Why Many People Will Never Have A Career In The Film Industry (Part 2) - Shane Stanley

WATCH PART 1 (Big Reason Why Many People Will Never Have A Career In The Film Industry)

Shane Stanley is a producer/author/instructor/screenwriter known for numerous film and television projects including Desperate Passage (1987) starring Michael Landon, The Desperate Passage Series (1988 to 1995) starring Sharon Gless, Edward James Olmos, Marlo Thomas and Louis Gossett Jr. Street Pirates (1994), Gridiron Gang (2006) starring Dwayne Johnson and Xzibit, A Sight for Sore Eyes (2004) with Academy Award nominee, Gary Busey. Shane is also the author of WHAT YOU DON’T LEARN IN FILM SCHOOL: A Complete Guide To (Independent) Filmmaking.

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[catsupchutney]

No matter how you spin it, a hardworking trust fund kid has the upper hand versus a hard working kid with a few hundred dollars to his name. Is it fair? No it is not. I went to school with a guy who worked two jobs and took classes full time. The poor guy never slept.

[esonefilms]

I think he’s giving great advice based on his experience, your success story will be different than his. I know things are tough now but things will get easier. Stay motivated and keep chasing your dreams but in the mean time, learn your craft and keep asking questions. God bless and stay safe.👏

[diegooland]

Thanks for giving Shane a shot to come back and clarify. I watched the first interview and get the comments, I was thinking the same thoughts. But I might be a little older than some viewers and heard what he was saying. Pay your dues, get out there and do it. It aint comin' to you. Going to a great film school, graduating top of class, and saying "Here I am Hollywood, come get me" will get a good laugh at a stand-up routine.

[NA]

His father was in the industry and had contacts that he could use. A lot of us don't have the contacts that can get us work. Also, if we try to talk to well known people in the industry or try to engage them they treat us like fans not as people trying to break in.

[AnyDayNow]

Shane explains himself very well(I haven't watched the first service). The comments read to him are also understandable. I do think that cost of living is much higher than even 20 years ago (let alone price of homes!); however, Shane breaks it down clearly for me. But then again, I choose the path of a spec screenwriter and have a regular job that's not based around Hollywood. His dad handing him the rolodex was a great service. What a resume listed in the description!

[impersonalbrand]

I'm sure people are going to be just as irritated at this video as they were with the other one, but I want to say this: no, most of us don't have parents in the industry but we do have something that Shane didn't when he was coming up and that's social media.Twitter and IG are often terrible BUT I will say this: I've made several great friends on Twitter and a few of them happen to work in the industry. And those friendships have led to some of them asking me, "hey, we need some BTS stills on set--you available?" or "I need someone to edit some footage--you down?" This is a reason why people stress living in L.A. so much: you're *bound* to meet and befriend someone in the industry. If they see your talent and work ethic I can guarantee they'll offer you a gig at some point where, if you're cool and hard-working and fun to be around, you can easily parlay that into future gigs. So, yes, having contacts via parents is obviously a huge leg up but don't let that stop you from making your own contacts. And isn't that more impressive, anyway? One more thing I'll add is try to be as well-rounded as possible: it isn't enough just to have ideas or a script these days. Learn the basics of photography, learn how to edit, how to color correct/grade, basic VFX. DaVinci Resolve is inarguably the best editor out there right now and the free version is 80% of what you get in the studio version. Our phones shoot 4K video now--Fincher's Zodiac was 1080p! Let that shit sink in. Sean Baker shot Tangerine on an iPhone. There's honestly no excuse anymore not to learn as much about filmmaking as possible and at least TRY. There are hours of videos here on YouTube that break down shot composition/blocking, lighting, anamorphic vs spherical (anamorphic is better), lens focal lengths, what a gaffer is, sound design, etc. Bo Burnham just made one of the most talked-about movies of the year just yammering into a camera for 2 hours in a room. It's easy to shit on Shane for having a daddy in the biz but what stopped Richard Linklater from making Slacker when he was a "nobody" in Austin? What stopped Ava DuVernay from making her first short when she was a "nobody"? What stopped Chris Nolan from making Following (which took a year since they could only shoot on the weekends) when he was a "nobody" in London?And what's stopping you?

[coolhrv]

You know how so many Hollywood studio films these days fail to connect with audiences and feel as if they were cobbled together by non-interested creatives with zero appreciation for audiences? it's because the filmmakers who made them got where they are not from hard work or dedication to craft, but because they "knew a guy."

[Rod-dgfy]

Shane is spot on. He is telling you that you have to be savvy, determined and tough. The system isn’t fair. There are lot of people who don’t make it that deserve to make it. Most of the elite industries have low probabilities of success. If you want to work in one of these industries go in knowing it’s realistically a long shot. If you think you have the Uber mix of intelligence, creativity, resilience, communication ability and hustle then go for it.

[workaholick]

everything he said translates to every other profession that's a craft. put in your time learn.and if you show up & prove yourself by learning the process correctly, you'll get called for more work. regardless of who you are or know, do the work.

[AnandaGarden]

I'm 79 and if there's one thing I've learned it's that the resources flow toward people who are willing, energetic, likable and giving. If they like being around you the day will come when they'll pay you to be around. If you're always thinking about what people should give you - God bless you and good luck. In hard times the people who do best are those who treat their clients as friends.

[greendusk]

You can judge his upbringing, but guys, we can’t discredit what he’s saying in this video because it’s 100% true.

[sangeovr]

Having relatives in the industry makes it a lot of steps closer than other's

[ScribblebytesWorldwide]

My film semiotics professor at university used to say that we have to change the idea of "the starving artist" because it promoted an unhealthy lifestyle and he gave us a lot of practical stuff alongside the film theory for our degree including financial management classes etc. So I understand why part 1 got the backlash. Having said that, I'm a nobody from Durban, South Africa and I got a development deal from the NFVF on my first try simply by busting my behind and just doing the work without a team or friend. All by myself. I'd like to go back to what Bette Davis said when she was asked "What advice would you give to an actor who wants to break into the industry?" And she said: "I'd say don't do it. If you have to ask me for advice it means you don't have what it takes because if you did you wouldn't let anything stop you. You wouldn't need my advice because you'd just go out and do whatever it takes". Ultimately that's what it is, if you don't have a boat, get in and start swimming in the shark-infested waters and the rest is Life. Harvey Keitel says that "life is suffering, when you figure that out you'll be fine".

[trefilmsstudio]

We’re currently shooting our first YouTube series and would post as soon its ready. Thank you for the encouraging words... finances is the major challenge I’d add because as creatives up and coming we have what it takes, hardly anyone believes in a process in this industry, they just want the product that takes an arm and a leg to make. Thank you always for the learning platform.

[Spectrumpicture]

It would be cool if there was an intership loan like a student loan. It would purely pay for living expenses, so aspiring filmmakers can relocate and intern in places where films are constantly being made.

[jaeeproductions]

Kristoffer Kristofferson, who was a lauded college student...as well as a well-respected/lauded military officer (a captain) and a military helicopter pilot...worked in a music studio as a janitor...so he could learn how to record, learn how to write music and make industry connections. That job led to him making friends with VIP music artists that recorded there and the executives who funded them. This eventually led to him being signed as a recording artist.

[anthonykent]

Shane's original comment was the TRUTH. You need to make CONTACTS. Both at your level and above.

[m.richards]

Because nepotism in the film industry is even worse than in politics.

[DyenamicFilms]

That is correct. That was just how you did it back in the day. It's a tough business to break into. There were times where my offer of free labor was turned down. The plan isn't to work for free forever. The first movie I did get to work on for free (which was 16 hour days, 6 days a week for a month and a half), after all was said and done, I did receive a check in the mail from the producer because they came in under budget. It wasn't full pay, but it was a nice surprise, so you never know, you may end up getting paid something anyway.

[ivansosa]

I very much remember watching the first part, and I also remember how discouraging the idea sounded to me. So, this video is really appreciated.