One mo'gin...

oops, please excuse my Ebonics; I should have said, one more time… at least that’s the hope as I kicked off another fundraiser yesterday for my short film, Denied. The initial four-month campaign ended 12.30.10, and I had to take a step back to review lessons learned and strategize my next (and hopefully final) execution.

As autodidact with esteem for the craft of filmmaking, it’s very important to me that I appreciate the process. While I haven’t formally studied, I do have somewhat of a history dabbling in film: from producing/directing my first short silent horror as a child to collaborating with other indie filmmakers/students and working on professional productions. I’m at a stage now where I want to deliver nothing less than my best – excellence is the order of business. I admit, it can be a teensy-bit frustrating for many reasons that I don’t care to give attention to, and would on serve to take up space. Needless to say, I’ve learned the skill of “get over it and move forward”.

One of the first things I realized is that I have to actually be social in order to connect with Entertainment and Media professionals, and to locate individuals interested in what I have to offer. Don’t get me wrong virtual socializing has great value, but people need to see me in person. My issue is that I don’t have the time to “play” filmmaker – I’m a Telecommunications professional whose leisure time is valuable. Besides, as I mentioned, I’m familiar with collaborating on a film. However, what I purpose to contribute, as a filmmaker, is a ministry of reconciliation: I’m simply using film as a ministry tool. I need to know there’s a genuine sense of interest in my work, and I know it when I see or hear it.

So in considering how to navigate the many local filmmaker-networking opportunities, I purposely choose to attend events I feel I will meet professionals I could leverage introductions to from associations to long-term relationships. I’m excited about the connections I’ve made thus far, and satisfied that my material is moving in a direction I want them to in order to fulfill the purpose I intend for them. For the Denied project I identified key individuals I either have or would like to build a relationship with, and who I believe are genuinely interested in what I’m using film for.

In strategizing another fundraising round, I developed a grassroots model integrating social media that I believe will expand my circle of influence to raise awareness about the project and drive contributions. Check out the official Denied YouTube Channel to learn more.

Oh, did someone ask about screenwriting? Well, as an aspiring Writer/Producer, this blog will include entries related to the next step in the process – what happens after the script. Besides, I can’t begin to write the one story this process is building me up for until I have the Producer experience.

Happy writing,
/GM

Writing is rewriting until it’s written!