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It’s easy, as a filmmaker, to lose sight of the fact that you’re in business (or you are a business, depending on how you look at it).  It’s easy, in fact necessary at times, to release your focus from generating income, building wealth - providing for yourself and your family.

The unfortunate reality is that you can’t do that for too long.  At some point, we’ve got to confront the practical concerns of sustaining ourselves.  For me, the answer to that has been to form a production company and produce content for other businesses.  Commercials.  Corporate videos.  Branded documentaries.  Anything that allows me to use my skills as a storyteller and, frankly, pays me.

Selling out?  Kinda.  But, from my seat, this approach affords me the freedom to pursue more artistically fulfilling projects (that often don’t yield income for a while) and still keep the lights on.

As may be the case with many entrepreneurial artists, there comes a point when you’ve got to further that plan and really build a business; brand yourself and your work.  Be specific and clear about who you are and what you do.

Way easier said than done.

It’s something I’ve been challenged by lately.  In my pursuit of answers, I came across this TEDTalk from Simon Sinek: “Start with Why”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA

In his talk, Simon explains that “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”  And that hit home for me.

I’ve been going about defining myself and my business backwards.  I’ve been trying to create a clever tag line that communicates what I do, but have completely neglected sharing WHY I do what I do.

So, here’s what I came up with: I believe that stories help us feel more connected to ourselves, each other and our world.  I believe that telling and creating stories that reflect the human experience brings connection, understanding and compassion to our culture and magnifies the joy and happiness we all experience.

Me neither.

But, I've heard stories.

“It illustrates how easy it is for people to fall into a culture that cares more about their usefulness than their individual humanity, and how that culture can subtly infect your entire perspective, like making you believe that your worth is in the hands of other people.”

Check out IndieWire’s thought provoking review of Billy Wilder’s film The Apartment. Vikram Murthi’s quote (above) hits a cord with me as it so accurately represents my experience inside the Hollywood industrial complex. I suspect that the entertainment business isn’t the only industry that makes participants feel like instruments, and not people. Right...?

http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/criticwire-classic-of-the-week-billy-wilders-the-apartment-20150709

True Detective was one of the first series (well, mini-series) in a while to really knock me off my feet. Dark. Honest. Suspenseful. Thrilling. Masterfully executed. Hats off to the cast and crew.

I don't often find myself grieving the loss of those I don't personally know, let alone celebrities. But I'm really torn-up about Philip Seymour Hoffman.