Every independent filmmaker has a day-job of some sort. They all need one to fund their own "personal " projects. While this is a commonplace fact in the filmmaking world, many in the "civilian", non film world don't know this.
In actuality, most mainstream documentary films, the ones that show in theaters to a "wide" audience (ie: Blackfish, Searching for Sugarman, 20 Ft. From Stardom etc.) are usually all "labors of love" (I will talk about this term in a later post for sure as it pushes many buttons for me.) It is rare and almost unheard of for a documentary filmmaker to not need a day-job. Some documentary filmmakers are independently wealthy but most are working at least one full-time job where they are getting paid and many others where they are not, in service to their personal work. Many cobble together freelance work for pay while still working on their own personal work as well.
As such, the only way to keep on working and making a living is to "keep saying yes", "never turn down a job", "do any task, no matter what."
It seems then that filmmaking/media making, at least for profit, is a phenomenon of the American dream. Work hard, "say yes to everything", and you will prosper. Prospering here however means keeping a paying job no matter what and simply furthering the goals of mainstream media. Most people I know working in the industry are journeymen and women who are some of the best problems solvers and the hardest workers who will do pretty much anything in service of "the story." They have to be as each project they work on has a short timeline so there is a lot of pressure to get "everything right." Additionally, there are so many others chomping at the bit for their jobs. As such, many do all this without having health insurance while struggling to get into a union or working overtime under stressful conditions.
These are people who are unacknowledged except in awards season, when even then, only the very senior people get called out and celebrated.
It is a hard life but a gratifying one for those that love it. Many leave but many do not. Many thrive on the intensity, the collegial atmosphere, the gratification of the finished product, the money, etc. Many take on day jobs outside of the industry and work on their own personal projects in their own time.
Major kudos to all the independent filmmakers I know and don't know in the world, documentary or otherwise, for all the hard, hard work you do, and all the time and energy you spend sharing stories.
Thank you.
I feel this way as a fiction writer and poet, too, Jackie. Most people writing creatively never make a living at it. The most you can hope for some days is a small press publication that gives you access to some grant money and/or a few speaking gigs that may earn you a stipend or at least are a place to sell your books...
ReplyDelete