Ignore The Gatekeepers
Photo by Zachary Lisko on Unsplash

Ignore The Gatekeepers

Last week, I saw the awesome news that my NYU Grad Film classmates Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers are making their next feature. I love their story because it’s so different from what people may consider the “traditional” path in film.

It was the summer of 2012, and most of the class was on draft 63 of their soon-to-be perfect first feature script. But before that, we each planned to submit draft 79 to all the prestigious film labs. There, we would get input from auteurs we admired. Then, we’d make the perfect film, it would open to acclaim at the perfect festival, and get acquired and released nationwide. That was the plan.

That same summer, Charles and Sarah-Violet (SV) had a very different plan. Instead of perfection, they decided to create immediately. They cranked out a feature script. They each borrowed $40K through student loans. Knowing they were on a tight budget, they wrote about a world they knew (deep Brooklyn), with only a small handful of locations (all in NY), and very few characters. They didn’t submit the script to any labs. They didn’t apply for any grants. They did not wait.

They planned the shoot. They cast fantastic actors, some of whom they’d known for years. One of our classmates was the cinematographer.

They shot their feature. They edited their feature.

They did it all on a total of $110K. Tiny, even by indie standards.

One year later, they submitted it to festivals. The movie, Fort Tilden, premiered at SXSW. It won SXSW. And that set SV and Charles on a different trajectory. They were writers on the Netflix show Wet Hot American Summer and now have their own, very successful show on TBS, Search Party.

I share this story to share the power of ignoring gatekeepers. There are a few big steps in making a feature film: write a script, prep and plan the shoot, shoot, edit, release. Every step depends on funding. You could wait for funding at each stage—basically asking for permission from someone else to make your film. Or, you can do what SV and Charles did — make the best movie within the constraint they faced and the funds they were able to access. No waiting, no permission needed.

Don’t get me wrong: this is definitely not an easy or guaranteed path. I spoke with SV recently about her story, and she said, “(Taking out those loans) was still a huge insane risk I wouldn’t exactly recommend for everyone. But it felt right. So I’m always very careful to say, ‘Look, this is how we did it, and it worked out for us. I have some success but I also still have student debt.’ That said, I do NOT regret it. Not everyone would be comfortable with the position I put myself in, but it was right for me. I had a lot of clarity in the process and risking the money didn’t scare me. Waiting years and years to find funding or someone to approve of my voice was a much scarier fate.”

If you follow the SV & Charles model, you will have a real, live product. A product which people can see and enjoy. A product that people can evaluate and say “hey, they won SXSW on a tiny budget.”

Given the choice between being constrained, but still making something, versus waiting for the “ideal” situation, what would you pick? While most of the class was dreaming of the perfect first feature, SV and Charles made their first feature. That was enough to launch them into a world that is very hard to break into.

Breaking into tech is easier because angels and early funders (the gatekeepers) are willing to fund first-time founders. But it’s not always easy to raise your angel or pre-seed round.

Look at the funds and skills that you have. Decide how much risk you want to take — each person has their own comfort level and you should be the one that decides what is best for you. And then, design and build something using your skills and your budget. If you build something people love, you will have a little success. And that little success can propel you onto your next opportunity. And then onto the next opportunity. And each project or startup could get better. The gatekeepers will then come to you (and I say that as a venture investor).

In my film school class, every single person had ambition, most had a great idea. But SV and Charles just did it. And they went from strength to strength. You can, too.

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Clare Evans

Providing Simple Solutions to Global Health and Wealth Problems. Breathing love, life, equality, into society ??

4 年

There is only one route left at this point a I see it and it is the end ....there are two routes to the end , one happily ever after for everyone, the other is I destroy them back one by one with the truth and create a world war against governments where they loose in a big way. I will end this I promise one way or another because I cannot live knowing this amount of wrongdoing and it could be fixed so they let me fix it ...or I fix them because I can't ignore it, it's inbuilt in me not to do that , or they kill me and that's been attempted before ????????????

Clare Evans

Providing Simple Solutions to Global Health and Wealth Problems. Breathing love, life, equality, into society ??

4 年

Those involved in the corruption and the processes I have been through and who I have identified along the way who have abused me have two choices. They acknowledge and accept what they did together, apologise , fix the damage, learn and do the right thing. Or I will identify them one by one , name and shame each individual and exactly what they did, provide evidence to the world to prove it , destroy them one by one and create an absolute public uproar when the truth comes out and many others realise that they have been through the same situations as me . I know which I would prefer to do considering the damage to the world which has occurred as a result and considering so many are involved in the processes and the problems that would create when people realised these processes were not as they seem. I can prove each and every part of what happened and people need to be in prison for what they did. I can and will see that it happens if the systems to protect global health are not implemented and my children are returned . I know the route I prefer ...I usually end up with no option because they do all the choosing...they know as well as I do that I do not give up I just carry on differently ??

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Clare Evans

Providing Simple Solutions to Global Health and Wealth Problems. Breathing love, life, equality, into society ??

4 年

That's amazing and in that situation I would likely do the same. I began to develop my product. I stopped because my phone was cloned and computers hacked. I could develop my product package by next week. It would be the most stupid think I could ever do. I develop a product ready for use for all to see and use and abuse as they wish. I have spent years battling abuse and corruption in governments and systems and handing to them a finished product is not a plan I have in this lifetime ever. If the systems are not accepted globally they require patent protection, I do not even trust this process after all I have witnessed arriving here . Unless they go global they won't go out or ever get written not because I resent their use...because I know they will not be used to help those in need ...they will be ammended and changed to benefit the corrupt in some way. If they don't accept the systems globally, that's fine...I will end the corruption that they expose by telling people about it for the rest of my life until it destroys them anyway. If the systems are adopted everyone benefits even the corrupt. If they are not accepted I won't stop on the mission to end corruption..I know too much and I will tell the world anyway ??????????

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