The independent filmmaker must have the mindset of Earl Campbell on the five-yard line. You must take the ball, square your shoulders and get into the end zone by any means necessary.
I realized that I needed the Earl Campbell mindset when I shot my first short film “Gamelord”. I experienced no shows at auditions, exterior noise on the set of the film and a crewmember who could not stay on task during the shoot. Just like Earl, I squared up, got low and aimed the crown of my head at the obstacles and ran through them. The movie got finished and the experience gave me success and confidence files that I applied to my next project.
On my next project I decided to film a feature documentary based on the spoken word poetry scene in Tampa titled “The Bay”. Once again I had to employ the Earl Campbell mindset to be successful in finishing my project. My principle characters along with several of my minor characters decided to remove them selves from the project. I trucked through those challenges by recasting and changing the scope of the story. I made my mind up that I was going into the end zone and nothing would stop me from accomplishing my objective.
My next project is titled “Goon City”. I am already managing challenges in employing a makeup artist who can help me achieve the aesthetic look of the film I am aiming for. I am confident I will overcome this challenge and any other challenge that may arise during pre, principle and post -production.
As an independent filmmaker you have to be more creative than Cameron or Spielberg because you do not have money to throw at problems. However I also believe that with a larger budget, even more problems may develop. Learn to manage your challenges in whatever method works best for you and do not let other people or external issues distract you from your vision of your film or project.
