I stumbled across this book during summer of 2019 when I was working through a few personal things:
A major mindset shift. I’ve been reading a lot about mindset, abundance, and the law of attraction, but haven’t been doing much work to make the necessary shifts in my life. During this transition I picked up this book and tried to apply all that I’ve been learning.
I was dealing with an interpersonal relationship with a peer. I was clashing heads with someone that I had to see regularly because of our circumstances and things just weren’t meshing well. Every time my external environment threw a curve ball in my direction, I read some of the book and was reminded that I am not a product of my circumstances, things aren’t as serious as they seem, and a reminder to find the goodness or the lessons in challenging situations.
I was making unhealthy decisions around diet and exercise. I was reminded that my mind and body are innately connected and that in order to secure my future, I have to take care of myself in the present.
After reading the book, I had a few insights that might also help you as a filmmaker.
It is important that people remember you or at least want to get to know you
Networking and Connecting. Building relationships in the industry is vital because filmmaking is inherently a collaborative process. If people remember you or are interested in knowing who you are, that keeps you relevant and making works of art.
“What’s even more important, however, is that it’s not really who you know; it’s who knows you. You may work for many of the most powerful people in town, go to endless Hollywood parties, make ‘friends’ with industry insiders, go to endless public appearances by influential people and introduce yourself to them afterwards, but it would be naive to think you ‘know’ them...It might be more productive if people spent less time getting to ‘know’ people and more time producing work that makes people eager to know them.”
Howard Suber, Letters To Young Filmmakers: Creativity & Getting Your Films Made, p. 10
“This is one of those situations where many people think it’s ‘who you know’ that gets you what you want, but in reality it’s who knows you. How does an agent get to know prospective talent? They pay attention to major screenwriting competitions, some film school graduates and others who’ve gotten exposure, and other ways that writers become visible. If a producer, director or star has read a writer and recommends him or her to an agency, they’ll pay attention.”
- Howard Suber, Letters To Young Filmmakers: Creativity & Getting Your Films Made, p. 124
Yes, have a slate of work, but also continue to promote and share your work
Honesty hour. *whispers* Sometimes I feel like I'm bragging when I self-promote and feel like a big douche bag.
But I remind myself that it wasn't only me who worked on the project. When I get into the headspace of backing away from self-promotion, I try to remind myself that there was a TEAM behind this project. Sharing the story and the film that we all worked hard to create is important and keeps the content on people's mind.
“For most people most of the time, creativity frequently comes after the expenditure of a great deal of perspiration, but it seldom precedes it.”
- Howard Suber, Letters To Young Filmmakers: Creativity & Getting Your Films Made, p. 12
“The real enemy of creative people is indifference. Creative people compete with other creative people for attention. If you are a creator, you want people to pay attention to you rather than to someone else. No manual on war is going to be of much use to you in accomplishing that goal.”
Howard Suber, Letters To Young Filmmakers: Creativity & Getting Your Films Made, p. 7
A Little About Originality
I can get caught up in a good story but I'll be the first one to admit that I'm not the best storyteller - that's why I'm a producer. My friends know all too well about my storytelling capabilities. I usually miss parts or forget things...it's just a mess when I tell a long story, so instead I tend to just get straight to the point (plus, it saves time). As storytellers, it's important to keep a few things in mind when getting creative:
“When writers do ‘write what they know’ in this sense, they quickly run out of material. Then, they have to run out and get more life experiences so they have something more to write about. They can, of course, do what many writers have done, which is to essentially write about the same kind of experience over and over again, changing a bit here and there to give the appearance of something new.”
- Howard Suber, Letters To Young Filmmakers: Creativity & Getting Your Films Made, p. 40
“What is it that the law wants to protect?
Original works of authorship.
‘Original’ is not the same as ‘unique’.
A work only has to be original to the person claiming the copyright; that is, you can only copyright something that is original to you. Your creation doesn’t necessarily have to strike others as being ‘original’, nor, certainly, does this mean it is ‘original’ in the sense that nobody else has thought of it before. That kind of originality is a requirement of patents but not of copyright.”- Howard Suber, Letters To Young Filmmakers: Creativity & Getting Your Films Made, p. 151
Finally, here are some skills required when navigating the film industry:
“Negotiation is an important part of life. It’s something we learn when we’re just beginning to talk (in fact, maybe we learn to talk because we need language to negotiate). We negotiate when we’re courting and throughout the time we spend as a couple. People often agree on goals, but often disagree on how they’re going to achieve those goals, but often disagree on how they’re going to achieve those goals. This is especially true when two or more people have to contribute their time, energy, money, or other valuable resource. Negotiation is an inherent part of our relationships with other people and the world. Many sensitive and/or well-educated people feel as you do, that negotiation is distasteful and demeaning. Sometimes, the danger isn’t negotiating; it’s not doing so.” - Howard Suber, Letters To Young Filmmakers: Creativity & Getting Your Films Made, p. 67
“There’s another reason there’s so much conflict in film. When we say ‘film is a collaborative business,’ we need to recognize that it isn’t collaborative the way an orchestra is, with many people playing simultaneously. Orchestras have conductors because there isn’t time to have conflict with your collaborators when everyone has to perform simultaneously.
On the set, people have to work together simultaneously. But much of the collaboration in film is like the collaboration in construction: people make their contribution in sequence, building upon what came before and in preparation for what will come after. For people who make sequential contributions, there’s plenty of time to argue.” - Howard Suber, Letters To Young Filmmakers: Creativity & Getting Your Films Made, p. 102“...creative people feel most alive, fulfilled, and content when they were totally immersed in their work, whether it is playing an instrument, painting on canvas, tossing a pot, directing, writing, or producing a film. During such times, creative people report they lost track of time, are focused (outsiders might say obsessed), and often have what psychologists sometimes call the ‘oceanic feeling’ - a sense of being at one with the universe, flowing with it rather than struggling against it. People who investigate meditation and prayer also talk of this oceanic feeling related to total immersion.” - Howard Suber, Letters To Young Filmmakers: Creativity & Getting Your Films Made, p. 15
I hope this book summary helped you in your filmmaking and creative practice.