Topic: Am I making films for the right reason?

This question will be the big one and depending on how the answers cause me to think or react decides if I should stop this hobby or continue it full force.

Heres the issue. I been trying to make a film for a long long time, multiple ones, but once I try and re watch footage it looks bad and I get discouraged and give up, I want to make a video thats at least 2 minutes long to show to my parents, thats the reason I am doing it, to impress them.

Now I know what someone is probably about to say "You should being doing it for yourself not for popularity or any of that"

And I know, I really enjoy stop motion, but it seems like no matter how good the idea or how much I know, actually getting down and doing the filming part never seems to go right.

I personally think until I can reach the goal of showing my parents at LEAST 1 good film I made myself I will be stuck with this mindset. Like confidence to do it comes back. I mean I want to share videos with people and impress them but I wouldn't do it just to have a high subscriber count.

So.. What do you all think?

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

You can make films for any reason. What it ultimately boils down is whether you want to make films.

The only reason people go on and on about why you should make films for your own enjoyment is because that's generally the most fun throughout the entire filming process- you can try new things, change the story to suit your fancy and in the end as long as you're still liking the act of filming you aren't going to feel like you've wasted your time. Working toward an end goal (like having a film to show your parents) isn't a bad thing, it just neglects the vast majority of the time invested in the project. In any challenging field you can wind up working on a large project and find that eventually the magic of the creative process fades a bit- you wind up motivating yourself to finish by looking toward the final result. But if you aren't enjoying the process of filming at all, it will be hard to stick with it, for sure.

In regards to being disappointed with the work you've done... even in small projects anyone is going to find that the fruits of their labor are occasionally rotten. I like to think I'm a decent artist, but I still sit down some days and feel like I haven't improved since I first learned to color inside the lines. That's the nature of things- no one is really good enough to live up to their own expectations one hundred percent of the time, particularly if they really strive to be great at something. The best person in the world at any skill could probably tell you dozens of ways they'd like to improve. That's how they become the best.

This isn't really a question that can be answered by someone else- you need to decide if you personally want to keep brickfilming. Are your reasons good enough to make the amount of time spent filming worth it to you? Try to look at your results objectively, from the time you started to more recent works, and just observe the ways you've improved- because I guarentee the most recent thing you've filmed was loads better than your first shot, even if it isn't as good as you think it should be now. Don't feel like this is a binary thing, either; just because you don't want to spend all of your time brickfilming doesn't mean you can't spend any time on it. Deciding whether you want to keep doing something in hopes that it will get better or cut your losses and try something else is rarely an easy decision, but it's one you'll make over and over again throughout your life- especially once you leave the somewhat rigid confines of primary education. If you want to make films, make them. If not, that's okay as well. If you want to cut back and film less regularly, or try filming in a new way to find your motivation again, go for it. None of these decisions have to be permanent. You know yourself better than any of us know you- trust in your own judgement.

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

Wanting to impress and astonish is part of the hobby. It's why we always strive to get better, but you also have to remember that everybody has to start somewhere.

The very first film I showed my mom was so completely horrible that...Well, let's just leave it at that. mini/tongue

Showing people your work allows you to gain creative feedback, thus helping you to eliminate the flaws and improve your skills. One problem I'm seeing is that after every failed attempt, you've tried a different project altogether. Perhaps you should have kept at the same movie, scene or even clip until you were satisfied with how it looks.

I made a bunch of really short, really pathetic films before even the oldest one on my channel. Most went unfinished to some degree, but that was due more to my abundance of ideas than discouragement.

Thing is, you came to the right place. This forum has a bazillion and a half topics, posts, and threads all dedicated to answering questions, giving tips, and helping folks just like you.

I understand your mindset completely, but you also have to take into account just how good it has to be before it can impress them. I find that those unfamiliar with brickfilming tend to be impressed with just about anything, so you may not have to improve that much before you reach your goal.

Now, if you just need a concentrated dose of tips, all in one handy, dandy place, check these two tutorials out.
I know there're not on this site, and I don't know how much of that info you already know, but they together seem to be one of the best basic guides that I've ever found seen, although I may be a bit bias on that point. mini/wink

Bettering yourself is great, but don't let the disappointment of not getting that right off of the bat get in your way. mini/wink
It takes practice and time to improve, don't forget that. I'm sure you've gotten better in your short time animating, so concentrate on that. And looking back, Squash probably said it better. So now go back and read his post again.

Last edited by Pritchard Studios (July 9, 2013 (07:47pm))

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

I know no one can tell me an answer only I can know, but that response actually helped. Im going to make the video for my parents and then make what I want, (since they are anti violence x500)

So. Thank you Mr Squash.

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

If you want motivation to finish a brickfilm, you should enter BRAWL 2013.

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

Pritchard Studios wrote:

they together seem to be one of the best basic guides that I've ever found.

You found? I checked the guys flicker and he somehow has character pictures for your steampunk film and a set picture from your santa yoda film. (The tutorials are yours so don't say you found them mini/rolleyes)

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

Do it for the ladies.

Rawr!

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8625/16037138950_5eeda635ce_o.png

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

Walter Benson wrote:

Do it for the ladies.

Rawr!

lol my girlfriend has helped get me to initially start doing some films before, and wants to voice in some.

But thanks for the responses everyone it helped.
And Pritch I know I didn't specify but I have technically been doing stop motion since 2009, and they have seen my early work. Its just now they are in a disbelief about it that I have a desire to prove them wrong, and I could never get a video over 20 seconds usually, which is why I think I have a hard time with this.

Regardless BIM has been a good help for it all.

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

I've covered this before in my guide to writing a comedy series.  There's nothing wrong with wanting as many people as possible to view your work, but the goal shouldn't be "to get 1000000 youtube views."  You should have a reason that you want to make the story you are making.  Nothing wrong with your reasoning, making people closest to you enjoy somethng you made.

https://vimeo.com/channels/holdingourown      http://holding-our-own.tumblr.com

"None practice tolerance less frequently than those who most loudly preach it."

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

I personally think its the limitations I have. It has to be at least a minute of animation. Entertaining. And well family friendly. Which aren't my strong suits. I think when I do get this video done. And thanks to squash's comment making me start. Ill be free to go back and do as I please. And won't be stressed from having to impress my parents.

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

I think it's important to make the movie family-friendly.  I want my mom to be able to watch each episode I make.  Work on your weak suits.  They'll improve with practice!  Also, I think youre parents would be happy with the creation of any brickfilm, no matter the quality, because it's quite an achievement at any level!

https://vimeo.com/channels/holdingourown      http://holding-our-own.tumblr.com

"None practice tolerance less frequently than those who most loudly preach it."

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

What defines videos as family friendly. Do they object to swearing, violence, or what? It's different for each person.

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

HoldingOurOwn wrote:

I think it's important to make the movie family-friendly.

Isn't that kind of defeating the whole point of making art because you want to? Do you think that the people who made works like Pulp Fiction or Spec Ops The Line were thinking of the 'family mindset' when making them?

Thing is, as an art, you can use film to do whatever you want [within reason], you should make something because you feel like it's a work to be proud of. Forcing yourself to be censored is just not going to make you feel good as you can't voice your opinion through your work.

You can make family-friendly films too, obviously, but don't try to censor yourself unless it's something completely ridiculous.

PS, parents are probably the most biased people to judge your work. Ask other people involved with the medium, heck if they're not even friends with you then they'll be even less biased really.

http://i.imgur.com/WAr6hHC.png
BRAWL 2013 ENTRY Quack In Time
"Why in the world did you do a weird language if you know English?" - tenny1028

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

Family friendly usually entails no swearing, adult themes, and no overly gory violence.

HoldingOurOwn wrote:

I want my mom to be able to watch each episode I make.

This is a good rule of thumb.

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

I think that by wanting to impress your friends you want to impress yourself too by discovering what you're capable of. Also, any reason is right as long as it motivates you to finish it.

And about family friendly stuff: I think a movie should be made in a way that it works, be it family friendly, violent or else. It doesn't matter as long as the final product has everything it needs (and nothing that it doesn't) to tell a story in an efficient way.

Well, that's how I think about it.

Ps:

jstudios wrote:

PS, parents are probably the most biased people to judge your work. Ask other people involved with the medium, heck if they're not even friends with you then they'll be even less biased really.

Actually, that depends. My family is supporting, but if they think something could be made better they will tell me (especially my brother, he is very critical... and I quite like him that way mini/wink).

Last edited by MPfist0 (July 11, 2013 (02:31pm))

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

If in your film it is necessary for some, oh-no, adult content just do it. Make your animation, play to your strengths and don't hold back on bits if they're really necessary. Don't be dictated to on what you should and should not do, of course take in criticisms, but do not shift your entire way of filmmaking just to fit the needs of one little audience.

On the bottom line, your parents, as adults, should be proud/supportive of you and whatever you produce, even if it somehow conflicts with some silly draconian rule of theirs. If not, that's saddening.

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

Carousel wrote:

If in your film it is necessary for some, oh-no, adult content just do it. Make your animation, play to your strengths and don't hold back on bits if they're really necessary. Don't be dictated to on what you should and should not do, of course take in criticisms, but do not shift your entire way of filmmaking just to fit the needs of one little audience.

On the bottom line, your parents, as adults, should be proud/supportive of you and whatever you produce, even if it somehow conflicts with some silly draconian rule of theirs. If not, that's saddening.

Uh, we're veering off-topic a little bit here, but at risk of making that worse I think this post makes a lot of dangerous assumptions. To be honest, I don't think there's a person here whose parents would be proud of them unconditionally- because most of us have parents that aren't religious figures. If I decided I was going to spend the rest of my days making LEGO pornography (I'm really not) my parents would probably not be especially proud of me for doing that... and I think that's their right. They did raise me, after all- it's not unreasonable that they would be disappointed that I didn't possess some semblance of their morals.

I don't personally feel there's any reason to limit yourself to exclusively making things your family will enjoy (the apocryphal Mark Twain quote "Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it." fairly well sums up my feelings on the topic), but I think it's unrealistic and damaging to think of your family as anything other than people, with their own beliefs and feelings. They aren't broken for wanting you to share their ideals. This is more a case of knowing your audience than anything; if you don't think your parents would appreciate something and your end goal is to impress your parents, you're more likely to achieve that goal by refraining from doing whatever it is they would object to.

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

I do agree. It's not particularly clear from my paragraph, and I apologise, but I was inferring that the inclusion of some violence or whatnot should not render your brickfilm unsuitable for viewing by one's parents. I also agree that to receive a proud response from one's parents is not a given, but in the context of creating a mildly themed animation, there should definitely be some appreciation of the work put into the film despite maybe not totally agreeing with the subject matter/content. Yes you follow in your parents beliefs, but you need a little space to be able to develop your own too.

So to answer the original question, I think your (silents429) motives are absolutely fine, I just wouldn't severely limit what I make due to some parental objections - make it appropriate for them, but add your little bits too. Explain to them the necessity of this and that in your animation and you should be fine. Just don't go overboard and certainly remember to respect their opinions and values.

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

make it appropriate for them, but add your little bits too. Explain to them the necessity of this and that in your animation and you should be fine. Just don't go overboard and certainly remember to respect their opinions and values.

That's sound advice. From reading your response I think we're in agreement on the most important issues. Nothing wrong with introducing something new to your audience to test the waters.

Re: Am I making films for the right reason?

My mom is incredibly religious, no hint of violence the slightest, and I only need to get one done for them.

I like to make dark, violent (reasonably), things with a good story, all of these tend to conflict with what I am suppose to make.

I can't just ignore these, and I know none of you know my Mother but shes the type that would ban me from the internet over messing something up like this.

Final verdict of the whole thread however is: Motivation to make this simple film for them has returned full force, and I am enjoying the process more suddenly, and feel a bit less stressed over it.

So thank you all for the wonderful responses.