#roxlee

[pauvdespi]

[lemarginalia]

Roxlee's 12 Commandments of Independent Filmmakers

1. Thou shalt shoot only original movies with original story lines. Shoot in whatever available medium; what is important is the concept.

2. Be resourceful, always look for potential sponsors. Shoot with limited budget but with unlimited ideas. And, if possible, stick to two takes per scene.

3. Thou shalt not be blinded by the stars.

4. Thou shalt not patronize very commercial and trashy movies.

5. Thou shalt not limit yourself. Always aim for international release. Remember, your film could be your passport.

6. Thou shalt not be disrespectful of other filmmakers, even if they make bad films.

7. Thou shalt not be greedy. Share your equipment, film stock and ideas with aspiring filmmakers.

8. Thou shalt not lose hope, even if you have a small audience for now; the bigger audience maybe meant for the next generation.

9. Thou shalt not always aspire for financial gain; but always strive for cinematic excellence.

10. Thou shalt not be bothered by bad reviews. There are bad critics everywhere.

11. Thou shalt not think you’re a great director. Be humble and recognize the existence of the Supreme Being.

12. Thou shalt not lose the passion of making films; work, work and work up to your last breath.

[storytailor]

The Indie Filmmaker Commandments

In my pursuit to explore various mediums to tell a story, I became an independent moviemaker here in Cebu, Philippines. By heart, I came to practicing "a way of making movies independently" which is amazingly put into words by Filipino writer and animator Roxlee.

Thanks to sis genica, for bringing this to my attention.

Rox Lee's "The 12 Commandments of Independent Filmmakers"

1. Thous shall shoot only original movies with original storyline. Shoot whatever available medium , what is important is the concept.

2. Be resourceful, always look for potential sponsors. Shoot films with limited budget but with unlimited ideas. If possible, thou shall only have a maximum of 2 takes per scene.

3. Thou shall not be blinded by the stars. If you can eliminate the star complex the better.

4. Thou shall not patronize very commercial and trashy movies.

5. Thou shall not limit yourself. Always aim for the international release of your films. Remember, you film can be your passport.

6. Thou shall not be disrespectful of other filmmakers even if they make bad films.

7. Thou shall not be greedy. Share your equipments, film stocks and ideas with other aspiring filmmakers.

8. Thou shall not lose hope even if you have little audience for now, maybe the bigger audience will be the next generation to come.

9. Thou shall not always aspire for financial gain but always strive for cinematic excellence.

10. Thou shall not be bothered by bad reviews of your films. Put in mind there are bad critics everywhere.

11. Thou shall not have the feeling of a great director. But humble and recognize the existence of the Supreme Being above.

12. Thou shall not lose the passion of making films, just work and work up to the last breath.