The Uber Indie Filmmaker - How I’m Trying To Make My Mark
I think of myself as an independent filmmaker.
What exactly does that mean to me? It means I don’t have the financial backing of any studio, nor do I have to answer to anyone for my creative choices.
In fact, aside from the occasional contributions of beloved family members, I don’t have any financial backing of any kind. I make uber indie cinema, films that I make almost entirely on my own within the confines of my little apartment. I do this not because I don’t want to collaborate — I do this because I don’t have access to producers, performers, and crews to help produce my work. I live paycheck to paycheck. I have rent and college loans and other bills to pay. I still need to make films, though. It’s a necessity. And so I’ve developed a way of making films that doesn’t require more than one or two people.
No one is knocking down my door with bidding war, of course. Also, no one is asking me to make the films I make. I have to be self-directed, knowing my work might continue to wallow in obscurity for years. I’m not content to live a life without producing films, though, regardless of who is watching.
Refusing to stop, refusing to wait for anyone to ask me, I’ve endeavored to create a space for myself on the internet that serves as proof of my existence. This website plays a part in that, but my YouTube Channel @TheTimKail is where I’m attempting to sign my name into the sands of the universe. I want to chronicle my life as a filmmaker, to show other artists what can be achieved even with heavy constraints in terms of time, money, and resources.
In the interest of making my mark I’ve organized my YouTube Channel into sections — various eras in my filmography as well as director commentaries of several shorts. My plan is to provide commentary for all of them, and give my potential audience direct access to an independent artist’s mind. I’m doing this because I think it’s valuable for artists to have access to the thought-process of their peers, to learn from another artist’s successes and failures.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention how much fun it is for me to create these commentaries. I love talking about my work so why wait until it’s “appropriate” to do so? My ideal imagined scenario is that a young filmmaker will stumble upon my YouTube and be able to get lost in my world, and hopefully learn something about their own goals, aesthetics, and interests.
The naysayers may scoff at me self-identifying as an indie filmmaker because I’m making my shorts in an unconventional way. I haven’t won any major awards and my films have only been selected by a couple festivals. To them, I’m little more than a film hobbyist. To that I say: think what you want. I’m too busy to care because I am a filmmaker, and I’ve got work to do.
