In a way we are all selling something here: an idea, our movie, a brand, an identity. And we’ve been taught that to sell something we must repeat what it is to an audience over and over so it sticks with them. And if you are lucky enough to hit upon something that sticks with that audience it is doubly hard to then stop repeating that sticky thing to try something else. But aspire we all shall!
Do we have to be "selling"? Is that what we've been trained to do? All the time? What would be the alternative? Does the "paid" offering corrupt our intention? If I aim to connect and elevate, but yes, appreciate the financial support too, can in any way resist "selling". I am trying... stay tuned and I will let you know how I managed (for a low price!).
Or maybe we’re not “selling” at all, but trying instead to “buy” something with our efforts and words? Perhaps we are trying to buy a different ecosystem, a different set of values around art and capital, an alternative way forward? I actually don’t think the paid-ness of it is a corruption at all — because it is a sustaining mechanism and is perhaps the easiest way to communicate a belief in the intrinsic “value” of something (although I do wish we had better/more interesting ways to both give/receive that value!)
Every time I get out early in the morning, I resolve to do it more often. But ever time I have a good long night's sleep, I resolve to try to do that more often too. Congrats on an productive day -- and all before 9A!
This is very timely and important because hi, I just joined Substack, writing about film festivals — and my second post is literally about a festival that got called "perverts in the foyer" by the press and sold 30,000 tickets anyway. Here to be weird. 💁🏻♂️ firelease.substack.com
Good list. Now how about 5 to 10 topics you DO want to see written about? Maybe that's coming next.
Personally, as I'm in the screenwriting space, I've become tired of posts TELLING YOU to do this or that in your screenplays. I've done too much of that myself and I'm actively trying to avoid it these days. Now, I'm preferring to write about case studies of great films and TV so we can see how a pro writer did this or that and why it worked so well or missed the mark.
I prefer specifics, really focusing deep on an aspect that perhaps no one else noticed or has written about. Then it becomes a piece that makes people think "wow, I haven't thought of that," rather than "oh, let's see what THIS guy thinks about AI that may be different than the 500 other guys who've mused on it lately." One makes you perk up and say this is worth 5 minutes of my time... and one makes you sigh and keep scrolling.
Like your Non De Film Movement thing. (Apologies for missing an accent or two.) I saw that and thought hmm, what the hell is that? I want to find out what that is.
Thanks Dan. One of the first "blog" posts I did was this (originally on the website HammerToNail.com that I helped launch). It is still my favorite topic to read about -- when others list their same... or even better: write about a specific quality that they love/admire. I wish there was more writing about those individual aspects of cinema that we admire most. https://tedhope.substack.com/p/32-qualities-of-better-film.
Peter Bregman: "Once boredom sets in, our minds begin to wander, looking for something exciting, something interesting to land on. And that's where creativity arises." You're in the right place.
Hi Ted, what you have done, by building this community, is an enormous, creative act. For myself, I have never experienced boredom I think because my imagination runs wild at every corner and I'm fascinated by all things visual, emotional, psychological...there is always some corner to examine or analyze. But talking about one subject several times a week, years on end, might have some parameters. I don't know. What I do know is that the talking about something and the doing of it are so different, and most of us are busy out here trying to do it. Your words and ideas, even if repetitive are a salve, help us to feel that we are not alone and offer words of wisdom and whimsy. In this terrible moment in history, a bit of compassionate leadership may be just what we need.
Yes to staying weird and growing weird! Isn’t what can be considered to be “boredom” just a way out of corporate think and corporate speak? Isn’t “boredom” just what we need to move into deep reflection? We need to revisit those things that move and inspire us and resist those things in the culture that would have us constantly skimming the surface. So, don’t worry about that Ted. Write what you are passionate
I love doing nothing -- and I am never bored by that. Boredom for me is when I am trapped considering something I no longer find intriguing. It is when habit and routine drive me, before I can act in my interest -- it lives in that gulf between thought and expression.
Relieved to read your well worn topics list and not see a reflection of my posts so far looking back at me. At least, I don't see what I've put up on that list. That makes me wonder how I WOULD characterize what I post. I don't think I go with particular themes or even similar content all the time. I think what I do could at best be categorized as "eclectic." And I think that's the solution to avoiding boredom in our posts. If every post can be something new and unexpected, then your readers will have much less opportunity to be bored all the time. At least I hope so. I've been slowly posting, but, haven't been growing audience yet. I hope I haven't already bored everyone. If I have, there's no where to go but up!
Love this encouragement! I agree with switching things up and keeping the community versatile. I’ve been cooking one up for a very long time. I hope it’s a fresh new take for the community to embrace.
OK, Ted, I do feel a bit like the message that the old model is dead is starting to feel like beating a dead horse. I subscribe to a number of film blogs/substacks and read various indie publications and everyone is saying the same thing. (Often on each other's platforms.) What is infinitely more interesting to me is actual case studies of what people are doing now, how they actually got projects made, the starts and stops...and how they eventually, somehow, miraculously succeeded. Every time I attend a webinar on the state of the industry, what's always revealing is the Chat area, where people always want to know details of how the speaker actually accomplished something.
Things could go from good to great and bypass boredom if we had a handful of films that grew directly out of the community. How many can we point to from the last two years?
I am convinced that there is an audience out there that is sick of dystopian worlds and scaring up an audience for the next horror movie. Yes, it is all reflective of the world we live in today. But that is why I am running a crowdfunding campaign to find the audience for "solution-based" cinema. For films that offer possible solutions to the problems we face in the world today. For movies that inspire, uplift, and make us feel that anything is possible. This is the face, the brand of the film, I want to make. Please, let me know if this the type of movie you would go to a theater to see?
In a way we are all selling something here: an idea, our movie, a brand, an identity. And we’ve been taught that to sell something we must repeat what it is to an audience over and over so it sticks with them. And if you are lucky enough to hit upon something that sticks with that audience it is doubly hard to then stop repeating that sticky thing to try something else. But aspire we all shall!
Do we have to be "selling"? Is that what we've been trained to do? All the time? What would be the alternative? Does the "paid" offering corrupt our intention? If I aim to connect and elevate, but yes, appreciate the financial support too, can in any way resist "selling". I am trying... stay tuned and I will let you know how I managed (for a low price!).
Or maybe we’re not “selling” at all, but trying instead to “buy” something with our efforts and words? Perhaps we are trying to buy a different ecosystem, a different set of values around art and capital, an alternative way forward? I actually don’t think the paid-ness of it is a corruption at all — because it is a sustaining mechanism and is perhaps the easiest way to communicate a belief in the intrinsic “value” of something (although I do wish we had better/more interesting ways to both give/receive that value!)
Agree! And to defeat boredom….here is what I did today:
- woke up by my own decision at 4:15am - I’m NOT an early morning person. This was a tough one.
- went to shoot some broll of our magnificent US Capitol, only to discover that:
- the city is at its BEST at sunrise
- the quiet, clean (!) lawn, the birds chirping, the absolute calm before the storm, the colors. You’re at peace and inspired.
- rewarded myself with a latte and pastry.🥐
It’s 8:21 am now. This is the time I usually wake up.
I feel energized. Loving everything. Including my afternoon nap.
Every time I get out early in the morning, I resolve to do it more often. But ever time I have a good long night's sleep, I resolve to try to do that more often too. Congrats on an productive day -- and all before 9A!
Are in the DMV?!?
Yesss
This is very timely and important because hi, I just joined Substack, writing about film festivals — and my second post is literally about a festival that got called "perverts in the foyer" by the press and sold 30,000 tickets anyway. Here to be weird. 💁🏻♂️ firelease.substack.com
Good list. Now how about 5 to 10 topics you DO want to see written about? Maybe that's coming next.
Personally, as I'm in the screenwriting space, I've become tired of posts TELLING YOU to do this or that in your screenplays. I've done too much of that myself and I'm actively trying to avoid it these days. Now, I'm preferring to write about case studies of great films and TV so we can see how a pro writer did this or that and why it worked so well or missed the mark.
I prefer specifics, really focusing deep on an aspect that perhaps no one else noticed or has written about. Then it becomes a piece that makes people think "wow, I haven't thought of that," rather than "oh, let's see what THIS guy thinks about AI that may be different than the 500 other guys who've mused on it lately." One makes you perk up and say this is worth 5 minutes of my time... and one makes you sigh and keep scrolling.
Like your Non De Film Movement thing. (Apologies for missing an accent or two.) I saw that and thought hmm, what the hell is that? I want to find out what that is.
Thanks Dan. One of the first "blog" posts I did was this (originally on the website HammerToNail.com that I helped launch). It is still my favorite topic to read about -- when others list their same... or even better: write about a specific quality that they love/admire. I wish there was more writing about those individual aspects of cinema that we admire most. https://tedhope.substack.com/p/32-qualities-of-better-film.
Peter Bregman: "Once boredom sets in, our minds begin to wander, looking for something exciting, something interesting to land on. And that's where creativity arises." You're in the right place.
Hi Ted, what you have done, by building this community, is an enormous, creative act. For myself, I have never experienced boredom I think because my imagination runs wild at every corner and I'm fascinated by all things visual, emotional, psychological...there is always some corner to examine or analyze. But talking about one subject several times a week, years on end, might have some parameters. I don't know. What I do know is that the talking about something and the doing of it are so different, and most of us are busy out here trying to do it. Your words and ideas, even if repetitive are a salve, help us to feel that we are not alone and offer words of wisdom and whimsy. In this terrible moment in history, a bit of compassionate leadership may be just what we need.
Thank you Rachel. I appreciate these words. Please keep "doing it"!
Yes to staying weird and growing weird! Isn’t what can be considered to be “boredom” just a way out of corporate think and corporate speak? Isn’t “boredom” just what we need to move into deep reflection? We need to revisit those things that move and inspire us and resist those things in the culture that would have us constantly skimming the surface. So, don’t worry about that Ted. Write what you are passionate
about. We’re listening. That’s my beat.
I love doing nothing -- and I am never bored by that. Boredom for me is when I am trapped considering something I no longer find intriguing. It is when habit and routine drive me, before I can act in my interest -- it lives in that gulf between thought and expression.
Relieved to read your well worn topics list and not see a reflection of my posts so far looking back at me. At least, I don't see what I've put up on that list. That makes me wonder how I WOULD characterize what I post. I don't think I go with particular themes or even similar content all the time. I think what I do could at best be categorized as "eclectic." And I think that's the solution to avoiding boredom in our posts. If every post can be something new and unexpected, then your readers will have much less opportunity to be bored all the time. At least I hope so. I've been slowly posting, but, haven't been growing audience yet. I hope I haven't already bored everyone. If I have, there's no where to go but up!
I am a fan Christopher. Don't change!
Love this encouragement! I agree with switching things up and keeping the community versatile. I’ve been cooking one up for a very long time. I hope it’s a fresh new take for the community to embrace.
I'm looking forward to that Ivan, whatever it is!
OK, Ted, I do feel a bit like the message that the old model is dead is starting to feel like beating a dead horse. I subscribe to a number of film blogs/substacks and read various indie publications and everyone is saying the same thing. (Often on each other's platforms.) What is infinitely more interesting to me is actual case studies of what people are doing now, how they actually got projects made, the starts and stops...and how they eventually, somehow, miraculously succeeded. Every time I attend a webinar on the state of the industry, what's always revealing is the Chat area, where people always want to know details of how the speaker actually accomplished something.
Things could go from good to great and bypass boredom if we had a handful of films that grew directly out of the community. How many can we point to from the last two years?
I am convinced that there is an audience out there that is sick of dystopian worlds and scaring up an audience for the next horror movie. Yes, it is all reflective of the world we live in today. But that is why I am running a crowdfunding campaign to find the audience for "solution-based" cinema. For films that offer possible solutions to the problems we face in the world today. For movies that inspire, uplift, and make us feel that anything is possible. This is the face, the brand of the film, I want to make. Please, let me know if this the type of movie you would go to a theater to see?
Going to BACKROOMS today... so.... Sometimes?