I want to give thanks. I want to show gratitude. I want to encourage others to do likewise. But most of all I want to share what I have learned so that others can utilize it to. All of it is one big” thank you”. This blog (not just this blog post) is a big thank you informed by those who gave to me when I still had so little.
This post is a shout out to those who taught me the process and business of film.
It’s a bit hard thinking through what actually constitutes “good” within an industry. A lot of our “job” is to make things better, to introduce people, to facilitate deals and stronger projects. Generosity is about going that extra step — doing the thing that is not expected and that truly helps.
It’s Thanksgiving here in America. It’s an odd holiday and even if it’s origins are not the greatest, I still dig the spirit. Today I try to examine those that helped me when they did not need to, or whose help was beyond the call of duty
It’s time to start your holiday gift giving. I assume you are giving all of your loved ones memberships to film support organizations or community theaters, right? But there are some things that money can’t buy, and we should all make sure our giveaway goodie bag is filled with them.
This list are some of my gifts I have gathered specifically for you. I want to thank you for being part of this, for reading and contributing to this community. You appreciate. You support. You read. You share. You do. You give me hope and courage and faith.
How can I give back? I ask myself this all the time. We all should. Can I do more? What can I provide? How best to show my thanks?
Consider each of these #SimpleFixes a small token of my appreciation for you. Each will make our lives better. Each of these can be built and we will all be closer to a world we want, one that supports the culture we love, the culture we want to contribute to and be part of.
I am donating my ideas to the world. I want nothing back — although I would like them to happen. Call it a Potlatch. I am giving away these babies, these cherished goods, but this should be a group effort. Imagine if we all generated a “simple fix” to enhance the things we care about? Even each of us giving one #SimpleFix a year would move us forward far faster. We may even be able to alter our course so we and IndieFilm don’t fall off the cliff into oblivion!
It’s time we used our cognitive surplus and made some things happen, don’t you think?
Most of these Simple Fixes have not yet been done. You may have noticed that I have done some of these though, but need your help with them still. If you join in, we are going to start to gain momentum.
I recognize it’s not enough just to list them as I now have. We must build them, and soon. Maybe a whole bunch of us need to gather, together with our friends in tech, and start to solve it.
If we ran together, I think we’d have enough speed to really fly. Check out the list below, and let me know what more you have to add. I have written further about each of them if you click through the links.
We have plenty to be thankful for. Things are getting better — at least in the Indie Film Biz they are… Or should I say Specialized Film Biz? Artist First Film Biz? Whatever this is, let’s celebrate. We have plenty to be thankful for.
I have over 30 points to prove it to you. Granted I have something close to an equal number on the negative side too, but I will shield you from those for the time being. Besides, those negative things are all just opportunities, right? So what is this cornucopia of things we have to be thankful for? Well…
I feel most filmmakers are looking at this moment in time as an age of opportunity. But having gone through this revolution already in the music business, I feel compelled to tell you why right now we should be questioning everything.
There are countless comparisons between the music and film industries. On the critical side, both traditionally have had an extremely insulated network of good old boy executives who know little or nothing about the creative process, yet try to tell you how to make your art. Both have a history of obnoxious fat cats living in excess. Both still have an endless string of gatekeepers that have a stranglehold on the means of distribution, and who rarely showed much love for independent creators except with lip service at the cool film festivals.
The music industry was perhaps the first to go through the digital transition. For better of for worse, the smaller file sizes of music made it a primary target for piracy over the much larger sizes of films. By watching the mistakes made by the music industry, and having a few years head start to prepare, the film business has really had an enormous advantage over the music business. But this does not mean all is well.
None of us would ever get anywhere if our friends didn’t look out for us. Our lives are not of our own making.
Milton Berle said “If opportunity does not knock, build a door.” But the reality is you need some tools to be able to build; your bare hands won’t suffice. Certain tasks too really are to big to tackle on your own. Someone sometimes has to hand you that hammer. Fortunately, I have had some generous people in my life, who have helped me to connect the dots.
This is a time for giving thanks. Perspective comes with offering gratitude. We need to be reminded of our good fortune. We did not make it on our own. Our lives are complicated habitrails, where others build our ramps, rooms, and wonderballs.
I have hesititated in my life fearing that if I displayed thanks, I would inevitably make a mistake and leave people out. Like me, this is a work-in-progress. I will make a mistake. I will leave people out. But we have gratefully left that analogue world of completion and perfection, and here in the land of digital, everything is constantly evolving. We are free to fuck up. So….
Thanks (in alphabetical order by the introducer’s first name):
Ann Goulder put me in touch with
By Ben Kalina
I spent much of the past 4 years directing Shored Up, a film about coastal development, sea level rise and the science and policy debates surrounding these issues. It was a long process with many twists, the biggest of which came when Superstorm Sandy hit and brought a dramatic new context to the film.
North Carolina figures prominently in Shored Up, initially as a contrast between the state’s forward-looking coastal development policies and the slippery slope of groins, jetties and beach replenishment in other states like New Jersey. But this contrast was turned on its head as the North Carolina Legislature started to reverse many of these laws in 2012.
As a result of North Carolina’s role in the film I’ve been actively planning a screening tour across the state this coming January. It was to kick off with an event in Wilmington and culminate with a showing and panel discussion at a Science Café event in the North Carolina Natural Science Museum. All seemed to be going well and this was shaping up to be a great opportunity to reach press and politicians with the science and policy issues that the film covers.
