Here are the most recent questions I have been getting...

How often do I film? Two categories here. How often do I get hired to film and how often do I just grab a camera and film.

I have been blessed to have only one job my entire adult life. That's being a filmmaker. On averge I am filming for hire about twice a month

In my 20s I was doing 5 to 6 videos a month. Sometimes 3 a weekend. Now a days 1 to 2 is just fine.

But I make more money now so I can do that. Back in the day I would do 3, 3k videos over a weekend. 9k total budget is the way I saw it.

So I would squeeze 3 videos in roughly 2 days. Keep all my rentals weekend rates and try and make a 2k profit. Tough grind though.

Now I do 1 or 2 a month with a lot more prep and post time. So as far as videos go, I'm maybe shooting 5 days a month. Actual behind camera.

However, I try and shoot 3 days a week regardless. Anything. My kids, church, sunsets, camera testing, short films. All things.

It's my career. So I want to stay as sharp as I can. And that means practice. Even when I don't want to. But I grab my camera(any will do)

HVX, D90, HV20 whatever. Usually whatever is charged. And just shoot. No lights. Just go. No tripod. Just point and shoot. Make something.

Edit that night and add music and titles. Bang it out. This helps me to develope a completion mentality. Beginng middle end.

That helps out a lot when I get stressed or freaked out on a project. Just keep moving.Those days alone filming worms in my backyard payoff

Just like shooting free throws. Only really matters in the playoffs. All those thousand of practice shots pay off. Trust me.

These days almost every project has been benefited by something I shot that month. So keep shooting. If you actually ARE a Filmmaker...

Then consider this your first warning. If you have 2 B told again to keep filming you most likely are not a filmmaker and should just start

A blog now critiquing what you don't do or know. And to those who are awake now, right on!!! Go make what you know you were designed to do.

Learning how to make a video is like learning how to make a cake. You can stand and watch. Learn the angles. Who to hire for lights etc.

Learn to edit or hire an editor. It's ALL learnable and doable. Now imagine 2 seperate little islands. Both are beautiful in their own way.

Island 1 is full of the best fruit you have ever tasted. Island 2 is full of people who allow you to eat the fruit and grant you access

Back to island 1 to keep eating. The fruit is on very high trees, but with some training you can learn to climb. Simple enough.

2 islands. One has fruit, the other the access to eat the fruit and approval to go back and get more fruit. Now imagine a bridge.

That bridge connects the two islands. It's about 500 miles long and you can only walk. Every mile or so is a checkpoint.

Think any 2nd or 3rd world country. They stop you, check your fruit, sometime hassle you, and sometimes they don't let you through.

Sometimes you get to pass etc. But that bridge is looooong. Hundreds of miles. Hundreds of check points. Each one gets harder more difficult

Let's go back to island 1. You love fruit. Who doesn't. You love eating it. You even like climbing the trees.

A bit of hard work makes you feel good. But that bridge...man it's long. And so much BS just to get to eat and get approval to go back.

People love the islands of filmmaking. They just don't want to travel on the bridge between them. To hard, long, arbitrary,

Mean, confusing, stressful. The real artsist lives on that bridge. Knows the boarder patrol. Makes pacts, agreements, deals. Has been hurt.

Rejected, turned around, denied. Does long days walking in between. Some weeks doesn't see a soul. Wonders if they are still on the bridge.

But knows what's it's like to get to the end, eat and get sent back for more. So when I meet someone who says they have a passion.

A passion to make films or videos. And want to get some advice. It's tough. Who wouldn't want to make videos. Get hired by musicians.

Big record companies. Travel all over the world. I get it. But the other 80% is a long brutal road that you can't teach.

And truths be told, people do not want to do. A filmmakers reel is his passport. That's what I look for. The stamp of traveling down that painful road.

No one signs up for passion projects desiring the painful bridge that Makes it all happen. That sounds like...work?if people wanted to work

They would do something other than the arts. But the wise artist begins to get a taste for the bridge. The long walks. Let me break it down

They would do something other than the arts. But the wise artist begins to get a taste for the bridge. The long walks. Let me break it down

To this day I see and meet people more talented than me. But I have learned how to travel on the bridge. And talent rarely survives.

All the artistic genius falls apart on mile 10. Out of breath(or money) they turn around and say "forget this". And then go start a blog.

Critique or convince other institutions that don't want to cross the bridge either that they should teach. So you think you are a filmmaker?

Cool. I hope to see you on the bridge bloddy and bruised. Maybe We can walk a few miles together.

Finalizing the Zac Brown video for "Toes". Zac is a madman and knows exactly what he wants in a video. A true maverick.
One of the questions I get asked the most is "who comes up with the idea for the video?" 3 scenarios: Band has an idea. Director or both.
Zac falls into category one. Zac had so many ideas. In fact, we shot enough for 3 videos. That's what was so great about Zac
We just went for it all. Every idea. Something relaxing about knowing you are doing everything and later will choose what works
Zac is a true artist. And what I mean by that is he has balls. Not afraid to get bloody. Not afraid to work. That's an artist.

When it's been decided that a video is going to be "Performance only" there should be no treatment. Only one thing needs to be determined.
And that one thing is a Location. No need for fancy adjectives and description of editing techniques. It should just be pictures of spots.
Pictures of possible locations and menues for lunch should be all that Is decided upon for a performance video. Amen?!

Heck just type in philip bloom and be suuuuper hyped on a guy that is shooting bar none the best images in the world.

I would kill to have bloom shoot something for me. But to my point: people are shooting. They are beginning 2 see...

That they can get the look. They can compete on that level. Now what? Well, here comes the hard part. Now make something people want to see.

Something people want to hire you To make for them. Now tell stories. That's the curve.

But man it's encouraging to see what people are doing. Can't wait for some kid to make a 5 hour epic that blows everyone away.

Takes a few years and crafts something special. Edits it, scores it sound designs it. That will be a great day for filmmaking.