7 Tips for Producing Your Own Film Projects

Several years ago I decided that I wanted to get a degree in film and television from the highly competitive film school at New York University. There was one major obstacle though… I was a high school drop out. What are the odds of my being accepted into this school and program? Not very good, but I decided (call it naivety, blind faith, insanity or whatnot) it was not only possible, but it was going to be my reality. I put one foot in front of the other, busted my butt as if it were life or death, and made it happen.

After graduating, however, I spent many years floundering, wishing and hoping to get into the film industry and thinking that the only way in was through the major studios and production companies giving me “a break”.

My feature-length screenplay, “Lovin’ Brooklyn”, a teen romance/dance movie-musical, was in the hands of a major Hollywood player and the creator of one of the genre’s biggest movie franchises. They loved the script but did not love the idea of having me attached as the director. Should I have stepped down and let a more experienced director make the film? Sure, logically it made sense, but emotionally I just couldn’t do it… This was my baby and I needed to direct the film myself.

I decided that the only way to get rid of this “first time filmmaker” stigma was to go out and make a film.