Ive experinced alot of hostility from people because of my choice to be a filmmaker. Ive often been called a dreamer and worse. I'm told to get a real job and stop dreaming. I wont even visit my mother any more because her latest husband wont let up. Does anyone else feel the same? Its hard to bealive in yourself sometimes when no one else will.

Good God! That's horrible! I'm sorry for you. I get nothing but support (which can be annoying in it's own way "This is Perry, the next Spielberg" )

Everyone I know, and my entire family all think it's incredibly cool that I'm going off to school to become a filmmaker.

The sort of people who call that "dreaming" are the type who probably hate their job, and don't think life is supposed to be fun. Prove them wrong!!! Art is the way!

Out of curiosity, where do you live? I'm wondering if certain geographical areas are more inclined (perhaps due to proximity, or frequency of arty areas) to support arts.

Im pretty lucky, my first ever short won the student section of a statewide short film fest. and ive been makeing productions since. Its a good thing i want to get into film, cos everyone now just assumes thats where i want to be.

It is pretty ****, but mate, Hitchcock was called a dreamer till he actual showed he could do it. Just proove yourself to people dude.

I'm not set on film as a career, but it does play a large part in my life and consumes much of my time. That said, I still get some flack from my elders because of the hobby I have chosen. How do I cope? I write them sonnets asserting that (a) I am better-looking than they are, (b) I am more talented than they could ever be, (c) beautiful, nubile girls throw themselves at me because of my minor celebrity status, and (d) I make more money than they do.

The part about making more money is probably a lie, but if you write a sonnet well enough, people will believe anything.

Seriously, though, since I began making films, my life has been a parade of shame.

The Legend of Monkey Fight

Dam Dirty Apes

well, my parents never really busted my cubes too much. they never introduced me as "the next spielberg", but as "the next david lynch" which always sort of made me laugh. i had a few friends who were skeptics until they saw my work in a local film festival, which was clearly one of two flicks in the festival worth watching, and they became comlpetely supportive.

your situation sounds like mine, with divorces and people being remarried. step parents are mother ****ers sometimes. ignore him. just make a movie and shut up the world.

My situation is exactly like titanium's, a LOT of support and fascination, and my dad saying the same thing, "the next speilberg." My neighbor, for whom I shot and edited a memorial day parade video, now calls me cecil. Sometimes it's kind of embarassing, but it's also pretty cool.

To be quite honest, I'm not sure my parents know I make films......

When I go out shooting for hours I usually say something like "im doing math homework" to be sarcastic, but I think they believe it

yeah my parents support me for the most part, they just always want to be in my movies

Jim Jarmusch said it best:

"Dont let the F*ckers Get Ya."

the reaction I get from most people is something like "Oh wow that's cool." They say in a kind of "I wish I could be into something fun like that" kind of way, which always puzzled me. But I'm also confused by all the accounting and business majors at my school.

I think more what I hate about people is that you will pour hours into a shot, such as something with special effects, or editing, and people just brush it off as something ordinary. Like my mom has no concept of how much work goes into things.

My friends did give me crap about my movie making at first, but now that they have seen what I can do its turned their opinions a bit. I think hostility just comes from people that dont understand that a great amount of work goes into the production of a movie.

Don't worry about people not understanding the work that goes into something. They never really will, if they don't already. They're used to seeing amazing stuff in commercials and movies all the time, so they don't appreciate it that much.

My very first fully finished short film won best film at my school's film festival and my parents shrugged. If it's not making money right now then it's no good to them. They'd rather see me working at a steel mill for $10/hour than do what I'm doing.
All I can tell you is to keep your chin up. People like us truly do have aspirations that others can only dream of. That's why they don't do it themselves. All they can do is dream. In ten years there are going to be people who wish they were you.
And if worse comes to worse you can use this sort of melodrama in your screenwriting.

Whenever I tell someone my major, they either

a) look confused
b) look scorningly
c) look condescendingly.

I never get a good reaction. I know that film and television aren't the most academic fields to get into compared to bio-chemistry or computer science (which I minor in) but it's still a legitimate field which requires practice, patience, and experience to succeed.

One thing people don't understand is, as many people mention, the work put into making any sort of project or production. It's not like studying for a biology test where you memorize and review, and take notes. You can choose not to study for a biology test and still get an A, but with a video or film project, if it doesn't get done, you don't get a grade! It's like a painting. You can paint for four hours, but that doesn't mean you've created a masterpiece. You have to finish the project for any sort of assessment of quality.

I asked a philosophy professor to extend a deadline for a paper and he asked my reason. I said because I had to finish editing a documentary for a class. "Well you need to schedule your time better." he replied.

It's not about scheduling your time better! That sort of thinking just doesn't apply to video and filmmaking. I could stay at the lab for 24 straight full hours and still not be done with it. It really is however long it takes to get it done, which could be from one hour to several days.

End rant.

This is totally not PC but I think it DOES have to do with location - everyone I ever tell here in MA seems impressed. My parents are from MI, and I go there a lot to see family, and old friends. I've noticed that Michiganders are much more conservative (not in a political sense, necessarily) and less open to creative, or funky things. It kind of makes sense that you get that reaction. Also, there are no film schools there... I wonder if filmschools have an effect on the surrounding area.

One benefit about being an aspiring film maker. I've never landed more random play with hot girls in my life.

That's not to downplay the rest of my life either, though. =)

my family is very souportive and helps pay for my movies

im from new zealand. I think theres alot of small minded Philistines here.

jhart, I know what you mean. I like to dress up as the characters from my movies and make the *****es call me by my screen name when I'm stuffing them two at a time on my king-sized bed, which is made of money.

Dam Dirty Apes

quote:

Originally posted by titaniumdoughnut:
This is totally not PC but I think it DOES have to do with location - everyone I ever tell here in MA seems impressed. My parents are from MI, and I go there a lot to see family, and old friends. I've noticed that Michiganders are much more conservative (not in a political sense, necessarily) and less open to creative, or funky things. It kind of makes sense that you get that reaction. Also, there are no film schools there... I wonder if filmschools have an effect on the surrounding area.

There is Specs Howard, the school of broadcast arts, and then MSU where Sam Raimi and gang learned filmmaking and make some films...

Then you've got a few major scale productions in Detroit...

but yeah, not a whole lot going on here.