Thanks for coming on! I began my team by calling Colleges and Universities and then showing up for classes. Professors would have me on and allow me to recruit. And since then, we never looked back. Started a Production company.
Inspirational. I too have come from nothing. Working on a documentary currently. I need to learn more of the distraction/business side of it though before it’s finished/released. Daunting to say the least.
I agree with most of what Jason says. And yet - for me - filmmaking takes so much effort and hard work that I can only do it out of love. Regardless of what the market is saying, I have to be in love with whatever film I am making. And sure, there are painful consequences for ignoring the market and I live with those. I guess this makes me an amateur, although I like to think of myself as an artist. If it's about earning a living then there's other professions I could do with less effort and far greater rewards.
The industry is cooked. You really do need money or connections to make an impression. Don’t do this for a living. Make films because you love art and love storytelling. That’s the most rewarding reason.
Do your movie. Make your own success..all filmmakers have different stories..do what you do..don't get sucked in to the shark tank..you can succeed without the corrupt ones
Loved this inspiring discussion with J. Horton! As someone who's always been passionate about filmmaking but has faced struggles getting started, it's great to hear from someone who's built a successful career despite lacking connections or money. J's tips on perseverance, creativity, and community-building are seriously motivating - thanks for sharing your wisdom!
Much respect to you J. Horton! Came from a literal trailer park, from nothing and worked really really hard to get his movies made. So inspirational. There are no excuses today.
Everybody starts out somewhere. I would keep doing my day job to pay the bills. In my off time look for a film school and see if I could take a class. This would get me around like minded people and possibly start making connections etc. Go from there, but most important if you have a dream, take steps each day, even if they are tiny ones, towards your goal. Don't give up. Take Care.
YES! Keep doing things. Don't stand still. Put your stuff out there and keep grinding. The difference between the people that make it and the folks that don't is never giving up. It's tough, but nothing is impossible.
It depends what you mean by both, really. Because it's definitely possible to make a living making your own videos without needing connections. But that's a RU-vidr, and that's not what most people mean. Similarly, it's certainly possible to get jobs in the industry and work your way up without needing connections (although it helps to be able to live with uncertain income, so it's much easier for the already wealthy), but again, what people really mean is they want to be able to direct their own features. The other mistake that I think people make in every industry is assuming that the 'connections' have to be people who are already established and high-profile in the industry. Like a young band expecting that Elton John is going to perform with them, or the young engineer asking Elon Musk for a job. And sure, some people get lucky, but look at the career of someone like Edgar Wright. He went to a fairly normal school, didn't go to some sort of expensive film school, he went to the same university that rejected me, made films on a video camera he won in a competition, and then got a film noticed by comedians David Walliams and Matt Lucas who asked him to direct something for them. This got noticed by Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, who asked him to direct Spaced (maybe in the States, it'd be harder to get someone so inexperienced past the commissioners?), and then the early part of his film career was all making stuff with Simon Pegg. So yeah, that connection paid off handsomely for him, but the point is that Simon Pegg was also a nobody at the time, and they grew together.
This segment is the first clip from our second interview with Jason. Here is our first interview with him - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1B9k3b_StaA.html
