10 Rules That Made Me a Successful Filmmaker

Always buy gear on credit. The trick is to have that cash available and set aside to pay your monthly bill or even pay it off early. Blowing 10K in one shot is silly when you can stretch it out and build credit at the same time.

There are 2 topics that you should not discuss and set aside if coming from a client "Religion and Politics." Money is money and sometimes it's best to set aside your personal views. Get the shot that the client wants and move on.

Great video! Question, how come Red is better for commercials as Sony? Thank you!

Love your "be open to working for free" comment. It's counter-intuitive, but it is true.. I freelanced for years (in a different field) and my rule was "work for full price or for free, never for cheap" which I think is a variation on what you're saying here but has the same sentiment.. It's all about what you get out of it and/or what you can give back.

Thank you so much Luc. I’ll keep coming back to "10 Rules for Cinematographer Life" in the future. :)

I resonate with the way you suggested networking is a cost of doing business. 

Recently, I was reluctant to spend $$$ to attend a film festival outside my state that my doc is playing. However, I decided to go for the networking.

How much did you set aside? Did you use a system, fore example "10% of income is reserved for networking'"?

Man my gut could have saved me a lot of butthurt 😂

Thank you for sharing your useful and precious experience. I really like you style, calm, straight to the point without being so over dramatic and loud. Very rare these days.

Woof. Very timely video. There are several things on this list I know I need to do, but have been procrastinating. Good kick in the pants to get them done!

hey luv love your vids as usual

I don't completely agree with #3, it's good to use the bank's money, is someone has a stable business plan. And usually already in the business, have work and know what he's doing and what worth buying. Not chasing dreams, put mortgage on the house, buy an Alexa, sit with her in the basement and wait for work to magically come. :D
However, with #10 i completely agree, for the same reasons. Networking, learning, and helping others, young musicians or filmmakers. Even if it doesn't lead to paid gigs later, it's good to take part. And where i live, well known actors have this mentality too, they help film school students with acting in their films for free. So, networking, again.

Thank you sooo much for your advice. I thought a lot about a few of these and getting reinsurance from someone who’s been around the block is amazing.
How do you insure your gear? Is there insurance out there that covers dropping a camera or lens on accident?

Thanks. Some of these rules work for designers and artists as well

Number 3 is super real.
I remember buying my camera on credit reeling on my first big gig, long story short. The cliente never finished paying the project and i had to pay for the camera with some money i made later on. But it was stressful

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

#7 I learned in the Army as, "There's no such thing as 'no', just 'yes, but'..."
"Yes, I can get that done, but the budget will be this to rent additional gear, and pay a second shooter, etc., etc."

Good stuff. Thanx. Even though I've been "at it" a long while, the affirmation was useful.

great point about always pushing off the reel until you get better content.

Great advice. I have my rainy day fund but over the years I've also multi-skilled myself as an editor (using prem pro, da vinci, avid etc) for TV and corporate content. So often I jump between being a shooter who cuts, to a cutter who shoots. Keeps me far too busy sometimes.

Good comments as usual!

Awesome advice, Some of the biggest ones for me is Networking, dont buy new and Own your gear outright. Too many people where im from sign up to every online freelance platorm and just wait for the work to fall in their lap. They dont realise that networking is key and will generate far more work than anything else.
Also far too many people go into debt for their gear to "Look Professional", i have found more often its how you act and interact gets you repeat customers then the gear you have.
Keep up the great advice Luc, your helping people change and improve their carreers and mindset. Hopefully we can catchup on a set one day. 👍

This channel has quickly become one of my favourite filmmaking channels. Great advice, well presented and authentic. I really appreciate that you're not trying to shill for brands or make it about having a cool lifestyle. It's refreshing to see content that is actually about filmmaking. Hope you make it to 100k subs soon, you deserve it

Hi Luc, after 35 years being freelance documentary filmmaker I was curious to hear what you had to say in terms of advice for starters and other ones in the industry. And I must say: excellent and right to the real world of filmmaking. Especially advice #1 and # 10.
I just finished a 90 min documentary which I did, because I had the material and considered it worth putting it all together - for free or better said, on my time. It will run now in local movie theaters...
Just one more thought: what worries me as a filmmaker more and more is the constant tsunami of video everywhere. That will have an impact what is considered high quality or trendy, cool, whatever. How can we prevail with solid professional standards of the craft of filmmaking ?

The ”working for free” can be combined with “your own project “ as with no pay you will have a lot more to say and the result can more commercially viable / attractive.

Why put down Peterson when you’re doing the exact same thing.

If I could give startups ONE tip.. never buy gear.. just rent it when you need it and what you need.
Then you just have gear when you need it, and you wont lose money every day a new camera come out.. :)
I own R5c, r3 and two C70´s.. they always drop in price..

What a great list! Thanks for this, Luc!

Thanks Luc,
I'm om the verge of selling all my gear and starting over in some other ways.
This gives hope someway.

Are you going to get Potatojets new tripod? please make a review:)

How many people skipped straight to number 4? Another invaluable video based on personal experience. Cheers.

Do you have any advice on reels and resumes. I have a resume, but I know that as an actor, your resume looks very different from a regular work resume. Would a resume for a DP/ Cam look like an actors resume or a more traditional one?

Any recommendations on reels we can look at to model ours after?

I think everything you said here are the fundamentals EVERYONE should hear. Honest, a little rough but true opinions and suggestions. Really encouraging. Thanks.

Sound advice.

Luc, i am here in Denmark!
Can we work together? Please. 🤣

Nah!! Thank you for the video. Packed with tons of quality advices!

Rule #1 1000% stay away from jobs that don't feel right or there is something off even when you really need the work.

Seriously one of my favorite channels and especially filmmaking channels at the time.
Perfect mix of education, industry experience, realism and gear reviews,

I would like to add a point:
Also spend time during an editing session. Preferably on a project to you were part of. You will learn so much and improve your way of shooting. This will also lead to the ability to think / shoot for the edit.

informative video thanks Luc.

In this industry, fighting for your principles will make you feel good and sleep better, but you'd be sleeping on an empty stomach

I appreciate this, Luc!

About the working for free one, sure I'll always support people getting paid what they're worth and all, but for me starting out my film journey, an opportunity opened up to PA for free on a project with serious connections. It paid off as it led to a paying job, another film that's got big Hollywood talent that I'm about to start working on. I figured on the first film, I was in a place that I could afford to work for free, and it paid off

“You are never too experienced to work for free if there is something to learn or a new connection to be made.” Luc Forsyth.

Thanks a lot Luc! This is what we need to hear 🙏🏽

So for starters, there's no such thing as a job called "filmmaker" within the industry. DP, Director, Producer...those are jobs on a call sheet. Filmmaker is not. Everything on YT is basically just advice for the videographer...it's client-based videography for the most part...now this path can slowly build towards a career as a cinematographer....but if anything a filmmaker is a director...if I had to choose one industry job title to attach to the general term, filmmaker, it would be a director....but hardly anyone on YT talks about the path towards being a director....so honestly, all these YT videos that share the same title as this one are for the most parted geared towards a path toward cinematography.

As someone who has been in the industry for 15 years I have to say, this video has so much solid advise! Love your channel. There was quite a few items on this list that I knew but needed to hear again. Thanks Luc! Keep up the great work!

It's nice to see a filmmaker on here not just pushing gear and giving real-life honest advice. I worked for a successful Nat Geo docuseries, and most of the gear was provided, sometimes DPs would bring the same camera or drones for a rental kit, but in the end, the company still offered all of it, so it wasn't vital to own your gear. On top of that, I followed up for 6-months to land that gig, so persistence was key. Most importantly I learned the workflow of a successful doc, but after that series, it was key to expand my network because you can't rely on one circle of connections. People often think I'll land that one gig and the doors will swing open, but that's not the case. It helps with the resume, but just as you said the people you blindly email still don't know who you are so making impressions in person is always best. As always wise words Luc!

I can’t understand why some professionals advise newcomers to charge 1500-2500 euros per day. The quality of work plays a significant role, and if you can’t create sufficient value, it’s impossible to get work—or at least, satisfied clients.

what is a CV?