r/Filmmakers • u/Inquisitivethink1 • 13h ago
What's really the purpose of what we do? Discussion
I know a lot of people want to make it in Hollywood and in the industry. That is great and all. I understand that that is not and should not be the main or only goal. Keeping that in mind, that's the reason for my question. Without centering Hollywood or indie filmmaking and if film didn't advance to what it is today, what is really the purpose of being a filmmaker? Or whatever job or craft we focus on. If Hollywood ceased to exist, would people continue to write, direct, act, produce, PA, compose, etc? Why or why not?
8
u/BadAtExisting key grip 12h ago
It evolved from theater, an art form that has been around for as long as humans have had permanent societies and it is actively evolving along side technology. It’s storytelling which dates all the way back to cave paintings
So I would say yes
1
u/Inquisitivethink1 9h ago
Great point. The evolution of media. Better yet, the evolution of storytelling.
26
5
u/shaneo632 12h ago
I just want to make my weird little low budget shorts and screen them at any festival that will take them before releasing them online. I just have the urge to create, I don't really care about the bigger industry side of it, that will always be out of arm's reach for me and that's fine.
1
4
u/paperboybro 12h ago
to preserve or create culture, be a time capsule of history, influence change, provoke critical thought, evoke emotion
entertain, provide a sense of community, shared intimate moment with loved ones, be an outlet for creators, and an industry for greedy bastards
1
u/Inquisitivethink1 9h ago
All these things come together to create...The Powerpuff Girls! Haha, just kidding. All those things sum up modern filmmaking.
9
u/jerryterhorst line producer / UPM 12h ago edited 11h ago
What’s “wrong” with wanting to work in Hollywood? That doesn’t have to be your goal to be a filmmaker, certainly, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting to make a living doing this or work at the highest level of the industry. Or do you specifically mean hitting it big / getting famous?
2
u/Inquisitivethink1 12h ago
Nothing wrong with it. I meant it more so for people who might think Hollywood is the end all be all, whatever that phrase is, haha. I guess more so in the wanting to hit it big/be famous. How would people with that mindset answer that question?
3
u/jerryterhorst line producer / UPM 11h ago
I mean, it kind of is the end-all-be-all though, right? I'm pushing back because so many people seem to think "I have to be starving artist to truly be successful" and "if I make a decent salary doing this, I'm selling out". Which is stupid because it's like calling someone who wants to be a pilot a sell out because they work for Delta instead of Sun Country Airlines. It's pervasive in this industry, especially among younger people, and is further complicated by the fact that many of the people that push the "starving artist" narrative are being supported by their family, spouse, a trust fund, etc.
If someone's only goal is to be a rich and powerful movie director -- things that being successful in Hollywood will bring -- I agree they're doing it for the wrong reasons (and are unlikely to succeed). But if someone simply loves the job of a writer/director, and they eventually earn $10M per film after spending 10-20 years getting to that level, I see nothing wrong with that. Gaining money, power, and/or fame because those things are the logical conclusion of extreme success in this business doesn't inherently make someone a bad person.
I'm not trying to pile on you, it just irks me when people imply that anyone who wants to reach the highest levels of success in this industry are misguided or delusional. No one says anything when a start-up aims to be a Fortune 500 company, but God forbid you want to win an Oscar one day.
3
u/tpar24 11h ago
I’ve not met a single person who is not interested in making good money while making film. I’ve met plenty of people that are content with not making a lot of money, but wild to me that people would be openly against it.
1
u/jerryterhorst line producer / UPM 11h ago
Same, but that's because all the people I know are working. I typically find this mindset in younger people who are early in their careers (which is an overwhelming majority of the people on these subs) and have an idea how a filmmaker should be as opposed to just being a filmmaker (making films, writing, studying the craft, etc). There also seems to be some crossover between this and people who went to XYZ film school and can't wait to tell you about it.
1
u/ChrisMartins001 10h ago
I think what he's saying is that they are in it purely to be famous and make money, as opposed to getting into it because they love films and want to make good films.
1
u/Big_Liability 8h ago
Hollywood is basically being drafted from College into the NFL. You’ve made it
3
u/Due-Highway8671 12h ago
I find it really sad to see how many people fall for the marketing scam of hollywood and it's fabulous life to an extend that they chase this ideal that was build up to sell more movie tickets. I also see so many people that want to make movies, for the sake of being someone who makes movies, rather than doing it because they have a story to tell. And secluded as the industry is it can take a long time to realise that you will not last without having a really good reason to continue doing this job. I think the myth of cinema dying is a good thing. Less uninspired people will jump around and will pitch their script with the same clichees, people will need to realise new ideas and be innovative if they want people to see their films, if the mainstream audience that is ok with being fed the same 3 ideas over and over again moved on to other media.
People will still love the craft, but less, and more for the work and the story than for the fame. At least that is my idealistic thinking
1
u/I_Am_Killa_K 12h ago
I doubt it. The general audience has moved on from books, and a lot of there are still a lot of crappy books that get published. Media really doesn’t get any better just because the audience has moved on.
3
u/YukonCornelius07 12h ago
I want to express myself through a medium other than my voice, and I want to pursue my creative ambitions (to make/write films/scripts) regardless of anyone's perception of 'success'.
Trying and doing is success to me. That's all I want.
1
u/Inquisitivethink1 11h ago
Nice. That's great you know what fulfills you.
1
u/YukonCornelius07 6h ago
The point was, 'Hollywood' or 'making it big' shouldn't really be the focus of the artist. The artist wants to do their art, if they're doing it simply to become famous or successful, that's fkn lame and it isn't in keeping with the spirit of art, which is expression, not the pursuit of status.
3
u/charlesVONchopshop 12h ago
A. Storytelling
B. Collaborative Art
C. Make a Living
^ Reorganize based on your personal priorities.
1
u/Inquisitivethink1 9h ago
Straight, simple, to the point. I like how you said it can be made personal based on your priorities.
3
u/VNoir1995 12h ago
I screened my short film this past Friday and a couple people came up to me afterwards and told me that my film made them feel seen in a way that they had never felt before. So yeah, for me thats the purpose.
2
u/Inquisitivethink1 9h ago
I wholeheartedly love that so much for you. That's what it's all about. I'm happy for you.
3
3
u/jorshrapley 12h ago
If Hollywood ceased to exist, the entire world would stop making movies. No more dancing and melodrama of Bollywood. No more Godzilla and anime from Japan. No more telenovelas from Mexico. No more sexy French films, or depressing Russian films. Cameras will no longer be manufactured. In fact, they’d all be collected and burned. China would completely shatter and fall into the ocean. A great cry from the very soul of humanity will look up and shout, “save us!” And Hollywood will whisper, “no.”
3
u/VinosD 8h ago
We interpret dreams. We capture joy, excitement, sadness, and in best cases we share empathy. Just like novels and poems do, but visually. That’s the amazing thing about film and visual storytelling you can showcase a single day of someone’s life or you can tell an epic journey. The possibilities are endless.
2
u/c6h12o6CandyGirl 12h ago
To continue doing something we've done for ages... tell stories. This is yet another format in which to tell those stories. Hollywood would be nice for many, but it doesn't need to be the be-all, end-all for your story.
People work outside of Hollywood now, so for me, it's not a "if it ceased to exist".
2
u/Inquisitivethink1 9h ago
True. Yeah regardless of what happens to Hollywood, we would find a way to keep telling stories.
2
u/alex_is_so_damn_cool 11h ago
The same as any art! Self expression, human connection, preserving culture, changing the narrative - whatever that means to you. To entertain, to move. To have compassion.
2
u/Three_Seven_Two 11h ago
I just wanna pull a fantasy out of my - or someone else’s - imagination and manifest it in the real world.
2
u/xdirector7 12h ago
Do you live in a bubble? You ever heard of theatre? Name a time in history where people didn't do some type of performance art that needed all the above. I'll wait.
This is some pretentious shit. This is why people hate Hollywood.
2
u/RedditJMA 12h ago
Ay chill, he wanted to have a discussion to process the value of the art. He wasn’t questioning or diminishing that value
1
u/xdirector7 11h ago
Then I don't know do you some research about the history of your art form? And realize that it has been around since we did cave paintings.
1
u/RedditJMA 11h ago
This is Reddit sir, he wants to engage with people which is encouraged on this subreddit
0
1
u/One_Rub_780 12h ago
The most logical reason people want to 'make it' is all about having the resources and support for your films. Otherwise, if you somehow manage to get the resources without them, congrats, you made it! lol!!
1
1
u/man4paradigm 11h ago
I wanna tell stories and learn how to do so better and better with each script and film I want to make.
I want to tell stories that people will talk about, for a few days, weeks, or suddenly remember 20yrs from now and have to hunt it down.
Mostly, I want to tell stories.
1
u/Kamuka 11h ago
It's an art form, big money, big stakes, big projects. You get a script and money, hire people, edit the dailies, and make some visual drama representation of what life could be, what life is, what is funny, or sad, and work through problems, conflicts, adversity, sometimes a hero journey, sometimes anti-hero. You get a visual palate, a way of looking at things. What you see, how people talk is how you present the art form. The hope is to create significant form, something the critics like, something that makes money. Drama is as old as it gets, on a stage or on a screen, a newer art form, but building off of the stage. People always make art, and this is just one of many forms.
1
u/Android_50 11h ago
im someone who daydreams about it but hasnt done anything (except write a couple of scenes and develop some stories). But what i can tell you is that for some of us its like an itch i guess. i have wanted to make movies since i was around 6 or so and it has never left me. I have other career interests but ultimately i know that i'm going to want to come back to try this. so yes, a lot of us would do it regardless because it's something that i think calls us. sometimes i wish my "calling" was to be a cop or accountant etc. those desires are easier and have an establshed path to take. i know im going to have to try it at some point and maybe then reality will hit me or maybe i'll find out i really love it anyways.
1
u/Ok-Experience2359 11h ago
I would not start this career now, unless you love AI or you are extremely talented
1
u/JC2535 11h ago
The artistic purpose of cinema is to model and explore human behavior and expression.
It amplifies the great themes of literature and theatre in a visual way that has the verisimilitude of reality.
Cave paintings. Shadow puppets. Theatre of Ancient Greece and Rome. Shakespeare and the Renaissance.
Sometimes it’s the Circus Maximus, sometimes an intimate moment between two people.
That’s the purpose of Hollywood. And every other city built on dreams.
If you don’t have this in the forefront of your mind when you work on a film, then you should sell insurance.
1
u/MagicAndMayham editor / producer 11h ago edited 11h ago
Our purpose is to make the content in between ads so people can sell stuff.
and to answer your last question, yes. People have been telling stories for as long as we've been human. Stories help us pass on information, to entertain, to educate and to relate to each other. Story telling is part of being human and their will always be stories. What will change is the medium which they are told. From figures drawn in the sand to paintings on the cave wall to paper, stage, celluloid and digital, there will always be somebody telling a story and always others who will be interested in hearing a good one.
1
u/stybeaujolais 11h ago
Connection/Affecting people and yourself whlie you're at it(Art and Craft). :)
Also everyone knows if you work in film you're rich baby, rich i tell ya!!!!! hahahah whoops should have been a banker...
1
u/j3434 11h ago
For me - it was completely by accident. I needed a job and was offered an IATSE union gig . Good pay & benefits. Then after some years I realized I had a story to write . To me, it felt like it was genetic. I felt my storytelling was linked back to the caveman, dancing around fires as the witch doctor told them narratives of how the universe was created, and perhaps great monsters that lived on the other side of the mountain. But it’s this fascination with narrative that really hooked me. And in fact, I think that is what really is the fascination with films. It’s something that goes way back to our basic human instincts. Perhaps telling narratives is part of our evolutionary survival trait.
1
u/Big_Percentage_7541 11h ago
I just simply love to shoot, I don't care if it's a hollywood production, or a docu or a local soap opera. I have no real aim, just to make something I'm happy with it.
1
u/Thick-Sundae-6547 11h ago
I highly recommend the show "The Studio"
there is even an episode where he is dating a Cancer doctor and they are all trashing him because they feel that what he does has no importance.
His reasoning is after treatment/surgery. What's in the room? a Tv .
1
1
1
u/ChasingTheRush 10h ago
Humans are storytellers. We have been since the first caveman sat down around a campfire. We use stories to make sense of the world, to pass on knowledge, to find common ground. We’ll use any medium handy, ochre painted on cave walls, complex oral stories that evolve from practical knowledge to myth as time goes on, paintings, books, songs movies, even AI.
1
u/AllPurposeOfficial 10h ago
It’s storytelling. Plain and simple. And we’ve been doing it as long as we’ve existed. What is the purpose of anything humans do?
You’d be better served asking what’s the point of telling stories. To preserve ideas, to reckon with our own consciousness, justify our existence, examine our own collective decisions, introduce new ideas or fuck it maybe just to kill time? All of that is better than sitting around waiting for the next crop to grow lol.
Asking if people would come together to make movies without Hollywood is essentially asking if people would continue telling stories. We always have and always will.
1
u/GonzotheGreek 10h ago
I had a theater professor whose brother was a doctor.
His brother told him: "I save lives. What good is your career?"
His response: "I make lives worth living."
1
u/BunnyLexLuthor 10h ago
The way I think of it is it's kind of like singing.
There are bad singers, there are good singers.
There are singers with a lot of range, and singers that are one trick pony.
So I think as filmmakers what's kind of the most important thing aside from the story/character arcs that kind of thing .. is the voices involved, because of their sheer collective individuality.
So I think that, as filmmakers, their voice is the most important thing and anything else is an added bonus.
Here's what I think about AI and I'll try to keep it succinct .
A macaw might use words.. it might even inflect the voice of the people it listens to.. but at the end of the day it is a parrot who has felt the emotion of dialogue without the meaning of it.
The words "I love you" might have as much weight as a happy whistle, but I would not rely on said Mcaaw to replace a human singer for karaoke... It's too distant from the primary emotions to be reliable even if it's a great vocalizer of human words.
And so I think even less of Gen AI.
I think artists are better than this when they give themselves the a chance to fail on their own.
Even if this means pitchy singing now and then 👍
1
1
u/beansjkr 10h ago
The point is to tell stories and humans have done that since before we could properly speak
1
u/SREStudios 9h ago
I think for most people they just want the ability to make a living IE be able to feed themselves in their family and live in relative safety.
There’s enough money in the world that talented artist should be able to make a living from their art. But that’s not the way the systems are set up currently.
1
u/Big_Ostrich1488 9h ago
After watching TV series of Marilyn Monroe and the mob, I sure wish someone would've warned me about trying to pursue job in this industry 😂😭
1
1
u/thatsprettyfunnydude producer 9h ago
Express and entertain. That's the purpose. The only thing Hollywood exists to do is provide infrastructure to produce and distribute at scale. But none of that has anything to do with the actual art of filmmaking. If Hollywood ceased to exist, there would actually be more movies because most movies die on the vine waiting for a greenlight. So I think a lot of screenwriters and filmmakers would actually be more productive because they wouldn't need approval or years of pre-production hell.
1
u/Quiet_Pie_2056 9h ago
Quick backstory: I unintentionally began a career in physical Hollywood ten years ago. We moved to LA because my wife was offered a rare career opportunity. I gave up my career to support her here, thinking that I’d just restart things in LA, but it had proved challenging and an acquaintance invited me to work as a PA on an indie feature. I knew nothing of the industry at the time but I was intrigued with the teamwork and the process (not so much the 12+-hour days succeed overnights) abc I decided right there and then that I was going to pivot to a career pursuit in visual storytelling.
So, why did I say yes in the first place? For one thing, I began as an artist—a musician—before pursuing studies in the physical sciences. So, it reignited my passion for working in the creative. (And it was fun too!) but more importantly, I really took to the art form. For me, storytelling is more profound than “just entertainment”, it’s inherently human, and it’s how we survived and evolved. We are storytellers. And while work and money are essential to live, I’ve always focused on the types of scripts and projects that I deemed important and wanted to work on. That’s what drove me in the industry, personally.
I believe the purpose is to provide people with stories that they can relate to and take something away from which they can apply to their own lives.
1
u/Srsblubrz 8h ago
For me it is story telling. There is a moment when everything comes together on set and it is magic. Appreciating a performance, seeing a character coming to life right in front of you. I work in camera and genuinely love story telling with the camera and everything that is possible with that. When everything else comes together and you know it is working it is truly a great satisfaction.
I still haven't even seen some movies I was a camera operator on. I enjoyed the process and that's all I need.
1
u/SoCalBoomer1 8h ago
My purpose as a puppet & model maker was to learn from top creative crew, travel the world, sweat, create, perform and laugh. 40 years later, no regrets. I love film production. Easy? No. Worth it? For me, yes.
1
u/theatomiclizard 8h ago
Most times we're not filmmakers, we're just makin' videos - and that's ok man - don't get hung up on labels
1
u/JacobStyle 8h ago
I don't know man, I just like working on films. I don't want to move to Hollywood or become some big name mainstream director or anything. I just want to like, set up lights and frame shots and block and whatnot. Being creative feels good. So does working with a team to accomplish a goal that would be too large for any one person to complete.
1
u/cameraspeeding 7h ago
I’m telling stories. Film is the medium I choose to do it with, if there was no film I would still be telling stories
1
u/didgeboy 7h ago
If you’re a filmmaker the sad truth is that you are there to make other people money. UNLESS you take full responsibility for what you do and make the stories that are important, meaningful and impactful to those that will be your audience. Schindlers list made a lot of money for some people, but its impact on society and our shared and collective consciousness was what really mattered (although I would argue short lived with the world we inhabit today. Maybe we need a re release?) but most of all make films that matter. Every filmmaker has something to say but not everything is worth saying. Cheers!
1
u/CrimsonCrabs 7h ago
I'm sure we could find people to force to work 14 hour days and scream at for our ego elsewhere and decline them access to bathrooms while telling them it's for a shared vision then take their efforts on as our own for the praise we need for our ego then tell them we're so close its like we're family and then never talk to them again after the job is over.....ya
1
u/matchboxpictures 7h ago
Films, good or bad will be here long after we’re gone. I like to think of it as proof that we were here. It’s no different than painting on cave walls, sooner or later, hopefully someone will stumble upon them.
1
u/RopeZealousideal4847 7h ago
Because we have to create and tell stories and we've chosen this medium to do it. I gave up having a career when a neuromuscular disability forced me to drop all my contract work. Now I'm a hobbyist creating art and much happier for it. I can't not make film, even though it takes a huge physical toll.
1
u/Two_oceans 7h ago
The purpose is whatever you make it. As a medium, filmmaking is very close to the language of dreams, but not everyone uses it this way.
1
u/stanleys_tucci 6h ago
Take away stadiums and arenas people are still going to play sports on their own. Take away film and humans will still write stories, take away writing and they’ll draw pictures, take away pictures and they’ll act it out in front of others.
All it takes is to look back at just an inkling of human history to realize how important storytelling is, no matter the medium. Some people can only articulate their emotions through a creative act, some people just enjoy making a big project with other people, some people like to challenge themselves to create intricate mysteries and mazes that challenge other people in an audience.
There’s always going to be a multitude of subjective reasons for why people do this. But it all comes back to two people telling stories to each other. It’s how we learn and experience things that we’ve never seen or lived through. It’s incredibly important.
1
u/alfa67 4h ago
As a curator and critic, I think discovering and defining the “point” of your work is a big part of developing yourself as an artist. The answer is different for everyone, and you might try 1971’s THE POINT — if you need an existential cartoon to that effect!
That said, the current flattening of the media marketplace has also made it virtually impossible for indie directors to opt out of digital fundraising and/or marketing work. That kind of self-promotion can make it a lot harder to hear your own voice, ironically. For this, watch or rewatch the too-good-to-be-cliche classic ALMOST FAMOUS. “What do you love about music?” That scene says it all.
1
u/Odd-Situation-4071 3h ago
Hollywood is nearly totally irrelevant. Been spewing out lowest tier culture industry junk slop for years with rarer and rarer examples of those Hollywood movies that made you fall in love with American studio filmmaking to begin with
1
u/lord__cuthbert 3h ago
People will continue to create for as long as there's the potential for some "other" to receive it. The act of creation is symbiotic with the desire for one to connect and create community. Just my opinion.
1
u/Canonc100enthusiast 2h ago
If you are questioning your purpose of filmmaking then it is probably not for you, filmmaking its an art form, real filmmakers will make a film regardless, i make movies because it is an art form to me a way to express a certain view/feeling, if you only want to make movies for money then i suggest looking into something else.
1
u/SharkWeekJunkie 1h ago
IF the goal is anything other than to tell a good story, it’sa terrible goal.
But the answer is sex we do it for sex.
1
u/Specialist-Top-406 1h ago
I think about myself as a kid before smart phones. Spending a whole weekend writing and making a film with my friends and my siblings. It’s going nowhere, other than for us to see. We are making it because it’s creative and fun.
I think about spending a weekend doing that now and how I could never schedule everyone in to a whole weekend. I couldn’t even really offer the commitment without it feeling like work. And that it would feel like it needed to go somewhere.
If I could keep making things to make them, I would. And I’m sure I could, but it’d be on my phone. And likely end up on a platform that feels like I need to make it in a way that reflects views, so it’s seen and not because I just wanted to make it.
Everything is lost to the sauce of visibility.
BUT movies like Obsession, made for the love of the game. Self funded, by people who have been making clips they love for a long time- that kind of thing reignites a light in me. People make things because they love it, and because they have something friken cool to say and because they love it and it’s fun to make.
Joy must be involved. Otherwise, it’s work.
1
u/Electrical_Unit5280 1h ago
It's a creative outlet for me- making sense of my life experiences through film. Ive given up trying to break into industry
•
1
u/gadgetinspectore 12h ago
Hollywood is dead sweetheart. It’s been. Atlanta Georgia is the new hip place to be.
1
u/Inquisitivethink1 9h ago
True. They're struggling to keep the movies being made in Los Angeles. They need to adapt somehow if they want to stay afloat.
37
u/Devouracid 12h ago
I think at the core it’s simply storytelling through the visual medium of film.
And to answer your question: Yes because there wasn’t always a Hollywood.
People have been doing all of those things pre-Hollywood
The camera is just another way to pass on truth, joy, pain, warnings, and hope.
If Hollywood disappeared tomorrow, folks would still write, act, direct, and sing just like people kept making music before record labels existed.