What's with everything?

Is it not said that, just before the fall of any great civilization, that civilization will be at its peak of artistic expression? Are we peaking?

Everywhere I look I see great art. I see lousy art. I see mediocre "canned" art. Nearly everyone is an artist in some way. It is artist overload!

It's much like having free reign at a candy store. You eat one sweet and sugary treat after another and another and another. Before you know it, you are sickened by the very thing you love most. And then you vomit. Several weeks later you feel ready to try candy again but something is wrong... you have an ulcerated stomach lining and can't seem to hold anything down. Now, no matter how delectable the treat, how fine the chocolate, how creamy the confectionery, every piece of it disgusts you.

I am an artist. You (most likely) are an artist. Combined, we know many other artists.

As I search for inspiration (mainly on the internet <-- lazy), I come across the same garbage copied and recopied. Wait! I know what you are thinking... "hey jerk-load, that's how great art is created, by copying the greats and using the ideas of others as a framework...." and so on. Yes. This is absolutely true but I have not been seeing a lot of framework add-ons lately... except of course, this (Drift by Carl Burton).

Could this be an effect of social media and the need to feel accepted by our cyber-peers? Maybe. Could this be the end of our civilization? Probably. Or, could it be that things have always been this way but since we are so interconnected through blogs and forums and chatrooms and instant messages and cell phones and email and the telegraph and television and radio and streaming downloads and streaming uploads and file transfers and data sharing and voicemail and the telephone and newspapers and magazines and cars and airplanes and buses and bicycles and motorboats and railways and paved roads and highways and byways and parkways and driveways and banners and flags and bags filled with rags that everyone's art is shoved into everyone else's face all of the time??? Hmmm... gives ya something to think about.

Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoy shoved art. It just messes with my inspiration in that sometimes I am truly inspired by this glut of art and sometimes I am discouraged.

I'm probably just going nuts.

Regardless of all of the above, I've recently stumbled upon a good website. Check out Motionographer.com for some real inspiration (or discouragement).

Just a Thought

Everyone is a filmmaker.

Not everyone is a good filmmaker.

Given a video camera, a computer and some editing software, anyone can make a film.

And they do.
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Welcome Welcome Welcome

Well, here we are. Post number one.

Hopefully, the header description for this blog explains it all. Obviously, I have an issue with dropping lots of cash on film school... as should you.

It's simple really. Do you have natural talent? Maybe, maybe not. If not, you aren't going to "learn" natural talent in school. Do the schools know this? Yes. Do they care? No. As long as you are signing the checks to pay the tuition, they will blow sunshine up your skirt all day long.

What if you have real natural talent? Won't film school give you the tools and hone your skills? Yes, it will but... you can force yourself to read books and give yourself exercises and assignments for free! Plus, from what I hear, unlike other industries, nobody cares if you have a film degree as long as you can produce top notch stuff. (that is only what I have read and heard, albeit from several sources)

Isn't film school a great place to network and get ideas from other aspiring filmmakers? Yes, but so is the internet. Compare the costs: Film school could be $20,000 to $50,000 per year whereas a good high-speed connection is about $40 per month or $480 per year.

So what, my parents are paying for it anyway? Come up with a clever way to get your parents to spend that money on killer camera and sound equipment (usually never happens but worth a try) and start putting it to good use.

Anyway... I am probably going to piss off an entire shitload of people who are attending, have attended, teach at or work at some sort of film school. That is not the intention of this blog. My intention is to school the rest of us... those with low income parents, those who are getting too old to go to film school (myself included), those who want to do it the hard way... and most importantly, those who just want to make films for the love of making films (again, myself included).

I have been severely infected with the film making bug. I am too old and too broke for film school. With this in mind, I am on a quest for knowledge and a mission to make movies anyway (good movies, not that YouTube garbage). Whenever I can, I will share what I have learned with you.

Thanks,
Mr. Down and Dirty