Shoot what you know.

That’s a phrase that was coined by an upperclassmen when I was studying film when asked he came up with the. A few of us in my year used to mock the phrase as we used to coin when we couldn’t come up with a film idea or shooting style, so we’d do what was familiar (and easier). It used to be seen as a negative, as we felt that we needed to come up with an innovate and ground breaking idea every time we’d start a production.

Time has told me there is nothing wrong with that. I’ve learnt since I’ve finished film school that once you come up with a style, there is nothing wrong with sticking to it. If people like that style you will have an audience (fan base) every time make a film. Much like Tarantino’s signature scenes of palpable tension and elaborate dialogue or Alejandro González Iñárritu recurring theme/ structure of six degrees of separation (or characters with interwoven links), if you have a certain structure or style you like to use, stick to it. If it’s been successful in communicating the story to the audience in the past, that is half the battle won in the film making process. So why not use that style to tell a different story, as people don’t really care what style or structure you choose. What really matters is that story is told in a compelling and intriguing way.

Nowadays “Shoot what you know” has taken a different meaning to me, or perhaps this is what my upperclassmen meant in the first place. A film idea has to be inspired from something, nothing comes from nothing. Whether it’s a film you’ve seen, a book you’ve read, or something that you’ve felt or experienced, that idea has been influenced by something. So why not write about something that has happened to you?

We all have extraordinary lives, whether we think so or not. The mere fact that you and I at one point did not exist in the universe and now do is an extraordinary fact in itself, so surely there must be something personal to you that you can turn into a compelling story.

Personally I’ve always shied away from it, as I’m not one to really put my personal life out in a public forum. However at the same time, there is a plethora of individual and family events, stories and general history that I’ve learnt. Whether or not I think they are interesting, they have molded me as a person and subconsciously effect the films I make, so why not share those stories?

In the past I was always annoyed by it, I saw it as an easy way out, but if you can’t make a film thats true to you, then what is the point? Isn’t that why we all make films, to tell stories of someone’s experience, whether it is fictional or not to enrich or enlighten us? Shoot what you know, and actually, shoot who you know. And remember there is no one you know better than yourself.

Have a nice day and Happy New Year Folks have a blessed 2013