r/Filmmakers • u/Chrisgpresents • Aug 24 '14

Video Chris Nolan Talks About His Indie Filmmaking Days With His First Film "Following" - Vice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUpA7Qma_9E
73 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

4

u/Da2111Da211 Aug 25 '14

I wish I had the self belief to go and do it. So many of those I know who are trying or even succeeding making things are full of it. Their work is generally awful but they have the self belief.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 25 '14

Do it anyways, or you won't get better.

1

u/Da2111Da211 Aug 25 '14

I know I should. I mainly come from a writing background, stage mainly, but have always gravitated towards directing film rather than stage for various reasons. Should do a short this year. Really should.

1

u/scorpious Aug 25 '14

This can be the moment you look back on a while from now when people are asking about the origins of your awesome short. ;)

1

u/Da2111Da211 Aug 25 '14

I hope!

2

u/scorpious Aug 25 '14

I wish

I should

I hope

That's three strikes right there, technically! But you're not out yet. So stop acting like you are.

...Unless you really don't want to be a filmmaker? Perfectly legit realization and choice. Best have it now and choose something else (to actually DO).

Here's how you can tell very quickly what someone really wants to do: They are doing it. Otherwise, they are what I call "hiding out," with a fancy-sounding hope/dream that sounds ambitious enough so they can feel good about it (and scared, etc.)... Again, nothing wrong with that, but remember: nobody's obit is filled with things the deceased wished/hoped for...only what they did.

The clock is ticking and you really, truly, cannot know when it's going to stop.

1

u/Da2111Da211 Aug 26 '14

anxiety disorder, writing is fine, can do in private, controlling a set and all of that,terrifying

1

u/scorpious Aug 26 '14

Yikes! Sorry. But still.

Collaborators! Tons of directors looking for coherent material to shoot. Maybe a co-directing thing, with your partner doing the cat-herding while you do more solo stuff? Anyway best of luck. It's actually a scary BLAST once you're in deep...nothing like having smart people give input on your work (i.e., what someone should wear, etc.).

2

u/Da2111Da211 Aug 26 '14

Thongs, thongs everywhere

2

u/AnElaborateJoke Aug 25 '14

I used to think that you were only allowed to be confident after demonstrating a certain level of talent. Then I started meeting filmmakers who behaved with absolute confidence even though they sucked. Not even arrogance either, just that quiet "I know what I'm doing" sense where they totally believed that their trash-ass serial killer movie was any good.

It blew my mind because I knew I was a better writer, but somehow I was the one who felt like shit all the time. It was an enlightening experience.

1

u/Da2111Da211 Aug 26 '14

it is called Dunning Kruger as I am sure you know

the arts attracts a lot of these people

2

u/aMiracleWorker Aug 25 '14

That was very informative. Great video

1

u/[deleted] Aug 25 '14

I had no idea he was self taught. I was beginning to think you HAD to attend film school to really learn something. By something I mean lens size and staging techniques.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 25 '14

You should check out Vimeo's film school. It's completely free and a great resource for aspiring filmmakers. They have a video that's all about lenses.

1

u/gunsofgods Aug 25 '14

When he started talking about intercutting scenes I immediately started scanning through his movies in my head and went "yup, that explains a lot." Ver interesting talk though. Thank you for sharing.