We’re artists — we live for the work, but we want to survive and thrive… Right?!

As filmmakers, we have no problems at all thinking up our ideas and we get excited as hell in incorporating them into a structure we can comprehend on a grueling shoot that (we kid ourselves) will be less work but just as rewarding as our last at-bat.

Inspiration, this is our fuel. Our need to create what has not existed before and to showcase that beyond our realm of possibility. This — not money, is what sustains the hunger of an artist — any artist.

In this particular case, filmmakers.

Once we breeze past our inspiration and writing phase, we grind away at the heavy lifting. I don’t mean to brush past this intense stage in the filmmaking process but I need to get to the crux of what I’m trying to say — what is constantly on my mind.

Once our film is completed, we crave two things.

Attention and remuneration.

We believe, at this stage in the creative process, through all the hard work that we have put in, that we are entitled to both. Under normal circumstances, if we measure the effort to expected reward, we would be right to think there was a financial incentive waiting for us at the end of the yellow brick road. But alas, unless we are lucky — there isn’t.

Instead, our work goes up on YouTube (or Vimeo) — which isn’t a bad outcome. It’s just not the outcome we expected.

So there is a problem, in any creative field there is a problem here.

Filmmaking is a risk, we are putting ourselves at risk of financial ruin by using our precious time and money to craft these babies — but does it always have to be?

Can’t there be a way to be remunerated for our work?

This involves bringing an audience in anticipation of our work — one that is willing to part with money for the work of emerging filmmakers. No one is able to accomplish this, so emerging artists are ignored in favour of well-known, established names. So the cycle continues.

How do we break this cycle?

How do we gather an audience — encourage them to part with their money for the promise of new and exciting work from emerging filmmakers? When there are many other alternate attention seeking networks out there?

How do we get indie filmmakers paid?

How do we make an industry for emerging artists?

I have some thoughts on how this can be accomplished, but these are too early in their development to be aired here. I just needed to get this off my mind and onto the blog — as it’s keeping me up.

Just know, I’m working on it.