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DIY or DIE- SINK or SWIM

I've been thinking a lot about survival...how to survive as an independent interneTting artist type person... I survive because of affordable and powerful hardware like the Workstation and lil render farm I put together... big cheap drives... cheap ram etc... A free international exhibition platform like youtube... and I survive because of you... all my supporters who pitch in when things get rough...

Now since what I make is so "counter culture"...its like really far from teh mainstream and the bland tastes of the masses... I don't have an audience big enough to make thousands of dollars from adsense revenue on my vids etc... or raise like $50,000 through donations.... but the reason I survive is because I don't need it ^ ^

I'm sure there's a thousand people out there right now trying to raise money to get people to make they 3d animated feature film for them... while I sit here in a bedroom grinding out frames all night... If your one of those people... NO ONE is going to give you the money or do anything for you! Especially if your idea is original and you've never directed anything before...So just learn the shit and do it yourself! These are the times we live in now! I'm just one guy who's capitalizing on all the affordable tech... anyone else can as well...

If I didn't learn how to do EVERYTHING there is to know to make a 3d animated feature film I would have to pay people to do things for me... So all of a sudden I would need $500,000 to pay people to work on it for a year or two... proB more money than that actually... so I would not survive... I would not exist...

Thats why its DIY or DIE! If your doing mainstream stuff maybe you have an audience big enough to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars... if so thats great for you.... BUT if you want to make stuff thats nowhere near teh mainstream be ready to do it all yourself!

If you're making derivative mainstream stuff the BAD thing is then you are competing with the majors and the stuff they make... and thats a hard battle to win eyeballs in... seems the only people that have success with that is with parody stuff... spinning off or playing off of things the majors make... AND from what I've seen there isn't much original stuff going on in the majorS...

So be derivative and syphon off the mainstream trying to play with the majors or be ORIGINAL and make your own little place in the world for yourself... NOW plenty of people are doing they DIY thing making parodies and spinning off of popular things and finding success today.... BUT if I may I quote a line I've heard on the Accidental Creative podcast "COver bands don't change the world" You may be popular today and everyone instantly recognizes yer thang BUT you will be forgotten tomorrow... AND you just become one of many drones all replaceable and forgettable over time...

Its not really about the money either... I've spent about $20,000 to make HSM and that money is spread over two years.... How much money do people spend on BULLSHIT every year? Probably enough to make a film... Its not really about time either... Right now I'm working 8 hours a day on the film to complete all the animation in 12 months total... cut that to 4 hours a day for someone working full time they could do it in 2 years.... How much time do people spend on BULLSHIT every day?

Now after answering those questions... is the reason you're not making your film because "its all too difficult"? If so.... GTFO because your not hardcore enough to be a DIY er DIE'ER in todays world... yer a dinosaur waiting for the old days to come back so you can just be a "director" The age of the UBERECTOR is upon us so get with it or NEVER see your film made. If your going to ask people for money YOU BETTER BE FUCKING HARDCORE and DO YOUR BEST because those people placed they trust in you and gave you they hard earned money so you better be hardcore.

Its like waiting for all the waves to die down in the ocean before you jump in and swim... the waves will always be there... the sea is not going to part for you like you may have heard that it had for others...those times are gone....but you have to go anyway...its not as rough as it looks but you do have to swim for yourself there are no more boats to make your journey warm and comfortable... you have to cut through the cold dark sea on your own... with your passion burning giving you a light to guide you through the next wave... now imagine the feeling that comes when you reach that island of your dreams that you made...and soon everyone will visit and marvel at this new thing ^ ^ Would it be the same if you took the warm comfortable boat ride to an island that was already made?

Comments

  1. M, this is kinda of off-topic but have u seen this? http://flattr.com/beta/ I think it is the future for independent artists!

    And I think it would be AWESOME if you had all your music available in Bandcamp http://bandcamp.com/ Its the número uno for online music distribution, its a 100% free, people can download all tracks in any format they want for free and u can even sell music and they won't take away anything from the sells.

    Keep on going man, this blog is an inspiration to me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Haha I wish to be a creator of Flattr, I think they have the biggest piece of Cake than creators and consumers, theBIGGEST Cake,the Whole Cake, Overwhelming Confectionery Factory, Charlie And the Chocolate Factory, I want to be Willy Wonka, Ill be Willy, I m Willy and this is all mine Muhaha! no really good project^^

    ReplyDelete
  3. Im burning
    I cant understand people u want the Idea or u want moneyO_o
    Lady Idea- Its Love, people do u want to see your love sold as a Geisha?
    BIG FAT rich Daddy ll borrow u some money
    if you throw up her hands and feet
    because he'd like so to
    tear her face because he'd like so
    she will cry and we'll stand still and watch
    as our love dying?
    No better to die, to help, to fight with a sword, to not let him to touch her
    because by nature She belongs to people, She is beautiful, She is FREE, and She should remain so..

    ReplyDelete
  4. The pure idea.. under the punch machine it ll be a good cliche.
    Idea will die under press but it will remain good template for sell..and copy and sell and copy and sell
    And the film"Industry" good industry press-machine for cliches...
    I m from the University that named as Academy of Fine Arts ..
    a temple of art and its maw, alma mater, In that temple they killed that mater, worshiped a corpse of dead Art,
    Fucked it back and forth and got money from it. Better the Bomb 'd fall on such Academy..
    I think if u r not a mainstream whore dont sell the Idea like whore
    When the grateful spectators Give the actress gifts and flowers after the performance for her talent, for her Art there is something PURE, in that...

    ReplyDelete
  5. i agree with everything m dot
    i just finished watching a video about how Wiki Leaks in about 5 years can take over investigative journalism so anyone with an interest and Internet connection be a investigative journalist

    in those 5 year you probably could of put the dreams back into the peoples hands and film back into the art industry
    all us small guys are with you to the end m dot strange!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Read somewhere an interview with B. Plimpton where someone asked why he keep doing films the way he does it, as an independent- "just pure fear, once you start you have to keep going" was the answer...

    ReplyDelete
  7. how to survive? become a man of the sixth race the fourth level!
    U.S. independent film industry was born when a few brave filmmakers to their OWN funds made movies in the financing of which havnt been interested in Hollywood studios.
    IT was the birth of the independent filmmaking
    Now there is a Sundance-platform for it.
    People U know the film can be even and low-budget but it must be very high quality.
    Look people- two of them: Frédéric and Surrealist.. Anfegahz..
    I apologize to you I dnt know what are doing there but for sure snapping birds with camera in sunny day.. its not a filmmaking yet!
    I see u dont understand where u fall into
    Work on an off-shore OIL RIG, then all your HARD_EARNED money put in film.
    Do u want it? Do u? Are u ready for this..
    U want to earn big money on films GO TO HOLLYWOOD
    films are not the production of sausages
    U both want to be sausages-Kings GO TO HOLLYWOOD!
    U want SPECIAL EFFECTS not FILMS, GO TO HOLLYWOOD!
    There's the audience more big and more foolish movies C-Mon

    ReplyDelete
  8. @16 bit:

    i do not want to earn big money. i do only want to know how to SURVIVE while spending the life doing movies... i wanted to know how m dot does it to get 2-3 slices of bread or whatever a day and some place to stay.

    ReplyDelete
  9. "Think Outside The Box Office"
    if u'll find this book for free your lucky^^

    ReplyDelete
  10. Now I'm not trying to convince anyone that Hollywood is worth anything (IMO It's not) but I was just thinking, Did the original Hollywood film makers guys sellout to Hollywood? Or did they make Hollywood?
    I've been thinking, everyone seems to be shaking their fists at Hollywood all the time and I have to wonder why your even pay attention to them? They're them and we're us, I don't see why the opposition is there. I mean you can ride on being a "Hollywood film maker" or a "Indie film maker" but I think "BAH FORGET BOTH OF THEM!" All I think is important is that your a "Film maker"

    If I end up an indie film maker then I'm gonna make the best films I can, If I end up a Hollywood Film maker then I'm gonna make the best film I can, If I'm a film maker from Africa or Switzerland or wherever then I'm still (Guess it) gonna make the best film I can

    Of course I can see why the Hollywood is dislike-able, and I would prefer indie but if I make a film then I don't want it to be a great "Indie film", I want it to be a great film period!

    Let's look at avatar...well actually I haven't seen that yet...Lets look at Transformers, It sold pretty good, It was based on a pre existing series and it had fancy effects, but it wasn't a good film, If they had made Transformers as an indie film (With out all the fancy effects and actors that hollywood ppl can afford) then it wouldn't have been a small hit like it was, A film is a visual story and if the story can't stand on it's own then what is it besides trash?That's why movies get remade, I mean you'd think somebody wouldn't remake some old movie since the cameras weren't as good or cause the effects weren't great, The reason it gets remade is cause it stood the test of time as a great film (And because people can't come up with anything better to top it) ...Well now I'm rambling so peace out ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  11. 16 bit you don't get me right, and no offense, it's not you i'm talking to.

    if you work 8-10 h a day on a film like m does, there is no time for some kind of work that provides you with some minimum money to afford a room and food. and i just like to know where to get this minimum money...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Frédéric!
    That should be born in you,
    Sleeping..............
    no offense
    GO to work!
    Make films on week-ends

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sorry Frederic
    I didnt get u right
    I didnt really get u
    And I dont want to get U

    ReplyDelete

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