Creative Ways to Make a Living

Series Summary

Becoming an indie filmmaker is a more attainable dream now that ever before. Home technology allows ordinary folks to shoot a movie, edit it, lay down music for the background and even create a movie trailer. Now, selling the finished product involves a lot more. There's storyboards to draw, scripts to write and funding to obtain. The tricky part is getting a studio to notice. In this free video series on the film industry, learn about becoming an indie filmmaker with ideas from a independent movie producer and director. First, he discusses ways to make a living while trying to make it as an independent filmmaker, become a movie editor, become a movie producer and how to create storyboards. Next, learn the basics of good video camera work, making a movie trailer and how to sell a screenplay. Finally, he explains how to write a movie script, TV spec script and how to make high quality home movies.

Video Transcript

"All right folks, in this clip we're going to talk about some creative ways to make a living while you're trying to get your foot in the door as a struggling filmmaker. Anyone that has started out at the bottom rung which everyone pretty much does will tell you that it is not an easy thing always, living a life of a struggling filmmaker. A lot of the times you don't know where the rent money's coming from or the money to put the food on the table, keep a roof over your head, all of that stuff so, there are a couple of creative ways that especially today that we as filmmakers, especially ones that haven't quite made it up to the level where we're making the big bucks yet, can make some money in the meantime. I'm going to give you a couple of examples. One, you can donate your body to science and by that I mean any and all scientific studies that bring in volunteers, find your local college, university, science lab, ask if you can donate whatever you feel comfortable donating to different scientific studies and programs. Takes little to no time, and they pay pretty good money. There's always you know blood, plasma, all that stuff. Or you can just get a you know temporary bartender waitering job, but that's boring and not in any way creative, but it is the staple and probably the most cliched method of making rent around here, especially if you're living and struggling in Hollywood. But what I'd like to do is suggest some more - a little more creative route. Because let's face it, if we're filmmakers we have talent obviously that a lot of people don't have, so how can you utilize those talents and the equipment that you probably have as well, as a struggling filmmaker. Well, if you have a camera and your own means to edit the video footage, you could get a job as a wedding videographer. Just post an ad, start your own little wedding videography business, post your ads online, make a little stack of business cards and hit up the local wedding planners in your area and tell them hey, I'd like to be used as a reference for wedding videos, and honestly, it's a little humiliating but a lot of us got our start this way and it helps you get you know fairly steady work and you can get you know for the most part set your own rates, it's a good way to bring in some income that way. Or along those lines just look for a job as a freelance videographer, go on websites like Craigslist.com, different job posting sites like Craigslist.com, and look for gigs where you can utilize your skills as a videographer. A lot of times it'll just be you filming some ballet recital but it is still more in line with the type of work you want to do, and it's a creative way to make some money. And lastly along those lines, you can look for different web-based media companies, not unlike the one that you are currently visiting right now, that actually contract out independent filmmakers to produce material for their sites. It's a really, really great way to make some money especially while you're trying to get your foot in the door as a creative filmmaker. They provide a lot of opportunities, these different sites, for work and pay pretty well. And you make your own schedule, you're pretty much your own boss in terms of your time, you can take on as much work as you like, if you have the determination and the skill to prove yourself to them, and yeah, those are just a few simple ways to make a living as a struggling filmmaker."