I want you to UPLOAD your first film

I’ve been making films for over 15 years now, and most of those films have never been seen. Every filmmaker has to start somewhere and this is my challenge to those of you that have never uploaded your very first film. DO IT!

Before we go much further, I have to thank all of you for your support. I just found out this morning that this Substack is in the Top 100 of the Film category.

Saying that out loud, sounds pretty unreal, especially as I just uploaded my first film for new artists to see where it starts. If you are just interested in the final video, its at the bottom, but if you are interested in being challenged then here we go.

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Without going to far down the rabbit hole, this is all being created out of a hunger for more. More opportunities for filmmakers and film lovers. Over the past few weeks we have seen tech companies attempt to swallow studios, and I won’t even pretend that I don’t know why. It’s Greed, not for a love of the art form. A love that has been renewed in me from filmmakers that I have gotten to meet and work with over the past 15 years. More importantly its from those first films I have seen from my students. Films that might not mean anything now, but as I look back on my first one I know it meant everything. So to the person that challenged me to make my own film, I can’t ever thank you enough.

When I found out my school was closing I knew I wanted to do something different. I wanted to be the first person people met on their filmmaking journey. I wanted to be the person showing a different way, a way beyond the technical and more into the process of being a creative human. Films to me are more than a way to make money, they are my way of communicating with others. They are my way of showing how I see the world with others. “The Plan” is my first film, but it was also the way I wanted to move throughout the art form.

I knew I wanted to make sure that if another filmmaker saw my first film then we could share together. I will be the first person to tell you, its not good, but thats not the point. The point is that this film taught me that anything is possible when you work together. Need a fancy piece of equipment, why not just build it? Want to see your film tonight, then make a 10 hour film with your friends. None of us are doing this for the money, well almost none of us.

Towards the end of the video you will see an interview that was on the local PBS as part of our school magazine. A fellow classmate, Nicole, followed us on that day and filmed everything. Looking at this from 2008, I am aware that this is a special thing that was offered for filmmakers of that time. We didn’t have the type of technology we do now, this was recorded on a broadcast quality camera. The times have definitely changed.

I hope this inspires you to start and not worry about where it leads. This film is from 17 years ago and reminds me that I never stopped growing. I hope you enjoy and I hope you share your films with me. Drop them in the comments and lets see where we all started.