Dennis Cass, author of Headcase, makes a little youtube video that pretty much encapsulates the plight of the artist in the day of social media and social marketing, which coincides with the collapse of the indie film and the book publishing models. This is the world we live in. Time was artists would plug away, dreaming of the day a media conglomerate would discover and adopt you, take you into their fold, and you'd get paid happily ever after. You'd have your little place in media Valhalla, dine with Oprah, Leno and Larry King, and your fifteen minutes of fame would translate into a long tail of backend residuals that would allow you to live in comfort as you practiced your craft.
That fantasy doesn't exist any more, though there will always be the perennial crop of aspiring screenwriters and actresses who flock to LA every year, like lemmings.
Did it ever exist? Ted Hope has spoken of periods of time when market conditions were wonderful for indies - when the VHS market exploded and anyone could get financing for a little drama or horror film, provided there was a recognizable star's name to put on the sleeve. Technological innovations, like the introduction of the VX-1000 and Final Cut Pro, completely altered the economics of producing a video. Artists, being interviewed, could ponder the question: "Do you make films for yourself or for an audience?", as if they were mutually exclusive. But in fact, it was never easy. It was always a slog, which doesn't mean it was the Bataan Death March, but it was always a slog.
What happens when you choose a vocation that provides you with only a marginal income? You find out if it is worth it.
That fantasy doesn't exist any more, though there will always be the perennial crop of aspiring screenwriters and actresses who flock to LA every year, like lemmings.
Did it ever exist? Ted Hope has spoken of periods of time when market conditions were wonderful for indies - when the VHS market exploded and anyone could get financing for a little drama or horror film, provided there was a recognizable star's name to put on the sleeve. Technological innovations, like the introduction of the VX-1000 and Final Cut Pro, completely altered the economics of producing a video. Artists, being interviewed, could ponder the question: "Do you make films for yourself or for an audience?", as if they were mutually exclusive. But in fact, it was never easy. It was always a slog, which doesn't mean it was the Bataan Death March, but it was always a slog.
What happens when you choose a vocation that provides you with only a marginal income? You find out if it is worth it.
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