There was an interesting post the other day on Thousand Dollar Film about how the digital revolution was going to die.
Read it.
The one problem I have with this post is that the first rule of filmmaking is never spoken. Clive skirts around the issue, nudges up close, but never quite hits the nail on the head.
"Bill, what nail is that?"
It's the nail - the rock-solid, no-getting-around-it rule - that always applies whether you're talking about making films, television, documentaries or music videos.
ENTERTAIN FIRST.
You Tube, Google Video, Digital cameras and editing systems, the whole freaking internet streaming revolution - none of it matters unless we decide to follow this rule first in everything we do. You can all use words like "innovative", "groundbreaking" and "It spoke to me," but they mean NOTHING unless they follow our core belief.
ENTERTAIN FIRST.
Every filmmaker should be forced to swear this as an oath, just like when Doctors swear the Hippocratic Oath to "Do No Harm."
ENTERTAIN FIRST.
2 comments:
If you're English I believe it is mandatory to swear to "firstly entertain".
I think some people get confused over this and always associate "entertained" with jokes and laughter and that is certainly one way to entertain. If you take Hotel Rwanda as an example, it entertained in its suspense and powerful performances. Different but no less effective, well actually more so, you just feel different at the credits.
You've been busy Bill. Great to see some things coming off for you. Bloody terrific.
Chat to you later.
cheers
Dave
Hey Bill,
You're absolutely right -- and I wish I'd put it as clearly as you have.
I completely agree -- a film that doesn't entertain, isn't a film.
Innovation for the sake of it is just an ego trip for the film maker.
Clive ($1000)
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