By Nick Smith
If I’ve learned anything as a filmmaker recently, it’s that I’ll always have a lot to learn! Here are 5 takeaways that I’ll remember in the year to come!
- Know your passion.
Whatever your dream job is, it might seem glamorous, but the truth is, you will have to work hard to get it and work ten times as hard to keep it.
Through my career, nay-sayers have told me to stop making movies and focus on paying my bills with a regular job. I listened to them. But at the back of my mind, I wanted to keep making films. I always worked my way back to my dream. But guess what? When I got back to making movies, I was reminded how hard I had to work—long days, little thanks and often little or no money. Is it worth it? Always.
- Look before you leap
While shooting a feature film in Mississippi, one of our actors had to start his scene on the opposite side of a muddy creek. He stepped out onto that Mississippi muck and needless to say, we didn’t film his scene that day. An hour later the sun was setting, the Emergency Services were on their way and our actor was sinking deeper. We finally got him out after another half hour of cold, dark muddiness. Nothing was damaged but his pride.
There were other ways to get across the creek but the actor took the shortest, which turned out to be the slowest and most dangerous. Sometimes when we’re hurrying to be efficient, we end up gumming up the works. Just ask the (very talented) actor, whose name is Creek.
- Northwest Florida can be anything it wants to be.
In 2020 alone, our area has been used to double for all kinds of locations, including a futuristic office block (in “Ask Astrid”), a hitman’s workshop (in Brenton Eason’s “The Referral”) and a gathering place for reclusive monsters (in Renee Luke Jordan’s “The SkunkApe”). Famously, in previous years our beaches were dressed up as Amity Island for “Jaws 2” and dressed down as an atoll near the Pacific Garbage Patch in “3-Headed Shark Attack”. The moral is, the Florida panhandle is a versatile place to film in, so long as you watch out for movie sharks.
- Be ready to help in any way you can.
On a set, filmmakers can be asked – or directed – to take on more than one role. During the filming of “The Referral”, we shot an engagement party scene at The Palms of Destin Bistro. Our modest 1st A.D. (Assistant Director), who prefers to stay behind the scenes, was needed to hold a champagne glass on camera. By trying to keep out of the picture, she got a lot more attention than she bargained for. No feelings were hurt in the making of that picture but it served as a good reminder that if you want to help out making a movie, be prepared for your close-up just in case.
- You can have a creative outlet, even when you’re locked down.
The local filmmaking community came together – online, at least – in June for The Quarantine Chronicles, a movie contest with a few caveats: the entries had to be made following COVID precautions with the theme of isolation. So, no big cast or crew and no high concept storylines. The quality of the entries was inspiringly high, ranging from apocalyptic horror stories to silly comedies.
The Quarantine Chronicles showed how important it is to have a hobby or creative interest. Paradoxically, dreaming helps us to appreciate how important real life is, and how the support of the people around us can keep us going in the darkest times. In all our ups and downs, that’s worth remembering.
