How to Fail Up: BTS from my Directorial Debut

Ah, the good old days. My first feature film.

It’s crazy to look back and see all the things I’ve learned.

There was so much we didn’t know.But we all start somewhere – it’s just part of the process of learning.

However, not only was there so much we didn’t know – we had no idea where to find the information. Where do we learn, who will tell ushow distribution works? What do they even do? How do you raise money? How do we do… really, any number of things?

We had serious roadblocks in front of us.There seemed to be an invisible barrier between us and the next step.

So, what did we do?

We figured we weren’t going to find out how to move forward by waiting around. We decided tolearn the hard way. We’d reached a point where it was time to take action.

We made a feature film. And this is our behind-the-scenes featurette.It was included with the DVD, and I’m finally sharing it.

Oh, the things we learned.

It was fun. It was painful. We carried many heavy things, told people to do lots of things in front of a camera, with varying success, and spent all our money. Also, it was hot. (Really freakin’ hot. Arizona Summers are no joke!)

Over the course of perhaps 2 or 3 months, shooting anywhere from 2-4 days (some half-days) a week, $5,000, and 1,000* arguments later, Joe and I finished our first feature film.

*Not really 1,000 arguments. Joe and I got along great since I’d been so particular in ensuring we were compatible before deciding to partner with him. That’s an important part of finding a partner, and I detailedthat process here.

The experience I’ve had with overcoming personal filmmaking roadblocks is one of the main reasons I had been wanting to start a site like Storyteller for a long time.

I figured I could help alleviate some of the doubt and provide helpful info to other filmmakers, then motivate them to just get out there and make it happen (because ultimately, that is what we all have to do. No amount of information can change that).

If you are in a place where you aren’t sure what to do next, or seem to be stuck and not moving forward… consider joining the Storyteller community. Let’s get your goals figured out and discover what your next step should be.

Join fellow filmmakers in the Storyteller community.