🎬 Why Movies Still Matter: The Art Form That Refuses to Die creative process film culture film industry lessons filmmaking independent film moviemaking producing storytelling

 Movies have been declared dead more times than I can count, and well before I became a filmmaker. Every decade, someone swears it’s over.

Television was supposed to kill movies.
Home video was supposed to kill movies.
Netflix! (To be fair, streaming) was definitely supposed to kill movies.

And ye...

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🎬 Those Who Can, Teach—So They Can Keep Doing behind the scenes creative entrepreneurship creative process film education filmadvice filmmaker business tips filmmaking microbudget

 

I’ve always considered myself a natural teacher. I love sharing what I know about filmmaking—much to the chagrin of a few crew members who’ve had to sit through my impromptu “mini-lessons.” I’m constantly fielding calls from filmmakers asking for advice or direction.

There used to be a saying: t...

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🎬 Sh*t I Should’ve Done #1: Been Prepared to Pitch John Singleton behind the scenes career mistakes creative process directing film industry lessons filmmaking independent filmmaker john singleton producer life sh*t i should’ve done (series)

The moment I realized I fumbled a once-in-a-lifetime shot at John Singleton — and what that taught me about readiness and timing.

Back in the 90s, when I was just starting out, I was a full-time PA working at Barden Cablevision in Detroit, Michigan. I worked in the Ad Sales department. We produced ...

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The Myth of the “First Film” creative process debut feature film directing filmmaking independent film makeyourmovie.today microbudget movie making masterclass nicole sylvester

Hey Filmmakers,

I’ll let you in on a little secret: the industry loves to play the “first” card.
“First-time filmmaker.” “Debut feature.” “First nomination.” You name it. It’s a marketing hook—one that helps build hype and make headlines. Because let’s face it, people love a good origin story.

If y...

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