This episode is part of an on-going filmmaking mistakes hunt that I'm determined to discover, explore and learn from. To join me along this journey, feel free to begin here.
Never think your movie is going to win the Oscars. It won't happen if you do.
Of course I didn't think any of my films will actually win the Oscars. But I'd be lying if I said I never fantasized wining some kind of award. I've produced stuff where I thought would be a huge hit where it completely flopped instead. On the contrary, I've made films I thought would never get anyone's attention and turned out to be a complete success - which ticks me off because I wasn't even trying. I'll give you an example.
There was a decision the FCC (yeah, the one ran by the government) was considering that my friends and I felt pretty strongly against. I don't want to bore you with details but the decision affected our jobs and possibly the future of a particular technology. So we banded together and made a very last minute PSA type video. We wrote it in a couple of hours and shot footage for about three hours and then I spent all night editing it and posting it on YouTube. The next morning I slept in and then went to work. By the time I got to work, almost everyone in the company had seen the video. My heart raced thinking I've made a huge mistake. The video went completely viral beyond my expectations and swept the nation. Did the video affect the FCC's decision? I don't really think so, people still lost their jobs but it could have been much worse.
Anyway, the success of that video got into my head where I thought that I could do it again. So I did some research on what makes videos viral and I thought I had it all figured out. So, I wrote another script that specifically met all the criteria for a successful viral video. We shot for two hours and then I spent a month editing it - mostly because I also wanted to learn motion tracking and color grading which took me a while to get it just right. I told all my friends I was making another video that was gonna go viral. I launched the video... crickets sang. I admit, I was pretty disappointed. The film was fantastic, people loved it and thought it was funny but it had a hard time going viral.
Moral of the story: If you tell everyone you're movie will be a success, let the film speak for itself. I have this theory that Karma loves proving people wrong. If you do your best without expecting much in return Karma will surprise you.
Now, go film yourself mad!
Now, go film yourself mad!
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