Join us for an amazing discussion!
Joseph Abraham is a dear friend of mine, a talented writer, an brilliant film producer and, luckily for me - producer of this podcast. Listen to the episode HERE.
In this discussion, he talks about his biggest influences, his motivations and his love for the craft. But that's not all. Grab a pen and a piece of paper and start taking notes as MAD as he actually reveals his 4 Strategies to creating your own work and why that is important!
Create your own work and the importance of it
We hear this over and over again but how important is it really? When you are starting out, the industry can seem particularly closed off. And there is a good reason for that - only people who have proven their value can be allowed to worked on the cool stuff. But how do you prove that you can deliver when no one gives you the time of day? By creating your own work.
We are extremely lucky to have writer and producer of short film Vultures, which is now in pre-production for its feature length format of the same name, Joseph Abraham, share with us his 4 Secrets to Creating Your Own Work. Have you got your pen and paper?
1. Choosing The Perfect Niche
Joseph makes it abundantly clear that if you are looking to produce your first short, you need something that is 'doable' in a way that you won't require a budget worth millions of pounds to get special effects and explosions in the background, but rather something that is set in the NOW and is accessible to film by anyone anywhere. Real people, real scenarios, real places that you can get to in your own town or area whenever you please.
He recommends genres like thriller, horror and drama as they don't require anything more than a great plot, good actors and accessible locations.
2. Create The Perfect Story
Let's face it. There is arguably anything more important than a great story that can hook and reel you in. The story is integral to Joseph's writing to as he is also fan of amazing classics such as the original Blade Runner with Harrison Ford.
The story becomes also one of your strongest selling points and with a good one - no one would care much anything else in the film. Make sure you sit down and write until your absolutely happy with your story which also takes me to the next secret and that is to:
3. Get Quality Feedback
Choose your critiques. Be your biggest one yourself but sometimes it can get hard when you've gotten so used to your own work that you stop spotting your own mistakes. Make sure you give the script to people who you trust and listen to their feedback. It is crucial that you send it only to people who have your best interest at heart. That's when you will be more certain that the feedback will be honest and aims to help.
Sometimes people can react viscerally if something in your story doesn't sit right with them. Make sure you are being critised by people whom you trust. Even so, take it all in but choose what you can disregard when rewriting your story. Make sure it serves the story.
4. Find Talented Creatives.
Find other talents and collaborate with them. You cannot do this all by yourself. Find other people who want to help you and who love your story. Bring it to life together. If you decide that you want to work with someone, make sure you a certain that you can totally trust them. And trust them completely. Go the whole hog and trust that they work towards your best interest. This is how you can create meaningful work. This is how you can stand out from the pack.
Follow those steps and you are on your way to really making a difference in your industry. You are on your way to stand out from the rest. Create your own work so people know you are valuable.