Business of Film Mastery Journal
So today I write this post realizing that this is my final submission for my Mastery Journal for my Master’s Degree. Reflecting all that I’ve learned and who I’ve met I can for sure say I am a more centered person then when I started in August of 2016. My end goal is still the same, but I have more knowledge in how to go about it. Being a designer for close to 3 years prior to the program I have only seen and known aspects of design. Combining these fundamentals with the concepts and practices of film, a whole different realm of creativity has introduced.
As you may have read in my previous discussions I have learned quite a bit about filmmaking, and its art form. However, there is a whole other life of a film outside of it’s development process. And it is called the Business of Film. Making films can be just a hobby for literally anybody nowadays. But what is the difference between a hobbyist and a professional? A career. In this class we learned the marketing, festival strategy, negotiations, and financing of a variety of different kinds of films. From independent shorts to box-office films we learned the ins-and-outs of the many different ways money is involved and earned in a career.
Some other things that I found very useful in this class were things like the data in filmmaking and the freelance route in film. The data of film really spoke to me because It put perspective on the digital footprint “media” has on this earth. From both it’s history and future I learned how much data can effect our film world both negatively and positively. Moving onto freelancing which is a whole other dragon to develop and grow to potentially take all over the west cost. Freelancing can be something so tiny that no one really knows you’re doing it, or something so big the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) can send you to jail for not paying your taxes. That being said there is a bunch that goes into being a successful filmmaker in any respect. There are also a ton of safety concerns that were brought to my attention that I wouldn’t have known to avoid such as people fishing your bank account with offers that seem almost too good to be true.
I have learned quite a lot in my journey here at Full Sail University, but I still have just maybe scratched the surface of this world of design and film. I look forward to what the I can offer this world of opportunity helping others with bringing their visions come to life and growing more myself to be a better person in every way.
BONUS: There is this line that’s been stuck in my head and it’s “I’m a jack of all trades with no particular mastery in one.” And although that applies to me, and many people say that it’s dangerous to do so. But I’d like to argue in my case that I am better than average in more than one respect of my creative capabilities. Which indeed makes me a dangerous person to my competition in the freelance realm. In the long run it will help me pin point exactly what I wouldn’t mind doing for the rest of my days.
DOUBLE BONUS: If you’d like to continue this journey I am in development of a blog/vlog on DannyVee.Co








