JOSEPH SERRANO

There's always a fresh plethora of few filmmakers to the pride, whom I much encourage, and thoroughly enjoy sharing with, however, in my journeys I have been party to many others downtrodden by the frontier life. 

Yes, independence in film may possibly be the hardest and toughest thing you may ever have to endure in life. It is very Oregon trail, you usually make it to the end with only one person, that's you. 

Cool so we need to make you the meanest, hardest working, righteous and artistic filmmaker ever. So after all those hard years learning, why is there this long lull? What can I do to advance things forward; quickly, steadily, and not break pace?

The older you get, the more urgent now becomes. You get buried in needing a safe life, money, and so many other loops life has in store for you, but you still carry the fire for independence somehow. 

Purge everything you don't need immediately; friends that aren't dire, anyone who doubts your filmmaking, and generally anything that distracts you from your work. Yes, I swore off teaching, games, films, tv, and all social media; I'm all in on films, that's it. As you see the pattern, anything not necessary is going. Don't be weird, kids and special people are important. ;) 

Grow drastically at every film technique you've ever heard of, wanted to try, and can execute. If you can't do it; learn how, and do it again. 
 
Literally anything that isn't helping your growth at filmmaking, get rid of it, and grow at every angle possible that will give you the advantages you need at the next level. 

When all else fails, simplify. 

Make milestones and goals for yourself to obtain. Re-calibrate , adjust to the challenges, and do it again if you fail. Start small and then go the distance. Put so many notches in your belt that you need new belts to notch. 

So whats happening here is that you are becoming the strongest helmsman that you can be, the vessel being film, and you the captain. You need not only to gain the experience of every station but excel at every station and keep rotating. You yourself will be a vital role in every phase of production and you are going to need less people and wait on lees people, until you become completely non reliant on people. 

When you are that toned of a commander, you'll be the stimulus for everything that comes thereafter. 

Now, let's go make and sell films. In any country, at any distribution level, and any type of project. 

I'll continue to post software and techniques that I feel will condense your workflows and increase the quality in your projects. 

Anyone 10-15yrs in the independent film sector, right now if your time to shine. Make your films first, then sell them. The more projects you do at the lowest budgets possible, is the best method you should always practice. It's film magic. Film is meant to be a drastic theatrical illusion, not real life. Swords should be aluminum and not steel, bullets are all fake in post production these days. 

Take a feather from the hat of others great at this massive illusion, and replicate the ideology of those illusions! Fabricate anything and everything you can, use makeup and effects to accentuate your story. Rotoscope and matte paint backgrounds. Shoot at multiple locations that make up one scene. 

Learn and realize the nuances, include them all! The super real filming stuff looks fake, like telenovelas, and the super fake stuff looks real, like all tentpole productions; like the new tv show LETHAL WEAPON. Learn these tricks and use them!!!

Cool, well now that I've told you to gut your entire life! ;) J/K! 

Have fun out there. Tell me your plights, hopefully I can help, if I can't I'll point you in the right direction. 

I find that people in the independent fields don't really follow due process. Scripts, storyboards, day out of days, etc. No, no, no; do that stuff for sure guys.