Physically, I am exhausted. Mentally, I am drained. Emotionally, though? I couldn’t be happier. Last night we wrapped up a shoot on a short film I wrote and starred in. This is a huge accomplishment which if you haven’t already worked multiple jobs on a shoot, I hope you get to experience it someday because there is nothing like it. It seems like a low budget concept to be working more than one job when you are filming something until you take a look at Ben Stiller in Zoolander and Zoolander 2; writer, producer, director, AND FINALLY actor. There are a million different moving parts when you are playing multiple roles on set, along with multiple other film artists like this. It can be fun, horrible, exciting, devastating, but most of all, it is rewarding. Knowing that you accomplished everything you did and that your product will be something you love and are proud of… There’s no feeling quite like it.

      If you are looking to get a short film made, or any film project for that matter, it may seem hard to believe that all you need is a camera, but in reality that could be all you need. It really just depends on the quality of project you are looking to make. If you want something to enter into film festivals then you will need more than just a camera. You will need a professional one, with lights, sound, sets, probably some decent costuming as well. But if you are just looking to get your voice out there and show people what it is you are interested in creating, then someone with a good eye to film, a script, and some actors is all you really need. The next step would be to find a place to film and then finally, just get it done. This last part, as simple and obvious as it seems, is the most critical.

      Every project I’ve ever worked on has had some form of “should we do this right now” and the answer to that question is always YES. If you have an idea of where your project is going and you have the people and technology that you need to get it all done then yes, you absolutely should start working on it now, and finish it now, and package it up with a pretty little bow right now. If you don’t start working on your projects now then you will never have a chance to work on them at all. This is just how life works and it is a fact that if you put something off and keep putting it off, it will never get done. Making a project and getting it all put together can seem like an insurmountable task, but when you think about it, that’s all the industry is really about. Making the impossible come true and then some! When you think of the movie King Kong you think of a GIANT gorilla who was the KING of the jungle and NOTHING could stop him. In reality, everyone knows that a gorilla could never be that huge and that lions are the king of the jungle, but when you were watching the film, you knew that it was real and wouldn’t believe anything else about it! That’s what we do in the film industry, we make the unreal real.

      So if you are thinking about making your own project, have ever had the thought in your mind to do so or are just now getting inspired to make it happen, DO IT. Go out and make art, and get your voice out into the world. No matter what people’s opinions are about what you make, you will gain respect as someone who is getting it DONE. Make sure you share your projects with us when you make them!