Ok so I've been working on a project recently and it got me thinking.
Most people would say that I'm a pretty easy going person and usually don't have a problem compromising when people want to do one thing or another even though I might have an opinion or I'd like something most of the time I try to find compromises so that everyone is happy.
Sometimes this might not be the best thing as I have been accused of being indecisive by people.
But not when it comes to filmmaking.
As I am also a control freak whenever we have a project I like to take care of stuff that I know that is essential to the project.
I also have a great team on my hands whom I trust and love working with and sometimes new people come to the team and usually don't have a problem working with them. I've even had producers walk up to me after finishing a project telling me how great I run my team and that it's a spit and polish operation and they can't believe that we actually stick to time plans and make everything happen.
But on the other hand we had a new crew member join a few projects ago and one of the producers who is a good friend of mine asked him how everything was and he said that it was great but he had the feeling that I was in a bad mood and looked really pissed off. This got me thinking because I wasn't in a bad mood or pissed off at anyone I was just really concentrated on the shoot and everything that I had to do as a director. Then I asked a few more people and they all agreed with the guy and also said that they could have mistaken a bad mood for being really focused on what I was doing.
I even realized that when on set if people walk up to me and start talking if it's something having to do with what we're doing I automatically listen and speak with them but if it's something that isn't directly connected to what we're doing I kind of just filter the conversation out of my head and get rid of the person as in give them something to do.
Anyway recently my team and I started working with some other productions that might not be as well organized as we are or I'd like them to be and I've noticed that at times I'm getting really frustrated with people who should be doing their job but aren't.
To the point that I've had a conversation with them if they feel they are qualified to the the work when I have to explain things how and why they should be done that way. I mean I surprised myself because I acted like a real jerk.
So it got me thinking does filmmaking make a person a little more resiliente having to deal with all the road blocks on every corner and then having to deal with people on the other side that might not be suited to do the job you need them to do on your end. Of course not to mention your own focus that you have when working on a project that you are passionate about and want to complete to the best possible outcome.
Does all of this and compounded with not having the patience to deal with every Tom, Dick and Harry that might not be worth your time make you look like a jerk even though you might not be.
Does this kind of thing make successful filmmakers look like jerks sometimes when all they are trying to do is just make the best whatever they are doing as possible.
What do you think guys?
What's you're experience with successful filmmakers that come of as jerks?
What's you're experience with yourself when you're working on something important to you?
Does a filmmaker need to be a jerk sometimes to make it in this industry or can they be a friendly filmmaker?
I'm interested in other peoples opinions.
Best regards to all.
True I agree.
But on the other hand it's hard to make a living when on one hand people in the last few years have no respect for art may it be film or something else so they may not be inclined to pay for it. On the other hand people aka "the gate keepers" who could do a lot more to help upcoming filmmaker do a lot more but have their thumbs so far up their... because they're making way too much money anyway to give a hoot. So much for being grounded and forgetting where they came from. That's why the status quo is like it is and things aren't changing and people get frustrated.
But still some filmmakers keep being persistent and maybe make something in the end but not without having to deal without all the BS that comes along where all they ever wanted to do is create films and are maybe good at it and in the end become jerks because they had to deal with all the BS along the way.
On the other hand don't mind me because I'm just dealing with some crazy clients these days and I'm in a bad mood so the first reaction to stupid thing anyone says is that I'd like to punch them in the face. Just kidding.
Thank you Dan MaxXx interesting comment.
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Making a film (a worthy film) is a vast undertaking requiring the ambition, perseverance and determination of a whole lot of folk. It is not for those with only half vast ambition...
What is it that you expect the dreaded 'gatekeepers' to do for you as an upcoming filmmaker?
I actually don't expect anyone to do anything for me. In fact I have figured out that I'm happiest when people who have noting to contribute best stay as far out of my way as possible. Because if someone or something isn't part of the solution it's part of the problem and this goes for most things in life not just filmmaking.
Most of the time if you sit back and look at the world you realize that yes sometimes people create their own problems but most of the time it's someone else and it's usually someone. If people stayed out of each other's way when they have noting to contribute the solution for problems usually presents it's self.
Now why I state this as my opinion because I've had to rely on myself to do most of the things that I've had to learn in my life. I'm not saying this works for everyone and that I'm right all the way and I do appreciate help whenever it is genuinely and selflessly given or offered.
And I agree with you that creating a film or in fact shooting anything is a vast undertaking that requires a lot of things. Of course lots of people start something but it takes a lot of ambition to finish something. Thank Doug Nelson for pitching in.
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Agree as well, you have a lot on the line and its hard to find good crew people that know when its needs to be business only and are 100 percent at what their task is when needed.
Mike Taime true! Finding people to have on your team is an ongoing process some come and go but only a few stay. On one of my last projects I had a bunch of new really awesome people join. The 2nd AD was great. She kept track of everything we were shooting and what we still had to do so all I had to do was ask her where we are and I got a simple answer.
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Some men have "RBF". You just have to make an extra effort to smile as your baseline expression. It really changes peoples tone around you. That and clap now and then after a great take. Show appreciation. People will definitely know you're in a good mood.
Nick Eff I hope not. Thanks for pitching in .
M L. that I agree completely. What I've always done and will continue to do since I feel that people really appreciate it is that at the beginning of the day tell people what we need to do and at the end of the day thank everyone for their hard work. Of course I also always say at the end of a great take that it went great.
Thank you for bringing it up.
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@Vital The passion you describe is necessary to execute a film and I would NOT call it looking a jerk. You have to channel all thoughts, feelings and focus to be directed on just one thing in such a small moment of time. You cannot allow abstract thought to creep in and have to cut out the dross even at the expense of popularity. We are not making buddies. We are making a movie. We cannot have the allotted time again and have to get it right first few takes. (Unless big studio with a lot of retake time). I have been in situations where I was unpopular because I disagreed with crew members and even threw one of the camera teams mobiles out of the window because they were on social media when we were supposed to be setting up. Someone said here on thread that making movies is a luxury, which I agree with. Why the hell waste time with puerile stuff we can do 24/7? Somebody has to take the reins on set because there are so many possibles or probables and we do not want a shoot that goes any which way but loose.
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Not everyone will be happy all the time and there are some that will never be happy at any time - recognize that its not your baggage. Work with those that you can and not with those that you can't. A very important skill is to recognize and accept that right away (you can't save every dog in the pound).
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No. Becoming a film maker is like becoming rich. The money doesn't change you, it only brings out more of who you really are. If you were a jerk when you were broke, money will only allow you to be a bigger jerk. If you are a jerk before you make a movie, succeeding in cinema will only make you a big jerk with film credits.
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I love this question. People are people, not everyone is going to like you but I have to agree with Anthony Moore, most of the times, if you're a jerk... chances are you started off that way. But the situation described above to me doesn't seem unreasonable... things can get quite hectic on set... you may have to pull up on some people... its part of management... nobody likes management... and as far as being focused is concerned... thats fine... as long as you're not snapping off people's heads.. the more people work with you the more they will understand your process...it is what it is. First impressions can be misleading.
Ok nice thoughts!
Debbie Croysdale I agree with you have to stay focused. I remember specifically on one project it was one of my first I stayed up half the night pepping and then got on set early and when we were all done I was also one of the last to leave because I wanted to make sure that everything was closed up but when I got in my car and started to drive I realized that I had been up for more than 24 hours and had been on my feet for 14 hours straight the whole time I had been on set. Everyone had breakfast and lunch as well as breaks in between where I was up and down the set so many times I can't even remember and never sat down. Funny thing is that it's literally the same way on most project where thankfully I work a lot with my girlfriend who is the DP on our projects and she reminds me to drink something in between because I'd forget to do even that.
Never had to throw anyone off the set before but I do always have one of our producers there and he's a big biker looking dude and we agreed that myself and a few others never had to be the bad guys on set and if there was any problems just tell him and he'd take care of it. Like people who are not needed not hanging around and stuff. Works like a charme and he even sees people coming and cuts them off before they have a chance to bug us while we're doing something. Great guy.
OK Doug Nelson good point. I agree completely. Recognizing who you can and can't work with and I think that having this ability is a really good thing. Basically you need to listen to your gut when it comes to working with people. Good one.
Anthony Moore that's an interesting point of view and I do agree with it. If you're a jerk then being in a position of "power" you can be an even bigger jerk. Interesting. Although I did have one instance where a good friend of mine was my 1st AD but he way getting cranky because there was a problem with scheduling and a location we were supposed to use and he was really getting on all our nerves but I told him to calm down that we'll deal with it and just let me thing everything calmed down and 5 minutes after we were back on track.
Solange Plaza you're right I really try to be focused and sometimes I'm focused the same way in preproduction because I often like to do my own scheduling and shot lists just to be on top of things. But I actually enjoy doing all of these things. Actually I've figured out the most frustrating part is at the end part of post production when I already know what I want and how I want everything to look. For example a lot of the time my girlfriend who si the DP also does editing and so do I but she's a lot better at it than I am but sometimes we disagree on how something should look or a shot that I like but she doesn't and it can be a bit frustrating but that's a different dynamic at play there.
On the other hand I tried to run a project once in a way that everyone pitched in and listened to all the ideas and used them. Complete democracy but the project didn't turn out well so in the end we reedited it the way I thought it should look and if worked out fine.
So I would never like to be a jerk in any sense but I do know that I have to stand my ground and do a project the way I envision it. But I am always open to good suggestions when the project is still in it's planing stage.
Very interesting points of view. Thank you good people!
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I think there is a common misconception that because you are the ship's captain or because you are in charge of production, means you have to rule with the ol' iron fist (thus being known as a "jerk"). Having ran a lot of things (including a worldwide company for many years), one's most important thing they can do is be self aware...realistically. One can think aren't tough or difficult, or that they are a nice guy, but at the end of the day we often times give ourselves a "pass" or we tend to see things only through our own prism. Its up to you to police yourself and your own way you deal with things to understand if you are being a jerk. Running a production is tough, and dealing with many different personalities (especially in the arts where many have their own viewpoints on things), makes things exponentially harder but being a "jerk" isn't necessary ever...being stern and/or making the hard decisions with class and treating people with dignity is the key and THAT is when people look up to you and respect you. Nobody every respects a jerk...ever. They might do great work, they might have a reputation for great work, but people don't respect jerks. My 2 cents :)
Wow Sean Staples nicely put! I agree completely nobody respects jerks even if they do good work. I have experience with a person who was my mentor and trainer for many years and did really good work but in the end because of the way he acted I lost all respect for him.
I also agree that we sometimes look at things the way we want to see them and it's up to us to keep it in check.
That's why I'd like to thing that being prepared helps in this area as in knowing what you're going to be doing minimizes the possibility of confusion and maybe because of this people trust that you know what your doing and automatically have less problems because less things go wrong and there are no opportunities for this to happen.
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Thanks! I agree with you totally. I too have had a couple of mentors whom I didn't necessarily respect as a result of their actions. I learned from them, and I knew they were very good at what they did, but at the end of the day, I was only there because I wanted to learn from them...and I let those actions guide how I conduct myself. I don't always succeed either. I've made huge mistakes...and they cost me...but each one of those experiences helped me become more "aware", more "conscious" of what not to do...and i'm honestly very thankful for that. In any event, the old adage of putting yourself in another's shoes is always a good rule of thumb! Again, just my 2 cents! Hey lets work together sometime!!
Yeah you're right Sean Staples. But the funny thing is that once you lose respect in someone it's very hard to get it back. One of my mentors still has trouble understanding that even though I've even explained it.
I've learned a lot form all of my mentors and I've been fortunate to be able to recognize what is worth learning and using and what isn't. But it's ture walking in someone else's shoes does teach you something. I've had mentors that gave me a chance to prove myself and I excelled on the other hand later on I've felt resentment from the very people that gave me a chance that I was able to use the knowledge gained in a different way.
Interesting this also falls into the same category as being or at least looking like a jerk.
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@Vital COOL you got some crew that looks big biker and gets rid of dead wood before they suck up energy on set. Kudos to you and your girlfriend.
Thank you Debbie Croysdale. The guy is a really good friend of ours and knows how to get stuff done. Usually doesn't do most of the stuff himself but knows people who do. So he was the perfect choice as a producer besides looking really scary just by standing there. But he's actually a really great guy.
Actually the whole crew at least the one that stuck around since the beginning is really great.
They figured out that we wanted to be filmmakers and said "Oh that's cool how can I help..." and things just went from there. Some really, really like it and others helped once and didn't come back. But that's the name of the game. My girlfriends sister who was initially really into writing actually figured out she was one hell of a production designer and works in this field now a lot more.
The same thing for myself I like film because I can use all my knowledge from all the other fields that I've been interested in since forever.
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Vital can you share with me more about your production? I’d love to know more.
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I don’t think being focused on the job and knowing what you want makes you a jerk. Part of filmmaking is being a manager and “making the trains run in time.” You are literally calling the shots! This means you have to be tough sometimes and not try to be everyone’s best friend, although being professional and polite whenever possible seems to work best in my opinion. Basically, in order to be a filmmaker you have to be a benign dictator.
Hey Chris Bournea good point of view. I agree completely. I think that people sometimes forget that it's the directors responsibility to bring the project to a complete finish at the end. On the other hand I do also agree that being professional and polite is a good thing but still I see no problem with everyone having some fun while filming. After all filmmaking is supposed to be fun but within reason and to an extent that does not disrupt the workflow.
That's also the thing whenever I get on set I usually fall into a work mode. I'm not saying that I never have fun and don't find things funny but most of the time I am focused on what we're supposed to be doing. Most of the time it's talking to different people how to set up the scene or with the DP and also with the talent. I also do notice that a lot of unneeded people leave the set when we're not shooting and I have no problem with that. But what I've never liked is when we're getting ready to shoot and we've worked out all the needed stuff with shooting and I'm working with the talent on what and how we're doing I don't like people joking around and disturbing the actors. After everyone knows what they're doing and is confident about what they're doing I have nothing against joking around when stuff goes wrong. I think that's one of the best things that happen and probably everyone loves that part. But I must say that I've never had a problem on set with people we've always handled all the problems before they got out of control and I'm really grateful to have worked with such great people on our shoots.
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Something I ended up watching today by one of the grandaddy's of composer samples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wADJlKGg0NE Just thought it on topic with our conversation :)
Oh Sean Staples very cool video thank you! And it actually got me thinking about a couple of things.
The 1st is that two things can happen you can either be on the receiving end of someone who's higher than you being a jerk or you can be the jerk dishing it out to someone else.
2nd that the jerk like behavior might not be the person or yourself being a jerk but maybe just being "jerkish" at that point.
3rd that the better at their job and higher people are the less jerks they can be.
So really interesting because it got me thinking about the beginnings when my girlfriend and I got started in filmmaking. I wouldn't say that we argued but there were quite a few disagreements on how something should be done and they were all pointless because after doing a few projects for other people we both realized that each one of us were really good at something the other was not and we began to trust each other's abilities and the more I think about it the more this kind of stuff impacts the dynamic of working with people. If people have confidence in each other's abilities then everything works great. On the other hand if for example one person loses faith in let's say the director and the director doesn't handle the situation well. Becomes a bit of a jerk because of being stressed then the person loses confidence and this can be a ripple effect and other people feel worse and then the director is even more stressed. So I think that one thing if you're a director, producer, basically anybody that's working with people under you have a responsibility to project confidence in what you're doing and that you are able to professionally handle the situations.
If you're able to do that people will pick up on it and it will trickle down the chain and not disrupt the working environment.
So the takeaway for me is what I had always thought that being a jerk is never a good thing because it makes the situation worse even though we might all become a little bit of jerks at one point or another it's up to us to realize that it can have a negative impact and just change it.
Interesting and actually inspiring! :)
Here's another video on this subject that I found interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRRvjZ_XNog
I agree with that Damian Lloyd! That's why I think that everyone on set is important at least if they're not being disruptive and I've never dismissed anyone that has given me something that might help.
But like I said the only time I've noticed myself ignoring people was when someone starts talking to me about something completely unrelated to what we were doing. Something along the lines "Oh you know what would be cool..." or "Oh we should..." and this is only because I really believe that when we get to set we already need to know what we're doing and not just figuring it out. The time for "it would be cool..." has passed in preproduction or we could waist another three days doing everything that would look cool and still not get something that could be edited into a final product.
Which reminds me of a shoot where we had a bunch of extras in the shot and needed them to perform some action and when we were advising them how to perform a couple of them had their own suggestions and some were good but a few didn't have good suggestions on how to perform but in staid of trying to persuade them that one way was better than the other I agreed on a compromise. I said that we'll shot both my suggestion and their suggestion. As it happened the ones that were most persistent forgot about their suggestions after two or three takes even though I was perfectly willing to try another take and use their suggestion.