I made a movie - what do you do for fun?

[not]

I produced a feature film. Won a handful of awards. Can't for the life of me find distribution. Would like to earn a profit from it, if only so that I can continue to make films...

If you are an INTP that has found a way to eek out a living while doing the things that you love, please share with me your process. I find my self in a perpetual cycle where I eat crow for a long time, save up cash, break from the mundane, spend the cash on a dream project, realize that I'm the only one that finds that project interesting, then end up having to go eat more crow to get by.

 

[just george]

what sort of movie? why can't you find distribution?

 

[Hadoblado]

Was the intention behind this thread promotion, frustration, or a genuine wanting for advice, I wonder?

I'd say you're one of the lucky few who can even get to the project completion stage, and should be thankful.

 

[not]

I see that I have painted myself into a corner. Half of me wants to tell you, oh I made this movie, it is about such and such, you can read a review here, see the trailer there, and then get genuine feedback. Feedback from fellow INTP's would be the most gratifying feedback of all. The other half of me values my anonymity and the other value I get from INTPforum too much, namely that I get to discuss a lot of wacky shit that I can't discuss with anyone in my personal life. I don't think I know another INTP on a personal level.

So... What to do? If I told you the title of the film it would only take you 10 additional seconds to know who I am, and then once I become known, I'll end up censoring my posts or disappearing all together.

I do want to know how other people are getting a long as INTP's. How are you guys able to make a living and continue to explore and analyze the world? How do you stave off boredom? How do you put food on the table? Cuz for me, I sometimes end up paralyzed. I know that I have to do a certain amount of mundane useless stuff in order to collect funny green paper to buy stuff, but my brain spends more time analyzing the situation and trying to solve the underlying world implications of the situation than actually doing the monotonous, but seemingly profitable tasks at hand.

 

[Jennywocky]

OMG YOU MADE PRIMER??? Shane, is that you??

Anyway, life does kind of suck in terms of balancing work and interests, and I'm in a lull right now where I do not feel very productive. I want to get back and finish some stories/books I have worked on (and some music to go along with), but tend to be tired after working all day in IT, so I end up vegging and then suddenly feel too tired to do anything. I think I need to organize my actual sleep time better as well, so I have more energy. It can be a conundrum. I think working a job and working on a personal project basically takes blinders -- if you can get a job that doesn't suck up too much brain power, that can help, but then you really just have to exclude timesinks in your personal life and focus on your project... it demands some structure vs floating along and doing whatever seems interesting in the moment.

It's a shame that a lot of creative stuff nowadays is at least 50% business. You can write a book or make a movie, but unless you have a contact/partner who is business-savvy or who has contacts to handle the rest, you need to focus a large chunk of your time on marketing, selling, pitching, etc.

 

[Puffy]

You've picqued my interest, as I love film very much and am curious if I've seen it, but I can understand the need for anonymity. Film's a really expensive hobby, where a lot of creative hobbies don't need to be. I can imagine it being especially difficult to balance and admire those who do.

I'm not sure I'm far along in life to really answer this (just out of university). My real interests are outside the work I do though. I love cinema, comics, and have an active imagination/ lots of ideas, but I don't really have any technical skills or practice in terms of making images. To remedy it I write quite a lot in my own time, either essays, or recently a few screenplays I'm becoming increasingly satisfied with.

I think for me it's a matter of trying to make time as multi-functional as possible. I find walking does a lot for me. I'm interested in urban environments and people watching anyway, but find it a chance to practice photography, think/ day-dream, write sketches, explore -- can pack a lot of different creative exercises in to the same exercise and time. When working I think I prefer getting up extra early at like 4, to write or draw, as after work in likelihood I'll be tired, wanting to eat, and will procrastinate more as a result.

 

[not]

My day job is an editor. TV, promos, commercials, PSA's, whatever comes across my desk. My 'job' takes a lot out of me because I have to always be creative. The worst days are when I don't really like the subject matter, or I have something else I want to do that just won't stop nagging at my soul. Sometimes I wish I studied IT or Engineering, and could have a 9 to 5. As it is now, my days could be 8am to midnight sometimes. - I find going non-stop all week is too difficult for my personality. I start getting resentful when I can't stop and do something else. - I found that it was better when I downsized my lifestyle. I sold and otherwise let go of tons of stuff. I eat out less. I got 2 roommates to help me pay my mortgage. Now I tend to take one or two gigs a week, instead of booking the whole week. Essentially, I have been learning how to live with less, while I wait to learn how to earn more.

As far as the film, I produced it. I raised the funds, but I hired a known director, and then leaned on that director for most of the crew. Essentially, I got a good writer and a good director, and the pieces fell into place. It is hard for me sometimes to complete a project. Especially because I always want everything perfect. It was an interesting change of pace to have other people do it for me. It was a wake up call actually! I can't wait to do it again. "You mean, I don't have to do everything myself?"

As far as distribution, it is hard. I barely had enough funds to finish the movie. I nearly bankrupt myself traveling the country from one festival to the next. Distributors like the film, but are all playing wait and see. I feel that I lost momentum when I took on the promotion myself. I just couldn't afford to hire a PR person. - Next go around, I'll have to figure all of that into the upfront budget. - The good news is I made a lot of contacts.

I'm excited to find the forum. I don't think I know anyone that is INTP in my day to day life. I'm always the odd one out. I'm Mr. Fix It. The guy everyone around me comes to when they need something fixed or explained. But rarely am I the guy hanging out with the crowd or getting invited out. (Mostly cuz I hate crowds and going out)

 

[Coolydudey]

So if you weren't the director or the writer, how much involvement did you have exactly? Would you mind sharing with me the name of the film via PM?

 

[Kuu]

How are you guys able to make a living and continue to explore and analyze the world? How do you stave off boredom? How do you put food on the table? Cuz for me, I sometimes end up paralyzed. I know that I have to do a certain amount of mundane useless stuff in order to collect funny green paper to buy stuff, but my brain spends more time analyzing the situation and trying to solve the underlying world implications of the situation than actually doing the monotonous, but seemingly profitable tasks at hand.

My 'job' takes a lot out of me because I have to always be creative. The worst days are when I don't really like the subject matter, or I have something else I want to do that just won't stop nagging at my soul. Sometimes I wish I studied IT or Engineering, and could have a 9 to 5. As it is now, my days could be 8am to midnight sometimes. - I find going non-stop all week is too difficult for my personality. I start getting resentful when I can't stop and do something else.

This is pretty much my exact predicament. You are like the Kuu of film-making.

It is hard for me sometimes to complete a project. Especially because I always want everything perfect. It was an interesting change of pace to have other people do it for me. It was a wake up call actually! I can't wait to do it again. "You mean, I don't have to do everything myself?"

How did you manage to find the proper people for that, and, most importantly, not go perfectionist insane over their work?

The good news is I made a lot of contacts.

But you have to be that guy to make those contacts work. That salesman guy. That guy that somehow manages to convince someone else to "give me your money for my absolutely doubtful and risky idea that you really should believe blindly in".

It's a shame that a lot of creative stuff nowadays is at least 50% business. You can write a book or make a movie, but unless you have a contact/partner who is business-savvy or who has contacts to handle the rest, you need to focus a large chunk of your time on marketing, selling, pitching, etc.

A huge chunk. Oh I would kill to be those guys from the wealthy families that have everything handed to them in a silver platter.

 

[not]

I was involved quite extensively. I initiated the project. I was the one that said I want to make a film and I sat out on a course to make the film. The first thing I did was hire a writer who sat down with me and hammered out a script. We actually wrote 2 scripts. The first script was based on an idea I had, and was too expensive to produce as my first project. The second script (The one we produced) started as an idea a 3rd person brought to the table that we reworked.

My biggest contributions were at the very beginning and after the film was completed. The actual physical production I delegated.

How did I find reliable people? Well, I sought an award winning writer/director to collaborate with and then differed crew choices to him and his production manager.

Build from the top down. Start with an idea and find the best leaders. Let the production manager be the one to choose his/her people. Let the director choose the DP. Let the DP choose the Gaffer / Key Grip. Let the Gaffer choose the Electrics, the Key grip choose the grips. On down the line. Things work out better when people are comfortable working together.

I have had a few people say, "You didn't write it or direct it so it's not really your movie." And all I can say to that is, the film would not exist if I did not start the ball rolling. And if I chose to direct the film, it would not yet be completed because I would still be trying to raise the funding. - I do not come from a wealthy family with everything handed to me on a silver platter. For me, learning how to raise the funds is the hardest part, and the part that puts me outside of my comfort zone the most. The technical side of things comes to me easily. But without the money, you can't play. That's the rub.

 

[Brontosaurie]

actual crow?