On help from Raindance

On help from Raindance,

For more information, visit Raindance - 7 Deadly Sins of Self Distribution

This sites blog content and editorials sound as if they come out of a cosmo mag: "7 ways to do this, 5 reasons why you shouldn't do that, the top 10 rules for everything of all time." It reads cheep at first, I'll admit. And this article below should have been titled differently. I don't think the serious and hard working have time to mingle words on self-distribution with something as haughty as the use of religious rhetoric.

I'm actually thinking there might be a rule against depending on passive forms of advertisement, like social media alone, to advocate your film or your brand as a film maker because its lazy and you'll wonder at futile efforts also in futility. Or perhaps there's a rule against agreeing to the first deal on the table because most of your film was made on favors and you don't have an accurate account of what things should've cost to price your film before you brought it to the market. If you don't know what the budget should've been, you don't know how much money reflects profit and what's you taking a dive just to say you sold something. Negotiations are expected but can't happen if one side doesn't have a legitimate defense for its needs.

To give credit where it's due however, I'll agree with the article's concern for self-sustaining film makers in light of that we should all prepare for success at some point. We should keep our head and hearts in line for the eventuality or we may easily lose the benefits otherwise. My example: you honestly thought no one would be that interested. You worked hard and your film is great work for your tastes, but compared to the standards that sit in the deepest part of you, it's wrong for so many reasons. So you defeat yourself before you show up. Then someone makes an offer and you're so surprised that you become dangerously agreeable for the money involved, or alternatively your head is gassed and you gamble on better deals for pride's sake.

While I don't always embrace fundamental tenants of common sense in bullet fashion, I'll agree that success is a danger all its own for the sabotage it can cause to someone with real potential in their career. Make your films as if you are making a hundred more in your life time. Remove the fatalism and egotism of it and focus on the art and the audience and the moments in between where you will be required to be alert and attentive. In this light, the sins-warning keeps your motives from being scattered by internal enemies and it's a worthy reminder for the day you arrive.

Let's get what we came for,
C. M. Sanchez III