Social Media and the Filmmaker, or vice versa?

It’s no secret that at least 95% of you reading this right now have a social media account, rather it’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or whatever. After all, the only place I’ve posted this is on Facebook. Rather you use it for networking with fellow people in your line of work or just to stay in touch with old friends, you can do whatever you like and say anything you want. Here’s the catch. Not everyone on your social media accounts are allies.

Just like politicians have to watch what they say before the public eye, so do those in a professional level position have to do the same with social media. There’s a sad reality that many people anymore take social media posts as fact, without doing any kind of proper research. That known, there are those who will even use social media to bolster themselves bigger than what they really are.

While this blog does identify the filmmaker, it could have equal application to many other fields of work. Today, we’re going to emphasize on the filmmaker, as that’s what this blog site is all about, right? This does not, in any way, reflect on the filmmaking community as a whole. It’s just an observation that I’ve observed within it about those who are new and upcoming.

I think it’s no surprise that we’ve all lied about something, either for selfish gain or to avoid getting in trouble. I do it, as have you. It’s ok to lie, if you own up to it and make things right. If you’re not careful, you could let your lies convince you that it’s more truth. That’s a whole different discussion for a different day. I also believe there’s a fine line between over exaggerating and lying. In this line of work, I think we often ride that line with every project. Let me explain.

When I was in film school, one of my teachers was Gray Frederickson, producer of the Godfather movies, Outsiders, and many more. When he would give me constructive criticism, I’d get excited and tell my friends about it. They’d get so happy for me, praising how cool it was that Gray “supports your work.” In those moments, I didn’t think about what could happen if Gray found out what was being said. I lived a lie but not because of what Gray had said but what I convinced myself to believe. By saying Gray supports my work was never true. He had nice things to say and would not hesitate to give feedback. If there’s one thing I’ve learned is that claiming an industry expert supports your work can have a more negative backlash than what you can imagine.

Similarly, I think our excitement to work on a project can get us thinking too far ahead. If I go on set and say on Facebook that “I worked with Kevin Bacon,” that’d get some likes, supportive comments, etc. However, if I get more specific and say that I worked say, grip, on a set that Kevin Bacon was on, now I’m being honest. I didn’t really work WITH him but I was on the same set. That in itself is cool enough. Or, to give you a better example of my own experience.

Over Labor Day weekend 2016, I was a part of the first Geekinomicon in Oklahoma City. What an adventure, to say the least. In being there, I got to interview Eric Roberts and spend some time with Tim Russ. In the time spent with Tim, I also showed him the current progress of the teaser to my film, Remembering. He gave me constructive feedback and said many good things. Does this mean he’ll share it once finished and try promoting the film? I’m not betting on it. If I said he supported my work, if it were not true, I’d be liable to him because I made it sound like he endorsed me, which he did not. No doubt that he’s a wonderful man and it’d be an honor if he did but it wouldn’t destroy me if he didn’t. If he promoted every project shown to him, he’d never get to be an actor.

I think what happens is when someone who has gotten such success as Tim, Eric, or anyone else we look up to in this industry, we are often starstruck when first meeting them. I know I was with Eric. We want to imprint who we are into their memory and make a lasting impression by any reasonable means necessary. There is nothing wrong with this, most especially if the opportunity presents itself. If I got to meet my role model, Director Christopher Nolan, yes, I’d be starstruck, because that’s my hero! I’d want Chris to remember me forever, just the same you would want your inspiration to remember you.

Here’s the thing to remember though. Just because you meet someone doesn’t guarantee anything. If you’ve been at this business long enough, you know nothing is guaranteed until it is in writing and actually happens. Grand example, again. I thought by knowing someone I do know that it would land me the chance to meet Billy Bob Thorton. This was a few years ago. I got excited about it and told people on social media about it. My first mistake was not paying attention, my second was posting about it on social media. If I had paid attention, I would have known that it was a maybe, nothing was promised. If I hadn’t gone blabbering about it on social media, it might have worked out. Yet, because one person saw my post and knew the connection, they went and told the person trying for me. That backlash cost me a good business relationship.

In summary, it’s always best to consult with the right people before bragging about something on social media. One wrong choice of words could be the one thing that forever destroys your future in film making. I don’t want that for you and you don’t want that either. Of course, there will always be those out there that, no matter what you say, will take your word as pure and true. That’s just a reality you can’t change, which does obviously suck for us all. It’s always better safe than sorry so stay safe and have a great day. Thanks for reading my Random Ramblings.