Making “IT” In The Film Industry

A question I often ask the guest speakers who graciously give of their time to speak to my students is at what point in their career did they know they made “it” – achieved their goals.  Most say that no matter what level of success they’ve achieved during their (sometimes very long and accomplished careers), they’ve never totally felt as if they’ve made “it”, primarily due to the instability and insecurity of our business… a feeling I understand all too well.

Then there’s the issue of the illusive, ever-changing “it” – like the times when we decide to take advantage of an unexpected opportunity that comes our way that takes us off course – only to have that detour become a pleasantly surprising substitute for what we thought we wanted.  So what was once “it”, can continuously change or evolve over the lifetime of a career, which is fairly routine for those of us in this business.

I sat on a panel of six authors at a terrific event at Samuel French Bookstore last weekend, and the question came up again.  “When does one know whether a certain level of accomplishment is ever enough to truly feel as if you’ve made “it”?  Filmmaker and panel moderator Jason Tomaric jumped right in by saying (and I’m paraphrasing) that if we expect our accomplishments to make us happy, they won’t…that happiness has to come from within.  We should be happy with our lives now and think of the achievements as the frosting on the cake.  All of us on the panel agreed, and we kept building on each others’ insights while all coming to the same conclusion that the most meaningful part of realizing our goals is the journey – it’s the experiences we have and the incredible people we get to meet and work with along the way.  It’s the travel, the collaboration, the friendships, the creativity, the storytelling, the adventure, the problem-solving, the “I can’t believe they’re paying me to do this” feeling – all of it!  And it all boils down to the fact that…

 “IT” is the journey – not the destination.

FILM PRODUCTION IS A TEAM SPORT

FILM PRODUCTION IS A TEAM SPORT

A friend of mine was very excited about starting a new job recently, but much to his dismay, he was not greeted with open arms by all of his new co-workers.  Several years ago, the same thing happened to me, so I know how what it feels like.  It’s no fun to start a new job and find yourself up against an individual or two who see you as a potential threat or alien invader.  And when you find yourself having to work with people who are standoffish, cool and/or officious – you’ve got your work cut out for you.

You can try to kill them with kindness (which unfortunately, doesn’t always work) or announce at the top of your lungs all day long until you’re blue in the face that you’re there to help, not to step on toes, steal anyone’s job or cause problems – but some people just don’t understand how much energy they’re wasting, how immature they’re acting and how counterproductive their actions are.

We’ve all heard our industry referred to as cutthroat and competitive, but for the most part, I’ve found that to be the exception rather than the rule.  And most industry professionals understand the value of working as a team. 

No matter what our positions at any one time, we’re all here for the same reason… to make movies (or to do any job for that matter) the best way we know how, to do good work and make a difference and to make our bosses and/or our companies shine.  And since no one can do that single-handedly, we’re only as good as the office/team/department we’re part of.  In a perfect world, we learn from each other, help each other, work together to solve problems, share resources, support each other and (hopefully) find some time to have fun.  There’s so much for all of us to do and learn and experience together, that insecurity, jealousy and competitiveness is just a big fat waste of time and energy.  It’s not effective, productive or smart – and definitely not fun. 

Welcoming change, new people and new ways of doing things are all opportunities for us to learn and grow – no matter how old we are or what level of experience we have.  And h-e-l-l-o!!! – new co-workers can easily turn into life-long contacts, mentors and friends.

When you’re part of a team, check your ego in at the door, because there’s no room for personal agendas in offices or on sets.  What so many people don’t fully grasp is that the better the team performs, the more in sync everyone is and the smoother a production/department runs – the more we ALL shine. 

It takes a team to make a film or complete a project, and the process is like assembling a large jigsaw puzzle – where many small little pieces and some larger pieces (each representing a person or element involved in the production) slowly come together to form a complete picture.  Each piece, no matter how minuscule, is just as essential to completing the picture as is the largest piece, and the picture can’t be completed without each member of the team.  And that means you, too!