Liam

looool
web was a lil cranky but i turned on fox news and then he calmed down. wouldnt take my money! stand up guy

ok so in the spirit of eoshd togetherness I have decided to share this video to see what u guys think. maybe it will inspire zach ☺️
let me explain:
i made this short at the end of last year, but I never completed the edit/fx/etc 100%. Got busy with other stuff, and I was working up my gumption to come back to it with a fresh eye.
then my iMac broke, and I have a new ‘puter on the way, but I’m anticipating the nightmare of opening resolve and Siri saying ERROR: NO MEDIA FOUND, because my files, ALTHOUGH BACKED UP, are super disorganized, there might be a few things missing, but at the very least it’ll be a big pain in the ass to relink everything to get going on this again
aannnyyyway I always feel bad for posting literally zero videos but numerous dog pics and I was like Screw it, its not perfect, but here ya go.
this is not the best file, its the one I had in icloud, there could be a better render, etc etc, and its getting murdered by youtube compression, but my first reaction watching it after not messing with it for a few months was…. …Hey~! Its not too bad! ☺️ not bad for a first film i made all by myself! imagine if I had a crew, a budget… ?
so, if youd like to see, pls check it out, and if you have any helpful feedback that involves changing/adding things, that’s great, but I do NOT have access to the actors/locations any more and there is almost no chance of me shooting additional footage, so as long as suggestions don’t involve me spending any more money on this project, I’m all in ?
at best, I think this is a cool example of what one person can do with a 5d3 in 2019 with no budget, crew, or resources whatsoever... as indie as it gets lolol
 

I've been trying to find people to partner with to make films for a long time... You CAN do it alone.. and I made 6 films that way, hoping it would help me meet people to work with. It did not. It is a little bit of a dead end to make films alone forever. There are mediums where you can actually work alone - novels, comic books, and animation are all on par with film, or better in some ways. Film requires the most resources. Novels are the hardest to find an audience for. I might only be a cartoonist now, and not a filmmaker. Cartooning takes the most practice and time (sort of). And still no audience, but I can finally make my stuff.
I do think there's an issue right now where people are not trying to partner with amateurs. A director who might go somewhere and an actor who might go somewhere, if they can communicate, should spend all their time together. But the amount of time both are just saying "no" back and forth is crazy. This is part of the reason that the "don't work for free" trend bugs the shit out of me. Mildly successful filmmakers are all just super popular - they have a little posse who worship them, they can raise stupid amounts on kickstarter, and they don't let anyone else in. So, I hope this was helpful and tragic.

I've been trying to find people to partner with to make films for a long time... You CAN do it alone.. and I made 6 films that way, hoping it would help me meet people to work with. It did not. It is a little bit of a dead end to make films alone forever. There are mediums where you can actually work alone - novels, comic books, and animation are all on par with film, or better in some ways. Film requires the most resources. Novels are the hardest to find an audience for. I might only be a cartoonist now, and not a filmmaker. Cartooning takes the most practice and time (sort of). And still no audience, but I can finally make my stuff.
I do think there's an issue right now where people are not trying to partner with amateurs. A director who might go somewhere and an actor who might go somewhere, if they can communicate, should spend all their time together. But the amount of time both are just saying "no" back and forth is crazy. This is part of the reason that the "don't work for free" trend bugs the shit out of me. Mildly successful filmmakers are all just super popular - they have a little posse who worship them, they can raise stupid amounts on kickstarter, and they don't let anyone else in. So, I hope this was helpful and tragic.

Just got accepted to The Center for Cartoon Studies which is in a teeny tiny town in Vermont, so sort of the opposite plan for the moment but I'm not sure I'm convinced moving to a more active place would make me more plugged in.. that's obviously been a thought though /:

Congrats!
I think cartoons and animation are a very interesting media because they're the only visual forms where creating a world that works very differently to ours isn't harder than just having something realistic.  With film it used to be impossible but now with VFX so accessible building a convincing alternate world has gone from being impossible to impossibly expensive!
It's interesting to see the differences between the worlds that exist in japanese anime with the worlds that Hollywood creates with VFX.  In a sense these mediums allow unrestricted creativity and Hollywoods creations are reflective of their very recent ability to start thinking in these terms, whereas the worlds created in anime are obviously the product of a much more mature environment where highly creative thinkers have been bouncing off each-other creatively for a long time.
I played computer games and the game Myst was a fascinating game because it took place in a world that really did not function the same way that ours did, and it was really evident when playing the game that you couldn't really predict what effects doing something would have.

Oh, congratulations, that’s awesome!! Animation is still a widely unexplored frontier, have at it!
tbh, I’m kinda shy. Once I kno someone it’s different, but I’ve spent years in LA not talking to ppl ? so I get it. But you’ll meet a ton of ppl at school, that’ll solve everything~! That’s great news!!! I’m super stoked for u Liam!!!!!!!!
edit: that place looks rad, Hartford VT! It’s so pretty!! Damn this is gonna be great for u, I’m so excited!!!! ??☺️?????

Just got accepted to The Center for Cartoon Studies which is in a teeny tiny town in Vermont, so sort of the opposite plan for the moment but I'm not sure I'm convinced moving to a more active place would make me more plugged in.. that's obviously been a thought though /:

I've been trying to find people to partner with to make films for a long time... You CAN do it alone.. and I made 6 films that way, hoping it would help me meet people to work with. It did not. It is a little bit of a dead end to make films alone forever. There are mediums where you can actually work alone - novels, comic books, and animation are all on par with film, or better in some ways. Film requires the most resources. Novels are the hardest to find an audience for. I might only be a cartoonist now, and not a filmmaker. Cartooning takes the most practice and time (sort of). And still no audience, but I can finally make my stuff.
I do think there's an issue right now where people are not trying to partner with amateurs. A director who might go somewhere and an actor who might go somewhere, if they can communicate, should spend all their time together. But the amount of time both are just saying "no" back and forth is crazy. This is part of the reason that the "don't work for free" trend bugs the shit out of me. Mildly successful filmmakers are all just super popular - they have a little posse who worship them, they can raise stupid amounts on kickstarter, and they don't let anyone else in. So, I hope this was helpful and tragic.

This is sort of an old project, because I kinda gave up on it. It doesn't quite tell the story the way I wanted it to, but I like the way it looks and decided I might as well share it.
and again, the disclaimer that it's maybe not at all relevant because it's animated, sorry
 

Lol, if you heard me say buy a new camera... that's on you

oh yeah, sorry if i was unclear, im just saying:
the thing you make by yourself with no money is inherently better than the thing someone makes with lots of money and a super talented cast and crew! its more impressive, and will take you farther. it doesnt have to be perfect, either!!
on the other thand, if you GET the opportunity to direct Res Dogs, and BLOW IT, youre FUCKED. so... six of one, half dozen the other i guess lol

I was saying... Vimeo is where everyone goes. Make your own path, and in a way you won't have competition. I know there are millions and millions of artists.
Yeah, I'm definitely looking for peers, before "fans"
For that, you don't need to be the best. I feel like you're saying both.. idk if "have peers" is advice. I'm tryin ?

you can have all the email lists and social media in the world, it doesnt really matter
try making something thats fucking dynamite. focus on that. then everything else will be easy
 

@Liam
It seems that you are starting to somewhat answer your own questions in a few of your responses here, which is always a good thing.
Never give up, but become very comfortable with adapting while trying to maintain your “ideal” standards. Don’t get any goals or standards mixed up with the idea of not being adaptable yourself. True adaptability fortunately does not always mean full compromise, even though it often can present itself that way, especially in the constant self-promotion social media world.
I often discover incredibly interesting work online and I’m amazed how some very talented people have a very low profile, as their work should be more widely known. Of course, I see the opposite as well, but then again sometimes it is not really about the work in relation to popular social media information, as their personable or charismatic persona and the ability to share random things at times, is more of a draw or focus. Even if you are not interested, some more business and marketing type of approaches should be explored, to at least see how things work and emerge when using different platforms if you decide to use those in the future. It may not be the fun part for you, but it is important.
What do you really want? In your area of focus, who do you respect and why? Do you have access to a group/club, of like-minded people (writers, filmmakers, editors, illustrators, animators, etc.) in your town or region? Perhaps get involved in some different things that can help you grow, create with others, pull together knowledge and resources or approaches from many places. Maybe you could meet someone you could collaborate with, that likes to be in front of a camera, while you on the other hand could contribute mainly to the content shown to try out some different things you have in mind. It could be an occasional or just a one-off thing. As you have referenced one person previously (Adrian Tomine), maybe you can also consider some elements from the approaches of others even outside of your area of focus as well. Don't romanticize things or any "one" approach or method to much, or that could influence you to maybe not be open enough in the future to any changes that may really be needed to adapt.
I’m not going to tell a lie here, so yes it can at times take some luck to achieve further progress when stuck, but all the hard work (often unrewarded) that has been done initially, has to be explored continually to prepare for any such future possibilities, whether they may involve luck or not. Prepare for no luck, but be very appreciative when you experience it. Since most everyone has a little luck at some point, if somewhat prepared, one can then get more out of it.
Any achievements attained large or small, can be really life changing and the positive consequences imparted may last many years or sometimes just only for a short while. It is not easy at times, as things change and evolve all the time. I still like to think hard work, research, and creativity will always help one adapt and evolve. It is a lot to navigate, but try to keep your standards and stay hungry, and even sometimes warrior like. When great success happens, use that to move further forward, but keep the idea in the back of the mind of not getting to comfortable as things can change over time.
Follow the guideposts along the way, which you may uniquely notice, since you may already immerse yourself in that area of interest, follow a similar standard or perspective established by those before you that have gained some respect in your area of focus. Again, adaptability does not have to be a compromise, so use your creativity, learn and grow further to even higher standards perhaps not thought of.
You cannot win if you do not play, so it is important to finish things also. Start and finish many projects, even if you don't like the final product, just start something else and keep doing it till finished, as it will decidedly evolve and maybe a clearer direction would emerge for you to pursue with promoting your work. Whether your work develops into a more niche area or becomes broader in scope, it could then help to more clearly determine better, the “what, where and how” to then focus on and possibly gain some more traction. Not sure if it is ever an issue for you, but don't forget to not take yourself to seriously at times either, and don't forget to give yourself some credit when warranted or if a goal (big or small) is achieved. All progress counts.

It's over a hundred dollars a year, which could be fine if it's helpful, but I can't make heads or tails of what it's even supposed to do. If it helps me send emails, I'll look at it later.
Yeah, I'm just spiraling out again because yesterday I got rejected from the worst film festival ever. But I do make a lot of stufd and post it places.
I'm not trying to make a living, I'm just trying to gt any sort of audience to help the constant feeling I'm delusional.
I enjoy my work, but staying sane with no support isn't easy.
I make films and comics, and write books because I've been changing it up because nothing is working.
 
 
But yeah, I'm not sure if my whiny specifics are necessary here.
Lot of people I've been a fan of, way back in the day, were using a mailing list, and maybe I'm embarrassing myself again, buy I just don't know what the basic premise is.. just ask anyone and everyone for their addresses?
I hate Casey so goddamn much. Good for him and all, but jesus christ.

This is sort of an old project, because I kinda gave up on it. It doesn't quite tell the story the way I wanted it to, but I like the way it looks and decided I might as well share it.
and again, the disclaimer that it's maybe not at all relevant because it's animated, sorry
 

nevermind/
 
let me put a point on this: @jonpais is a raging jerk. hes deleted my posts and threads. i think he needs some time off from the forum
@John Brawley, had a fit over the word "sissy", which infuriates me. in America that isnt "hate speech", you act like he said fa**ot.
/thats it

There's a much bigger audience online, but, as you're probably learning quickly, people aren't always as nice!
So the first question is who your audience is. (Online? Festival? Broad? Niche?) The second question is what your goal is with that audience. (Are you doing spec work to get hired to direct at somewhere like Buzzfeed? Trying to build a following for your own unique brand online? Trying to find like-minded creatives to work with or for? Trying to get a technical/craft job or exclusively writer/director?)
The bigger your audience, the more you'll have to stoop to the lowest common denominator. Look at YouTube stars like Pewdiepie and Jake Paul; that's the image of a successful online filmmaker. If your work doesn't resemble that, maybe don't go that route. If you want to direct spec ads, imitate ads and apply to production companies. If you want to direct at Buzzfeed, imitate Buzzfeed videos and apply at Buzzfeed. If you want to go to film school, submit according to the application process. 
But the more niche your voice/its potential audience, the harder it will be to find the audience and the harder it will be to monetize. But also, the more creative freedom you'll have, and hopefully the longer your brand will persist. (There are a few niche web series I love. They don't seem to make much money, but one of them has been around ten years now.)
But even finding your audience is sort of irrelevant unless you're great at marketing.
A family friend used to sell roles in his high school movies to finance them. I think he's now running one of the largest YouTube empires and is making seven figures. Ditto a friend of mine used to sell DVDs and now he runs a very successful corporate video production company. They changed audiences, but their strong sales skills remained. Ultimately it's the same marketing and promotional skills that worked in person that later worked online, and it's more the marketing than the filmmaking that gets you in the door, and then the filmmaking talent that sustains the success. I don't know if I have any talent with video, I hope I do! But I know I don't have much with marketing, or at least I'm uncomfortable with it due to low self-esteem. :/ And frankly not really liking a lot of online content these days or even a lot of theatrical films as much as I used to.
So I won't even be attempting what they did, but my audience is different anyway. We all have different audiences, or maybe we have many audiences for our different projects. I might be doing spec work rather than making a YouTube channel, or I might be applying to festivals... or even getting a PA or low-level job at a company that makes my favorite work just to meet the right people there. Or I had another idea that maybe someone might watch on YouTube. But a letter never goes anywhere if you don't know who to mail it to. If you just want to be internet famous, be a sociopath on YouTube. If you're inspired by a director you really love, reach out to him or her. If you feel you appreciate his or her work better than others, try to work for him or her. Be stubborn about it. Track your heroes down. Find their email. Ask every month to be a PA on a set of theirs. Travel to where they live for an interview. Then hand them that DVD (or script, or Vimeo link) in person. That's your audience of one. This actually works. Regardless of specific tactic (it all depends what you want personally), know your audience and what they want. Your audience might be one person. If you're doing a fan film it might be Marvel fans. If you're doing a camera vlog it might be camera fans. If it's something new... risky, but go for it. Plenty of different approaches depending on your audience. But know them. And know yourself.
Even the festival scene, which is somewhere in the middle of those two options, is all about marketing. I have friends who've gotten into nearly all the top ten festivals and the trick is they're part of that social network and they really really push hard with their applications, even hiring people to promote their films. The other trick is that once you get into a top ten festival, other festivals will ask to program you. The whole festival scene is a bit of a farce, but the farce is simply the disconnect between how they market and what the truth is. Big festivals need content to match their brand, so they're fairly conservative. Even if your brand is "edgy" you have to stay on brand, so it's a conservative approach to edgy. Small festivals need films that played big festivals, so they're even more conservative! (But knowing programmers personally–the DVD route, so the speak, matters here. And I was surprised to learn that a short at a major festival attracts more attention from a talent agency than a Vimeo staff pick and by far.)
The other really sneaky thing is that a lot of the most successful Vimeo videos are actually made with assistance from larger production companies or agencies or post houses, but are marketed as very guerrilla. This isn't always the case, some stories are true, but don't believe everything you read online. (Certainly don't believe me. If I knew what I were saying, I would be working now–not posting this!) But internet platforms aren't all they promise to be; that promise is just the marketing by YouTube and Vimeo to get you to produce content for them so that they can monetize it. The success stories of online filmmakers are their marketing. And they're very good at marketing. And you're their audience. So if you haven't had a lot of success online, maybe try a different route? 
The one thing NOT to believe is that if your work is creative and unique and great others will discover that and flock to you. I saw one of your videos and you have a good voice and should keep doing what you're doing, or exploring what you want to do next, whether it's more of the same or something new. Probably the most original voice I've seen on this forum, but this forum seems mostly to be about image quality and specs. I've seen more creative voices at Slamdance and SXSW and Sundance and Rooftop, for instance. (No offense, perhaps they're just more developed. and I have friends who pay the bills doing corporate and then make really wild and awesome festival films–so you can be interested in both markets for sure.) 
But the idea that people online will immediately recognize what you have to offer and leap to make more of it is a very myopic view. Look at Spielberg's first spec film, it's not a personal story. It's more an example of visual talent and competency. His creative voice developed after he got in the door directing TV. I think Eraserhead is the only example I can think of of a really outsider voice nailing its first landing. People see Jake Paul succeed and assume everyone should see their work and judge it better because of what an asshole Jake Paul is, but that's not how it works. Jake Paul is a genius at what he does. What he does is just act like a high school bully. The Kardashians are geniuses at what they do. But what they do is appeal to lowest common denominator, which is also the biggest audience there is. Don't judge them based on their audience; find a different one.
I'm on time out here for posting incorrect technical information, which I again apologize for. And I feel like I'll probably get some pushback for a lot of the above being factually incorrect; I expect a lot of it is, and I wouldn't take my advice if I were you, since I'm just an anonymous guy online. So take it with a grain of salt. But I do think knowing your audience, knowing how to market your work to them, and knowing how to meet them halfway is crucial. The first thing film schools do is to "normalize" your voice. They look for creative voices then tone them down and improve production value so those voices are tolerable to the other students and faculty and then eventually to festivals. (Although a lot of film schools aren't worth the money, so if you aren't rich, consider that they're also marketing their wares to you and want you to think they're gonna do things for you that maybe they can't. Some are good. But be wary and make sure you apply to the right ones if you do, and you definitely don't have to.) All media are social media, so look at your relationship with your audience as a relationship with a person (or cohort...), whether you make it a real personal relationship (selling DVDs, pursuing your favorite director or production company) or a virtual one. I think maybe this forum isn't the right audience for you (or for me) if we're trying to get into festivals, for instance. If I knew more technical stuff, it might be better for me. Different values. For instance, I have a lot of friends who've gotten into top ten festivals recently with 1080p/2k films, but here I keep getting reminded I need 4k. Both can be true, just for different audiences. (To be fair, some of those were shot at higher resolutions and delivered at 2k DCP... I ate my words once and I'll keep chewing.)
But the festival route is really hard and really slow. (Like filmmaking used to be!) And online feedback is really fast and comes with instant gratification. I don't know if the festival route is right for me, I don't know if anything is, if I even have the talent, or if I do, if there's an audience for it. But I think the replies you're receiving in this thread speak to a disconnect between what you're making and your audience's expectations. (Not to be rude.) So I'd give that some thought. Removed from your current outlets, what are your goals as a filmmaker? Who are your favorite filmmakers? If you could make anything and show it to one person what would it be and who would you show it to?
That's the trick. You're marketing yourself to get into a festival/get YouTube famous/work for your favorite director or at your favorite company. But they're also marketing toward you so you watch their content and believe in their brands. And marketing isn't about the audience or the creator exclusively, it's where the two meet. Know yourself. Know your audience. Meet halfway. 
But also take everything online (including this) with a grain of salt. Online relationships are rarely worth as much as those in person.
 

If you're an independent artist of any type you gotta hustle. If you can make even $100 bucks selling DVDs that's $100 more bucks than you had before. Doesn't mean though that you don't explore more modern methods of distribution in conjunction. I feel like people are too quick to move on to the latest technology, eager to leave behind old technology before its even dead yet.
Physical media still accounts for 15 or so billion dollars in sales last year. Streaming only recently, as in 2016, made more revenue than physical media did. That's pretty remarkable given Apple hasn't updated/supported DVD Studio Pro since 2009 and Adobe hasn't updated/supported Encore since 2012, showing how early they'd given up on physical media. 
Indeed there are still areas in the country that don't have fast enough internet suitable for high quality video streaming. Other countries are even further behind. I live in a very rural state, Vermont, that has areas where they don't have high speed internet or even high speed wireless. For those areas streaming/downloading isn't feasible. 
I personally still get Blu-ray copies of movies I really love. Classic horror movies that have limited edition cases mostly. I'll then rip a digital copy for myself that I can watch while traveling, etc. 

@Liam lol i was jk im sorry~!!!! u kno i love you
in all seriousness, weird as this sounds, i KNOW ppl who SELL DVDs~! they fuckin sell em... and, weird as this is, theyre independent professional wrestlers. you see –
omg ?

While those people buying DVDs are declining there's still enough of a market, at least in independent professional wrestling where I work in, for them and Blu-ray to still warrant releasing them in my line of work. 
I think there will always be people that want physical media. Vinyl, cassette tapes, even VHS, have all maintained a consumer base, and in the case of vinyl, have seen that base grow. 
If my company can still make $400 or more (profit) selling DVDs or Blu-rays at wrestling events then, for me, yeah, it's still worth it and will remain so until it becomes too much work for not enough reward. 

The point is also that not a lot of other people are doing it. And that it's in person. Blurays would be newer but probably actually less likely for everyone to be able to watch it.
And with DVDs, there's a case with the cover on it that could get you interested in the film, and it looks like a product.
So.. I didn't feel too crazy, sorry.
Maybe I WILL go back to 2004.. when people were nicer!! 

The point is also that not a lot of other people are doing it. And that it's in person. Blurays would be newer but probably actually less likely for everyone to be able to watch it.
And with DVDs, there's a case with the cover on it that could get you interested in the film, and it looks like a product.
So.. I didn't feel too crazy, sorry.
Maybe I WILL go back to 2004.. when people were nicer!! 

You could argue that the DVD player may be more likely to be attached to a big screen and surround system so viewers are getting more the experience you intended.
There is also the piracy issue in that it's far more convoluted to copy than if its already a readily playable file.
The best hybrid solution is to have a simple app that plays the file from a host or has the film embedded in it if it's a short. You can add a few more DVD extra type stuff like BTS etc to add value and it's a very simple transaction system hosting it on the app stores so you get paid and have worldwide distribution.