You probably know that feeling ... you’re in the midst of a project and wonder if you’ll ever see it finished? That period when you have to just grunt through it to get to the next stage when it starts coming together.
When you’re producing a film or documentary, there are a million little decisions. Followed by a million more.
And then there’s the moment when you show someone, and you can tell they’re tracking with the story. The message is connecting. Ahhhh. Your work transcends the million little details.
Filmmakers are a bit of a different breed. It’s difficult to explain what we do, and when someone watches the work, they have no idea what it took to get it to that point.
Come hang out with a bunch of people who are crazy enough to do it again and again. Come hang out with distributors who want to help you get your project out to an audience.
ICVM is a group that gets what you do. And why you do it. Because ICVMers don’t just understand the production world, they understand that this is a call on your life.
I started writing one particular series when I was 17. I am now 78 and still wanting to get it turned into a weekly TV series. (Well, that wasn't on my mind when I was 17.) I did finish it when I was 60, and that's when I decided it would be perfect for a weekly TV show. But I didn't know how. The movie business has been an awakening for me which I should have tried to learn years ago. I just learned script writing a few months ago and am now trying to write reading spec scripts for all 100 episodes. It has been a long journey. The series is called COME FLY WITH ME. Maybe when I reach 80 I should give up?
Dear Diane, Your post resonates with me. Thank you! The documentary I recently finished, "Life on the Island of Jesus," was conceived in 2013, shot in July 2016, finally funded in 2017, and completed in the spring of 2018. Many times, I felt like a mountain climber facing a vertical rock and wondering how I would ever get to the top. But then God shows a crack and that's where the first spike goes, followed by another and another - until the film is done. I often feel like a jigsaw puzzle worker and God hands me the pieces as I need them, and not before. Documentary filmmaking, is especially faith-stretching -- but there is nothing quite like the reward and joy of seeing God's provision all along the way. "Oh, that's why He gave me that shot or that clip!" May God encourage us as Christian artists and teach us more about Himself through this year's conference. Every blessing ---- Craig Claudin