I spent yesterday at Regent’s College, sitting in a lecture theatre, being inspired about filmmaking by Chris Jones, scribbling pages and pages of notes. It was the Guerilla Filmmakers Masterclass. I tried to tweet tidbits during the presentations, but my phone decided I can’t connect to the internet with it (gee, thanks, phone).
I can thoroughly recommend Chris’ workshops and his blog chrisjonesblog.com. I had previously attended a Producing Masterclass with Chris two years ago, when I had first arrived in London. He is a great speaker and comes from a position of expertise and humility.
One of the best parts of the course today was outlining the five stages of a filmmaking career. At the Producing Masterclass two years ago, the five stages of a Producer’s career were outlined as well. I can safely say that I am a Stage Two Producer. Great tips for this stage and how to advance to the next.
Chris also posited that, within the industry, there is no longer the dichotomy between Amateur and Professional, but there is now a third category: the non-professional expert. These are the filmmakers who have a day job and make films in their spare time. That’s me! It was great to look into that model and affirm that it works – albeit with years of hard work – and to recognise it as a part of the industry.
It has been great networking with fellow filmmakers. I have already made some useful connections with people with whom I would like to collaborate in future.Â
I wrote pages and pages of notes. I’m looking forward to the second half of the masterclass today. Maybe I’ll even be able to tweet?
Busy Times 