
Robert Rodriguez's 10-minute Film School - ivankirigin
http://www.macalester.edu/~fines/filmschl/index.htm
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blizkreeg
As I read through the article, I couldn't help but notice the parallels
between making a good film and building a successful startup venture.

Both are highly creative and technical processes. Getting a motley crew of
crazies together, (almost) irreverent belief in your vision, passionate
director/founder(s), willingness to work long and hard, working creatively
within budget, and zealously promoting your wares.

It matters not how many movies you watch, or how many business books, or blogs
you read. Learning comes from doing.

Except, with a movie, you don't get a do-over. With startups, you can iterate,
pivot, evolve, and march on.

~~~
fluxcapacitor
EXACTLY! As a big movie fan, I also have that same theory. In fact I have read
Robert Rodriguez's "Rebel Without a Crew" (from where the "10-minute Film
School" comes from), and I see so many parallels between indie film-making and
bootstrapping a company.

[http://www.amazon.com/Rebel-without-Crew-23-Year-Old-
Filmmak...](http://www.amazon.com/Rebel-without-Crew-23-Year-Old-
Filmmaker/dp/0452271878/)

I would argue that with a movie you actually do iterate and evolve: That's
during the editing process. I believe Scorcese once said that his key job as a
director was not during filming per se, but during editing.

Also, a curiosity: Rodriguez is a major geek. He does his own special effects
on his own studio in San Antonio.

~~~
philwelch
Editing _is_ filmmaking. Writing, acting, photography, recording, those are
all arts in themselves, and if you're good at just one of them you don't need
a film to be successful. Add editing, and you've turned it into filmmaking.

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waterlesscloud
I'm actually more of a filmmaker than I am a startup guy, but I can see lots
of overlaps.

Each film project essentially _is_ a startup. Most are the results of special
purpose, one-off companies. You might work with a lot of the same people, but
the situations are always fluid. You're creating something from scratch, most
of the time, building up something from nothing.

I've made dozens of short films, most via a loose collective of filmmakers,
mostly for festival screenings and for the learning experiences. Some with a
slightly more formal organization, intended to make money via short film
distribution networks online and on cell phones. Which we did, by keeping our
production costs very , very low. Some lessons learned there about cofounder
selection and clear responsibilities.

Working now with some established producers on securing funding for a indie
sci fi feature film. The whole funding cycle is a long, drawn out process,
like it is in most businesses. A real roller coaster of emotion, like a
startup. In the end, like a startup, the funding is as dependent on
establishing belief in the people involved as it is in the idea itself. If not
moreso. And of course it's all spare-time after-the-day-job stuff, like a lot
of startups.

It's fun, though, and I wouldn't trade the ride for anything else.

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zachbeane
Many of his DVD commentary tracks are packed with similar info. Spy Kids 2
hardly references what's happening onscreen and is one long discussion about
his creative process. It's great.

~~~
henning
Does this mean I should rent Spy Kids 2 so I can listen to interesting
commentary about making films? The world still has a few surprises left, I
guess.

~~~
zachbeane
I've gotten all of his kids movies just for the commentary tracks. It's been a
while since I listened to all the commentary tracks, but I remember Spy Kids 2
being the best, Spy Kids 3D being decent, and Shark Boy & Lava Girl being a
letdown.

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thiele
"Too many creative people don't want to learn how to be technical, so what
happens? they become dependent on technical people. Become technical, you can
learn that. If you're creative and technical, you're unstoppable."

Really great quote.

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rameshnid
The similarity one notices between "making a movie" and "building an app" is
something more commonplace.

In all activities that involve significant investment of time/money in the
start and a big cheque at the end require this kind of thinking.

1\. Bootstrap 2\. Play ur bootstrapped tag to your advantage (get customers
who like offbeat things/ don't like big brands/ love promoting newbies etc)
3\. Collect fat cheque at the end if 2 gets u mainstream

