation. That kind of passion causes that person to succeed. They don’t worry about the hours involved in working at something that they enjoy. All they see is the end result. Let me give you an example of what I am saying here. I recently wrote a book called “The Video Bible” (step by step tools for promotional video production).

If you had come to me a few years back and told me that I would be writing a book, I would have said you’re crazy I don’t know how to do that? Well, someone did say to me “why don’t you write a book? You have done a lot of production and teaching and you probably have some good experiences and information to share with others”.

So one day I sat down at the computer and started writing and WOW!! This stuff started flowing out of me. I was feeling great passion for writing and I was engaging in a new area of film that was making me feel happy.

Now, I had some good material worth sharing but I knew nothing about how to lay out a book, how to get it published, how to market it etc. etc. This next part is very important. My passion was strong enough that I was willing to make whatever sacrifice were necessary to get the book published, which meant learning about the business end of things, spending money I hadn’t budgeted for, committing my time to the task. This is the point that many of us arrive at but never get beyond. Suddenly, the effort in front of us causes us to change our thinking. It’s almost as if we say to ourselves, “If it doesn’t come with a free lunch then I’m not buying.” Your passion has to be so strong enough that it will force you to not accept anything less than the achievement of your goal.

It doesn’t matter if you want to be the best grip, the best cam op. the best writer, the best producer or AD, your passion has to be strong enough that you are willing to charge through those things that are standing in your way. It has to be strong enough that you will take on the task of educating yourself on a regular basis to achieve your goal. It needs to force you into learning about the business end of things, something I am sure most of us do not relish, after all we are artists first and anything else later. In other words the extent of your passion will cause you to knock down all obstacles that stand in the way of you achieving your goal.

Some of the students that attend Victoria Motion Picture School have this passion and it can bee seen on the first day of class and I have now doubt that they will achieve what they want. Our training will help but it is that passion that they have for their work already built in that will make them a success.

A recent inquiry about our full time film program came in the other day from a girl who really wants to go to film school. She said she had the passion but not enough sustained passion to make the sacrifices she would need to make it all happen. She had a litany of excuses why she couldn’t get the funding together, or her credit was not good enough, or the timing wasn’t right or, or, or, or. She was looking for the free lunch. I’m sure if I had said that I would pay her way and that she didn’t have to do any work towards film school, she would have accepted that.

She talked about having passion and that going to film school was the most important thing in life to her, but it really wasn’t. “What she had was desire not passion.” Do you have passion for what you do? This can apply to all forms of work and play not just the film business. Are you talking a good game, but when it comes to making the sacrifices to achieve your goal, you fold. Have you arrived at the point where you say “I’m going for it” and throw every bit of your being in to the task. Are you willing to accept the inevitable failures along the way but recognize that each set back is a learning experience that is moving you closer to your goal?

In closing let me add this. Some months back I was sitting in the hallway of a high school waiting to give a talk to some students (I am doing much more of these motivational talks now, to schools, colleges and business groups) anyway as I was thinking about life and what I do, these words came into my mind. So I wrote them down right away.

The chances of you being healthy
are greater if you are happy.
The chances of you being happy
are greater if you are enjoying your work.
The chances of you enjoying your work
are greater if you are doing what you like.
Doing what you like is good for your health.
..Barry Casson

Here’s to sustained passion in your work.

THE SECRET – a bit of topic

There was a lot of buzz around recently about “The Secret”. It’s a film you can get on
the web by going to Secret TV.com. It is certainly worth taking a look at.

For those of you like me who believe in a higher power, in my case his name is God,
We appreciate that this universe didn’t happen by chance. We believe in a cosmic law, intuition, gut feelings, vibes, promptings and a host of other terms relating to the unseen parts of our lives.

The Secret delves into this area and calls it “The Law of Attraction” and I for one know
that it really does work. Earl nightingale, a great speaker and philosopher said it best,
“You will become What You Think About”. In my own case:

I wanted to be a drummer in a rock band – I became that drummer
I wanted to be a newspaper photog. –I became that photographer
I wanted to see my films on national television – it happened
I wanted to open a film school – it happened
I wanted to write a book – it happened
I wanted to be a public speaker – it’s happening.

If you look at your own life you may see a similar pattern to the things you have
accomplished.

Did anyone every say to you “stop daydreaming”. I used to get this all the time in school? Boy, where they out of touch. Focused daydreaming is what creates your future.

You are where you are now because of your thoughts. The more you daydream about
the future and how it will be, the greater your chance of it happening.

Maybe you want to be a great gardener, a great cook, a great bus driver, a great teacher, lawyer, accountant, filmmaker. It really doesn’t matter what it is. Dream about it, feel what it would be like and bring it about with your thoughts.

If all this sounds a little simplistic, well it really is. It’s all a matter of choosing the right kind of thinking.