good morning believe nation my goal with
the making it series is to try to find a
particular path a particular industry
and find people who have had massive
success in that field and see what we
can learn from them so today we’re gonna
learn how to make it as a filmmaker rule
number three is my personal favorite and
I’m curious if you’re hurt which one you
guys like the best and as always if you
hear something that really resonates
with you please leave it in the comments
below put quotes around it as well so
other people can be inspired to enjoy
I’m a self-taught filmmaker I never went
to film school I never studied
filmmaking in any way I started making
films when I was a kid when I was think
seven years old making films using my
dad’s super 8 camera and action figures
doing stop-motion films a little bit of
animation and the set amount of live
action and I just carried on making
films as I grew up and over the years
they got bigger hopefully better but but
more elaborate and there never really
was a period of my life where I
completely stopped doing that so I was
always moving up eventually from super 8
to 16 millimeter films and then I think
what following represents is kind of the
the peak of what I was able to do on my
own or just with friends just using our
own resources and foreign equipment and
sort of using the things around us to
make a phone I decided to go to film
school because I love the idea of making
films I love photography and everybody
said it was a crazy thing to do because
in those days nobody made it into the
film business I mean just unless you
were related to somebody there was no
way in so everything I was silly you’re
never gonna get a job but I I wasn’t
moved by that I set the goal of getting
through film school and just then
focused on getting to that level because
I didn’t you know I didn’t know where I
was gonna go after that I wanted to make
documentary films and eventually I got
into the goal of once I got to school of
making a film one of the most telling
things about film schools you got a lot
of students in those days especially
it’s not quite so much today but
wandering around say oh I wish I could
make a movie I wish I
make a movie you know I can’t get in
this class I can’t get any you know
first class I have was an animation
class it wasn’t a production class I had
a history class and an animation class
and in the animation class they gave us
one minute of film to put onto the
animation camera to operate it to see
how you could move left move right make
it go up and down and it was a test to
see you know then the teacher would you
had certain requirements that you had to
do you had to make it go up Matt make
her go down and then the teacher would
look at it and say oh yes you maneuvered
this machine to do these things and I
took that one in a film and made it into
a movie and it was a movie that one like
you know 20 or 25 Awards
you know in every Film Festival in the
world and kind of changed the whole
animation department and there and and
meanwhile all the other guys were and
say well I wish I could make lluvia
which is a production class and so then
I got into another class and it wasn’t
really a production class but I managed
to get some film when I made a movie and
I made a lots of movies while I’m in
school while everybody else was running
around saying oh I wish I could make a
move
I got a uh yeah I started working at
this video store it was pretty much what
you’re talking about around that time
and and it was great at first because
I’d always hated day jobs and stuff and
so I got a day job and it ended up being
pretty good but mentally I was there for
five years at a certain point it was our
narcotic all right I didn’t have to keep
pursuing my dreams because you know it’s
not what I want to do but it’s sort of
kind of close and if I didn’t have an
artist soul burning in me I could have
made myself happy with that I could if i
if i didn’t have an artist soul burning
to get out I could have you know walked
backwards a couple steps and just done
that and would have been a fulfilling to
anybody else that would have been a
fulfilling life it wouldn’t been for me
because I wouldn’t know and I would have
had something to say that I didn’t get a
chance to say but it did put me to sleep
for a while and and I’ve always just
thought I mean where it really got it
got everything kind of truly going for
me you could point out a lot of
different things but the bottom line
is the fact that I realized that the
even the group of people I hung around
with they were all great great great
fellows and great gals but you know I
was easy for me to think that I was
doing a lot because I was doing more to
try to move myself forward than they
were but you know that’s not yeah yeah
okay I’m a big fish in a puddle so what
all right they’re not doing anything all
right so yeah I’m doing more than them
but um I realize that actually I need to
get my ass out to Hollywood and meet
other people who are you know like they
were in my category or or working a
little higher and and I should be the
weakest link in my chain that I have and
that’ll make me be stronger or make me
run faster I mean like an analogy I’ve
always used is alright if you run the
hundred yard dash with a people that
can’t run as fast as ya you’ll win hands
down you know that
but if you run with people much faster
than you alright yeah you might come in
last every single time but your time
will be better because they’re making
you run all the faster they’re making
making you dig down just a little bit
more it doesn’t matter that you and your
time is faster and that’s what I knew I
had to do I had to get out of Loserville
and throw myself into a place where like
this is what to do for a living
I’ll give the same advice to aspiring
filmmaker and writer right
both for those disciplines you need to
write and something I tell my film
students I’ve been teaching I’ve been a
professor NYU the last 15 years the
Graduate Film School where I went
and if you did a survey the last 25
years and looked at the first films of
directors I would say a large percentage
of those films those directors wrote
that script
so I think that’s a big clue let’s talk
about film that if you wanna be directed
you go right also you’re got a much
better chance of getting your personal
mate make your own industry recreate
movies don’t pay attention to industry
do your own thing I mean put it this way
you want the work to be seen but it
doesn’t have to be at the Odeon you know
no more that’s all different that’s all
God’s another ancient world that type of
film or not even that type of film the
the communal experience is always
important you can make a film on a a
camera the size of that doorknob and
still show it to 1600 people in an
audience it’s still a great communal
experience you know it doesn’t
necessarily mean it has to cost over a
hundred million pounds I have young
filmmakers come up to me and say you
know give me some advice for doing this
and I say don’t put limitations on
yourself other people will do that for
you don’t do it to yourself don’t bet
against yourself and and take risks a
nasa has this has this phrase that they
like failure is not an option but
failure has to be an option in art and
an exploration because it’s a leap of
faith and no important endeavor that
required innovation was done without
risk you have to be willing to take
those risks so that’s the thought I
would leave you with is it in whatever
you’re doing
failure is an option but fear is not
story story is all that matters
story is golden story sits the top of
that gigantic pyramid that is filmmaking
let me do another diagram
story is king everything serves the king
all of this is just here to serve this
story defining what a story is is really
really hard to do not sure there’s
actually like a generic formula to
telling stories you have to find
something that an audience is interested
in and then share it with them in a way
that they’re also interested in the only
way to learn these things and get better
at these things is by doing it over and
over and over we have all these tools
that enable us to create in ways that
are more accessible that are cheaper
that are more fair that’s what excites
me the most there’s a lot harder to get
started when I was growing up and
wanting to be a movie director
almost at 12 years old because when I
first picked up a camera in order to get
out where were you living with you I was
in Scottsdale here in Arizona you know I
got honey I was looking for a way to get
fulfill the requirements to get a
photography merit badge I was in the Boy
Scouts of America and the magic was that
I don’t make her before no I don’t be a
filmmaker at all I would want to be a
Eagle Scout that was my only aspiration
was to become the want to get the
highest rank I could in this in Scouting
and so on my way to being an Eagle Scout
I had to get a certain you know
requisite amount of merit badges and one
of them I want to get was photography
and the requirement was did tell a story
was still photographs and my dad’s
camera broke he did not have a still
camera like the brownie Kodak that he
had wasn’t working so I but he did an
eight millimeter Kodak eight millimeter
movie camera and I went to the
Scoutmaster and I said can we change the
rules just so I can tell a story on film
because we don’t have a still camera and
the Scoutmaster said go ahead and do it
so I got three minutes worth of film
which is by the way all those cameras
used to take these little three-minute
rolls of film and I made this Western on
a weekend and I sure thank you how did
you edit did you camera cutting the
camera cut you know a little shot at my
friends and cowboy outfits robbing a
stagecoach which was sort of an exhibit
out in front of a place called Pinnacle
Peak patio a restaurant which is still
there are outside of Scott did you know
to camera can you just I just figured
out you know you do a shot in this
direction of the bag
with their guns masks on and my citrus
played the damsels in distress and the
stagecoach giving away their costume
jewelry well my mother’s jewelry I
didn’t tell her we took my mother’s
jewelry to give away to 12 year olds you
know pretending to be about robbers and
I made this little movie and then showed
it to the Boy Scout Troop that weekend
and they all went crazy for it they
screamed and applauded and I suddenly
got bitten by that bug and I wanted to
do this for the rest of my life it was
like became so clear to me but it was
hard then because to make movies you had
to pay for film and pay for developing
of the film so I had to go to my dad to
say dad you know I learned some money
but I can’t earn all the money cuz I I
go to school I can’t get a job to earn
the money to pay for all this equipment
so my dad helped me however today it’s
easier today everybody seems to have a
camcorder everybody has some high eight
digital camera and it’s a lot easier to
get your hands on you buy that editing
program for the computer you can buy it
as software program for the computer and
go out and make a movie and tell a story
and figure out who you are as a
storyteller and and so in a sense it’s
easier today for young people to at
least prove to themselves is what they
want to do for the rest of their lives
or at least in the interim of the rest
of their lives and it’s also if you get
bitten by that bug you can make a lot
little movies and somehow those films
will get seen by people hopefully that
will hire you do a music video someday
or a TV commercial or a television show
or someday a feature film one of them of
the most difficult things for me when I
first got to Hollywood was trying to
understand how it’s done I’m now I’ve
never been the person that walked in the
room and said and they say stand here
move here sit move go and do that and do
that and do this and do this and you’ll
get here I’ve been the person that goes
that move here go here do that and I go
okay well why are we doing this I want
to know why why is it done that way is
there a better way to do it is there
another way to do it and if you tell me
this is the way it’s been done all of
our lives for our whole that makes no
sense to me I’ve always challenged it
and I’m not I’m not a rebel but I’ve
challenged the thinking and I do that a
lot in my own studio now too
for people who come in with this
complete set of rules of this is how
it’s done well does that feel right to
you so it’s about what what feels right
and I’m hoping that I can convey that
I love movies men and I watch them you
know watching incessantly you know huh
and it does it inform your work or you
have to go thither no absolutely
definitely informs my work I think that
that um that’s the best thing for a
filmmaker to do it is just to watch just
to watch movies you know you know I love
I love doing and then when I see good
movies you reminds me of why why I’ll do
this you know um there’s nothing like
seeing that seeing a great movie and
being a filmmaker so because it’s
inspiring you know it’s like it’s like
wow man I did this is what this is what
I’m this is what the industry is on man
is capable of doing this is the fact
that it’s capable of out of them when
people when it makes you want to get
back and get back into the lab and get
you get to work No
thank you guys so much for watching I’d
love to know what you thought of this
video the making it series is one of the
ones that we’ve tested for a little bit
and it’s kind of on the bubble do we
continue this series or not so we’ll see
how these ones do if there’s a topic
that you’d like me to cover in a future
potential making it please leave your
ideas in the comments below and we’ll
see what we can do I’d also love to know
what was a single best piece of advice
that you got here what impact is it
gonna have on your career on your
business on your life leave it in the
comments below and I’m gonna join in the
discussion thank you guys so much for
watching I believe in you I hope you
continue to believe in yourself in
whatever your one word is much love I’ll
see you soon
if you’re gonna make a movie right the
whole idea is that you you make a movie
about something and to be able to make a
movie about something you know something
that’s sort of in your wheelhouse so to
speak it’s something that you relate to
it’s important because making a movie is
so hard it’s very difficult to to put
get a movie together and young man you
know you’ve heard it many times but to
have something you feel you understand
that’s why I had a lot of fun doing a
movie I made called looking for Richard
yes it was sort of about actors trying
to figure out how to do Shakespeare than
people and everything else and so it had
a very visceral connection to it well a
movie a book about an actor going
downhill and losing it and getting older
and falling apart seemed very
appropriate for me you know and I
thought this is uh this is gonna work
what what would be the the advice you
could give to young filmmakers like us
or filmmakers or writers I’ve always
well Maya values given the same advice I
think that the the premium thing the
thing that is the the most valuable
thing the thing we don’t have enough of
is ideas and screenplays so my my
recommendation is to always write not
only do I believe that that’s the most
like I said just now is that that’s the
most valuable commodity in the industry
is to have a good screenplay I think
it’s also what makes you into a good
filmmaker interesting to talk to
creative people about the way their
minds work sometimes it sounds kind of
freaky when you’re a creative person and
you’re nurturing that within yourself
you open yourself up to a lot of
discovery that comes from unexpected
places which is really wonderful I mean
for me the writing process is very much
about when I have a really really good
idea of what I’m writing I need to have
notes a good outline thought it through
have some dialogue like really be clear
about what I’m doing and all that comes
from being out in the world my films are
low-budget independent films very
specifically focused around communities
of color and people of color and
families of color and finding the
universality and the specificity of
those stories when you’re making a
little bit of film with film for $50,000
or $200,000 there’s nowhere to hide it’s
just it’s people usually people talking
or not talking but you’re on these faces
you’re on behavior and so it you really
have to be able to understand that and
so that comes from living being a black
woman walking around it comes from
observing people
it comes from asking questions and so I
find that you know I’ve got to get out
you know and you got to be around people
and in Los Angeles it’s such a sprawl
it’s such a huge place in downtown you
could actually rub shoulders with people
you can actually see faces that are not
behind a car window you know what I mean
the best thing is when you see people in
you’re wondering what’s their story how
do they put together where they came
from where are they going
what’s their connection sometimes I’ll
even ask and people want to talk you
know and it’s it’s it may not be
anything that’s directly related to the
work that you’re writing that day but
that energy from people that stuff is
kind of like you know seeds on fertile
ground that that helps with the writing
for example one of these great places to
kind of just find a good corner is spot
call the last bookstore I mean it’s such
a great space you know that density that
I talked about is dense with books and
people and it’s not too busy but it’s
just enough the right flow of the odd
character that comes in and out you know
it’s part of what I prefer to have
around we want to
I’m outlining I’m playing with dialogue
I’m figuring out what the beginning
middle and end of the scene is you know
is it moving the film forward really
trying to pin down those those big
questions I consider movie watching
people watching because you’re watching
people you’re watching behavior actors
kind of mimic human behavior we’re here
at the Downtown independent which is one
of my favorite places to be inspired
it’s a great one house movie theater
downtown LA I really love it here I love
coming down and watching other people’s
films I live in coming here and watching
my own films wherever I find myself
these spaces that inspire you know they
they it leads to the sparking of my
imagination I definitely am recognizing
when I’m being hit and inspired and and
then making sure that I’m logging that
or documenting that in some way I take
pictures a lot and then yeah I take a
lot of notes and I find that I used to
just scribble on scraps of paper but now
more and more I rely on the phone I’ll
put in the subject header XO I don’t
know that’s my code hugs and kisses to
myself of inspiration it’s so corny and
so whenever I’m ready to sit down or I
need to pull in something that I’ve seen
I just search XO and everything comes up
whether it’s a picture or or a thought a
lot of my directors work is happening
during the screenwriting process
questions about character and being able
to answer those questions for actors a
lot of that stuff I’m answering for
myself as I’m collecting my material to
write I have a special exercise that I
hold very close to my heart for when I
am in a rough patch
it’s called procrastination he will put
it off until something else strikes me I
wish I had a magic talisman to pull me
back into the space I just don’t you
know I gotta be in the right headspace
or else you’re just forcing it and it
just never comes out right I know there
were times when you know I wasn’t
working in a creative way that I felt
very unhappy that I wasn’t living with
my best life and so for me to be
creating to be around creative people
something that’s really necessary for my
own personal happiness and I’m just you
know really fortunate that I get the
opportunity to do it because everyone
that needs that doesn’t get the
opportunity to do it and I was one of
those people for a long time so I’m
happy to be in this place
the making it series is to try to find a
particular path a particular industry
and find people who have had massive
success in that field and see what we
can learn from them so today we’re gonna
learn how to make it as a filmmaker rule
number three is my personal favorite and
I’m curious if you’re hurt which one you
guys like the best and as always if you
hear something that really resonates
with you please leave it in the comments
below put quotes around it as well so
other people can be inspired to enjoy
I’m a self-taught filmmaker I never went
to film school I never studied
filmmaking in any way I started making
films when I was a kid when I was think
seven years old making films using my
dad’s super 8 camera and action figures
doing stop-motion films a little bit of
animation and the set amount of live
action and I just carried on making
films as I grew up and over the years
they got bigger hopefully better but but
more elaborate and there never really
was a period of my life where I
completely stopped doing that so I was
always moving up eventually from super 8
to 16 millimeter films and then I think
what following represents is kind of the
the peak of what I was able to do on my
own or just with friends just using our
own resources and foreign equipment and
sort of using the things around us to
make a phone I decided to go to film
school because I love the idea of making
films I love photography and everybody
said it was a crazy thing to do because
in those days nobody made it into the
film business I mean just unless you
were related to somebody there was no
way in so everything I was silly you’re
never gonna get a job but I I wasn’t
moved by that I set the goal of getting
through film school and just then
focused on getting to that level because
I didn’t you know I didn’t know where I
was gonna go after that I wanted to make
documentary films and eventually I got
into the goal of once I got to school of
making a film one of the most telling
things about film schools you got a lot
of students in those days especially
it’s not quite so much today but
wandering around say oh I wish I could
make a movie I wish I
make a movie you know I can’t get in
this class I can’t get any you know
first class I have was an animation
class it wasn’t a production class I had
a history class and an animation class
and in the animation class they gave us
one minute of film to put onto the
animation camera to operate it to see
how you could move left move right make
it go up and down and it was a test to
see you know then the teacher would you
had certain requirements that you had to
do you had to make it go up Matt make
her go down and then the teacher would
look at it and say oh yes you maneuvered
this machine to do these things and I
took that one in a film and made it into
a movie and it was a movie that one like
you know 20 or 25 Awards
you know in every Film Festival in the
world and kind of changed the whole
animation department and there and and
meanwhile all the other guys were and
say well I wish I could make lluvia
which is a production class and so then
I got into another class and it wasn’t
really a production class but I managed
to get some film when I made a movie and
I made a lots of movies while I’m in
school while everybody else was running
around saying oh I wish I could make a
move
I got a uh yeah I started working at
this video store it was pretty much what
you’re talking about around that time
and and it was great at first because
I’d always hated day jobs and stuff and
so I got a day job and it ended up being
pretty good but mentally I was there for
five years at a certain point it was our
narcotic all right I didn’t have to keep
pursuing my dreams because you know it’s
not what I want to do but it’s sort of
kind of close and if I didn’t have an
artist soul burning in me I could have
made myself happy with that I could if i
if i didn’t have an artist soul burning
to get out I could have you know walked
backwards a couple steps and just done
that and would have been a fulfilling to
anybody else that would have been a
fulfilling life it wouldn’t been for me
because I wouldn’t know and I would have
had something to say that I didn’t get a
chance to say but it did put me to sleep
for a while and and I’ve always just
thought I mean where it really got it
got everything kind of truly going for
me you could point out a lot of
different things but the bottom line
is the fact that I realized that the
even the group of people I hung around
with they were all great great great
fellows and great gals but you know I
was easy for me to think that I was
doing a lot because I was doing more to
try to move myself forward than they
were but you know that’s not yeah yeah
okay I’m a big fish in a puddle so what
all right they’re not doing anything all
right so yeah I’m doing more than them
but um I realize that actually I need to
get my ass out to Hollywood and meet
other people who are you know like they
were in my category or or working a
little higher and and I should be the
weakest link in my chain that I have and
that’ll make me be stronger or make me
run faster I mean like an analogy I’ve
always used is alright if you run the
hundred yard dash with a people that
can’t run as fast as ya you’ll win hands
down you know that
but if you run with people much faster
than you alright yeah you might come in
last every single time but your time
will be better because they’re making
you run all the faster they’re making
making you dig down just a little bit
more it doesn’t matter that you and your
time is faster and that’s what I knew I
had to do I had to get out of Loserville
and throw myself into a place where like
this is what to do for a living
I’ll give the same advice to aspiring
filmmaker and writer right
both for those disciplines you need to
write and something I tell my film
students I’ve been teaching I’ve been a
professor NYU the last 15 years the
Graduate Film School where I went
and if you did a survey the last 25
years and looked at the first films of
directors I would say a large percentage
of those films those directors wrote
that script
so I think that’s a big clue let’s talk
about film that if you wanna be directed
you go right also you’re got a much
better chance of getting your personal
mate make your own industry recreate
movies don’t pay attention to industry
do your own thing I mean put it this way
you want the work to be seen but it
doesn’t have to be at the Odeon you know
no more that’s all different that’s all
God’s another ancient world that type of
film or not even that type of film the
the communal experience is always
important you can make a film on a a
camera the size of that doorknob and
still show it to 1600 people in an
audience it’s still a great communal
experience you know it doesn’t
necessarily mean it has to cost over a
hundred million pounds I have young
filmmakers come up to me and say you
know give me some advice for doing this
and I say don’t put limitations on
yourself other people will do that for
you don’t do it to yourself don’t bet
against yourself and and take risks a
nasa has this has this phrase that they
like failure is not an option but
failure has to be an option in art and
an exploration because it’s a leap of
faith and no important endeavor that
required innovation was done without
risk you have to be willing to take
those risks so that’s the thought I
would leave you with is it in whatever
you’re doing
failure is an option but fear is not
story story is all that matters
story is golden story sits the top of
that gigantic pyramid that is filmmaking
let me do another diagram
story is king everything serves the king
all of this is just here to serve this
story defining what a story is is really
really hard to do not sure there’s
actually like a generic formula to
telling stories you have to find
something that an audience is interested
in and then share it with them in a way
that they’re also interested in the only
way to learn these things and get better
at these things is by doing it over and
over and over we have all these tools
that enable us to create in ways that
are more accessible that are cheaper
that are more fair that’s what excites
me the most there’s a lot harder to get
started when I was growing up and
wanting to be a movie director
almost at 12 years old because when I
first picked up a camera in order to get
out where were you living with you I was
in Scottsdale here in Arizona you know I
got honey I was looking for a way to get
fulfill the requirements to get a
photography merit badge I was in the Boy
Scouts of America and the magic was that
I don’t make her before no I don’t be a
filmmaker at all I would want to be a
Eagle Scout that was my only aspiration
was to become the want to get the
highest rank I could in this in Scouting
and so on my way to being an Eagle Scout
I had to get a certain you know
requisite amount of merit badges and one
of them I want to get was photography
and the requirement was did tell a story
was still photographs and my dad’s
camera broke he did not have a still
camera like the brownie Kodak that he
had wasn’t working so I but he did an
eight millimeter Kodak eight millimeter
movie camera and I went to the
Scoutmaster and I said can we change the
rules just so I can tell a story on film
because we don’t have a still camera and
the Scoutmaster said go ahead and do it
so I got three minutes worth of film
which is by the way all those cameras
used to take these little three-minute
rolls of film and I made this Western on
a weekend and I sure thank you how did
you edit did you camera cutting the
camera cut you know a little shot at my
friends and cowboy outfits robbing a
stagecoach which was sort of an exhibit
out in front of a place called Pinnacle
Peak patio a restaurant which is still
there are outside of Scott did you know
to camera can you just I just figured
out you know you do a shot in this
direction of the bag
with their guns masks on and my citrus
played the damsels in distress and the
stagecoach giving away their costume
jewelry well my mother’s jewelry I
didn’t tell her we took my mother’s
jewelry to give away to 12 year olds you
know pretending to be about robbers and
I made this little movie and then showed
it to the Boy Scout Troop that weekend
and they all went crazy for it they
screamed and applauded and I suddenly
got bitten by that bug and I wanted to
do this for the rest of my life it was
like became so clear to me but it was
hard then because to make movies you had
to pay for film and pay for developing
of the film so I had to go to my dad to
say dad you know I learned some money
but I can’t earn all the money cuz I I
go to school I can’t get a job to earn
the money to pay for all this equipment
so my dad helped me however today it’s
easier today everybody seems to have a
camcorder everybody has some high eight
digital camera and it’s a lot easier to
get your hands on you buy that editing
program for the computer you can buy it
as software program for the computer and
go out and make a movie and tell a story
and figure out who you are as a
storyteller and and so in a sense it’s
easier today for young people to at
least prove to themselves is what they
want to do for the rest of their lives
or at least in the interim of the rest
of their lives and it’s also if you get
bitten by that bug you can make a lot
little movies and somehow those films
will get seen by people hopefully that
will hire you do a music video someday
or a TV commercial or a television show
or someday a feature film one of them of
the most difficult things for me when I
first got to Hollywood was trying to
understand how it’s done I’m now I’ve
never been the person that walked in the
room and said and they say stand here
move here sit move go and do that and do
that and do this and do this and you’ll
get here I’ve been the person that goes
that move here go here do that and I go
okay well why are we doing this I want
to know why why is it done that way is
there a better way to do it is there
another way to do it and if you tell me
this is the way it’s been done all of
our lives for our whole that makes no
sense to me I’ve always challenged it
and I’m not I’m not a rebel but I’ve
challenged the thinking and I do that a
lot in my own studio now too
for people who come in with this
complete set of rules of this is how
it’s done well does that feel right to
you so it’s about what what feels right
and I’m hoping that I can convey that
I love movies men and I watch them you
know watching incessantly you know huh
and it does it inform your work or you
have to go thither no absolutely
definitely informs my work I think that
that um that’s the best thing for a
filmmaker to do it is just to watch just
to watch movies you know you know I love
I love doing and then when I see good
movies you reminds me of why why I’ll do
this you know um there’s nothing like
seeing that seeing a great movie and
being a filmmaker so because it’s
inspiring you know it’s like it’s like
wow man I did this is what this is what
I’m this is what the industry is on man
is capable of doing this is the fact
that it’s capable of out of them when
people when it makes you want to get
back and get back into the lab and get
you get to work No
thank you guys so much for watching I’d
love to know what you thought of this
video the making it series is one of the
ones that we’ve tested for a little bit
and it’s kind of on the bubble do we
continue this series or not so we’ll see
how these ones do if there’s a topic
that you’d like me to cover in a future
potential making it please leave your
ideas in the comments below and we’ll
see what we can do I’d also love to know
what was a single best piece of advice
that you got here what impact is it
gonna have on your career on your
business on your life leave it in the
comments below and I’m gonna join in the
discussion thank you guys so much for
watching I believe in you I hope you
continue to believe in yourself in
whatever your one word is much love I’ll
see you soon
if you’re gonna make a movie right the
whole idea is that you you make a movie
about something and to be able to make a
movie about something you know something
that’s sort of in your wheelhouse so to
speak it’s something that you relate to
it’s important because making a movie is
so hard it’s very difficult to to put
get a movie together and young man you
know you’ve heard it many times but to
have something you feel you understand
that’s why I had a lot of fun doing a
movie I made called looking for Richard
yes it was sort of about actors trying
to figure out how to do Shakespeare than
people and everything else and so it had
a very visceral connection to it well a
movie a book about an actor going
downhill and losing it and getting older
and falling apart seemed very
appropriate for me you know and I
thought this is uh this is gonna work
what what would be the the advice you
could give to young filmmakers like us
or filmmakers or writers I’ve always
well Maya values given the same advice I
think that the the premium thing the
thing that is the the most valuable
thing the thing we don’t have enough of
is ideas and screenplays so my my
recommendation is to always write not
only do I believe that that’s the most
like I said just now is that that’s the
most valuable commodity in the industry
is to have a good screenplay I think
it’s also what makes you into a good
filmmaker interesting to talk to
creative people about the way their
minds work sometimes it sounds kind of
freaky when you’re a creative person and
you’re nurturing that within yourself
you open yourself up to a lot of
discovery that comes from unexpected
places which is really wonderful I mean
for me the writing process is very much
about when I have a really really good
idea of what I’m writing I need to have
notes a good outline thought it through
have some dialogue like really be clear
about what I’m doing and all that comes
from being out in the world my films are
low-budget independent films very
specifically focused around communities
of color and people of color and
families of color and finding the
universality and the specificity of
those stories when you’re making a
little bit of film with film for $50,000
or $200,000 there’s nowhere to hide it’s
just it’s people usually people talking
or not talking but you’re on these faces
you’re on behavior and so it you really
have to be able to understand that and
so that comes from living being a black
woman walking around it comes from
observing people
it comes from asking questions and so I
find that you know I’ve got to get out
you know and you got to be around people
and in Los Angeles it’s such a sprawl
it’s such a huge place in downtown you
could actually rub shoulders with people
you can actually see faces that are not
behind a car window you know what I mean
the best thing is when you see people in
you’re wondering what’s their story how
do they put together where they came
from where are they going
what’s their connection sometimes I’ll
even ask and people want to talk you
know and it’s it’s it may not be
anything that’s directly related to the
work that you’re writing that day but
that energy from people that stuff is
kind of like you know seeds on fertile
ground that that helps with the writing
for example one of these great places to
kind of just find a good corner is spot
call the last bookstore I mean it’s such
a great space you know that density that
I talked about is dense with books and
people and it’s not too busy but it’s
just enough the right flow of the odd
character that comes in and out you know
it’s part of what I prefer to have
around we want to
I’m outlining I’m playing with dialogue
I’m figuring out what the beginning
middle and end of the scene is you know
is it moving the film forward really
trying to pin down those those big
questions I consider movie watching
people watching because you’re watching
people you’re watching behavior actors
kind of mimic human behavior we’re here
at the Downtown independent which is one
of my favorite places to be inspired
it’s a great one house movie theater
downtown LA I really love it here I love
coming down and watching other people’s
films I live in coming here and watching
my own films wherever I find myself
these spaces that inspire you know they
they it leads to the sparking of my
imagination I definitely am recognizing
when I’m being hit and inspired and and
then making sure that I’m logging that
or documenting that in some way I take
pictures a lot and then yeah I take a
lot of notes and I find that I used to
just scribble on scraps of paper but now
more and more I rely on the phone I’ll
put in the subject header XO I don’t
know that’s my code hugs and kisses to
myself of inspiration it’s so corny and
so whenever I’m ready to sit down or I
need to pull in something that I’ve seen
I just search XO and everything comes up
whether it’s a picture or or a thought a
lot of my directors work is happening
during the screenwriting process
questions about character and being able
to answer those questions for actors a
lot of that stuff I’m answering for
myself as I’m collecting my material to
write I have a special exercise that I
hold very close to my heart for when I
am in a rough patch
it’s called procrastination he will put
it off until something else strikes me I
wish I had a magic talisman to pull me
back into the space I just don’t you
know I gotta be in the right headspace
or else you’re just forcing it and it
just never comes out right I know there
were times when you know I wasn’t
working in a creative way that I felt
very unhappy that I wasn’t living with
my best life and so for me to be
creating to be around creative people
something that’s really necessary for my
own personal happiness and I’m just you
know really fortunate that I get the
opportunity to do it because everyone
that needs that doesn’t get the
opportunity to do it and I was one of
those people for a long time so I’m
happy to be in this place
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