Trying to be “Great” Is Killing Your Work
Most artists I know are terrified of not being good enough.
Instead they stall.
If you find yourself talking about things more than doing them, waiting for a grant/financier/collaborator/perfect deck, keeping a project in the editing room for years at a time – you know how seductive this trap can be.
But it can quietly kill your career as a filmmaker.
I've been there too. What broke the cycle wasn't more ambition. It was specificity.
Specificity is a Practice
By Specificity I mean a real point of view. It’s knowing exactly what you’re making, why you are making it, and knowing your audience.
My first feature Bad Animal suffered a failure to launch and to be honest that failure stung. But it was a story I felt like I had to tell – music was a huge part of my life, and the DIY scene in Chicago was something I was obsessed with. It was specific and personal.
Despite not really achieving much on its own, this film created multiple opportunities to direct other feature projects for hire as the years went by.
People respect the practice, and this is not an easy road.
So if your point of view is not for everyone, you’re on the right track. If you feel exposed by this, worried about this, stressed by this–well, I’m sorry to say these are usually the right things to feel!
The Film Industry Is Dead. That’s Good for Us.
Hollywood is spiraling. Endless sequels, recycled IP, declining audiences. Perfect. That's our opening.
Audiences are fractured. People are hungry for authentic and original stories, viewable on the platforms they use every day. The rules of scripts, 3-act structures, film financing – these were built for a system that no longer exists.
The new model is clear (not easy, but clear):
Make something only you could make.
Fund it modestly, even self-financed if you must.
Grow your audience organically one person at a time
Identity Isn’t Enough
One of the biggest mistakes I see in indie filmmaking today (especially in Chicago) is treating identity as the whole story. Identity should inform your perspective, deepen your insight, and shape your point of view. But it can't replace having something real to say.
Your experiences matter. Your background matters. Your voice matters. Don’t hide behind these things. Use them to sharpen your point of view.
You Don’t Need to “Make It.” You Need to Build a System.
Filmmaking is built on dreams – a single breakout deal that fixes all your problems, a financier who will give you a pile of money to shoot your shot.
But the reality is that films are high risk projects which have to built brick by brick. You earn your reputation by creating successful projects.
And you can’t engineer success.
Instead use every project to move ahead with clear purpose: building your audience, refining your voice, forging relationships, and yes generating revenue.
As you stack wins opportunities open up.
Being Great is Bullshit
It’s performative and pretentious. It’s gatekeeping. It clout chasing. It’s self-sabotage dressed up as ambition.
Here's the hard truth: No matter what you make, some people will love it passionately. Others will despise it. Some of your closest friends might hate it most. That’s a good thing. It means your work has a specific point of view.
That’s OK. You didn’t make it for them.
Your job isn’t to impress everyone. It’s to build a body of work and an audience.
Forge your own path and get to work.
