Elliot Grove, founder of the Raindance Film Festival, provides 20 mantras you can use every day for great filmmaking.
1. Filmmakers don’t choose their fans. Fans choose their filmmaker.
2. Film lovers choose filmmakers they trust and respect.
3. Be yourself.
4. Filmmakers need a base of power and authority — but the more they use it, the less there is left.
5. The best filmmakers use persuasion.
6. Filmmakers set the ethical standards.
7. Integrity is the bedrock of effective filmmakers.
8. “Selfship” is the enemy of filmmaking.
9. Be quick to praise, but slow to admonish. Praise in public, but admonish in private.
10. A great filmmaker stamps out self-serving politics.
11. Be sure to know as much as possible about the people you are collaborating with.
12. A filmmaker manages the shoot, but great fimmakers lead their team.
13. Flexibility is an essential characteristic.
14. A filmmaker is a steward.
15. Sleep on it.
16. When making decisions about people, listen to your gut.
17. Great filmmakers avoid the phony.
18. Learn to say, out loud, “I was wrong” and “I don’t know.”
19. If you know a plan or decision is wrong, don’t implement it. Instead, keep talking.
20. Each of us has potential to be a filmmaker.
To read more about the meaning of these mantras and how he came up with them, check out the article on the Raindance website:
www.raindance.org/20-mantras-great-filmmakers-use-every-day/
While the Raindance Filmmaking Courses and Certificates cost money, there are a lot of great free resources under the Tips & Vids section of their website.
Indie LIBRE 