There is not one of us that can say we have had permanent success without someone’s help. If you can, you’re a liar. Someone helped you along the way. Solomon once said that “…there is nothing new under the sun,” which means that everything we know, or do, has been known or done before. The great part of this is that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but we can add our own unique stamp to it. This is the important part!

So, how does this apply to film in Albuquerque? Well, we all have differing talents we have learned from others. We have made these into a craft by using the knowledge, and now have experience. When we use this experience in a meaningful way, it becomes wisdom. Wisdom would dictate that we share those talents and beads of wisdom with our local film community so that we can all benefit. Most are new, and afraid of asking questions. So, why not offer your insight voluntarily so they don’t have to ask?

Whether we are writers, directors, actors, producers, crew, or support services, we have all seen a unique perspective of the film industry that others can benefit from. So, we need to network and share that knowledge. Spending only one hour with a group of like-minded film people is better than four hours of Internet research on the subject. Why? Because we can interact in a way that dumb computers can’t

Imagine an entrepreneur talking to a new filmmaker. The filmmaker says he knows how to convey his vision in film, but has no idea how to get the word out, or finance the distribution. The entrepreneur says, that’s the least of your problems, I know how. Wham! A connection is made that creates potential for a money-man to get together with a visionary and do something.

Albuquerque is a city that has much talent, and it’s getting more. It is quickly becoming a destination for a great variety of films, and a great variety of reasons. But, it is still in its infancy. There are a lot of people who haven’t even decided where they want to fit in. But, they could decide if they talked to others. The only way for us to be able to grow is to get the thinkers together with the visionaries. The creatives with the technical. The financier’s with the go-getters.

So, can you contribute what you know? If you know nothing, can you contribute your questions? The Indie Q website click here allows for this, but we have to be active. We have to come together and get to know each others strengths and weaknesses. Then we can find “permanent success” as Napoleon Hill highlighted. He also said, “The most successful people are those that serve the greatest number.” The Indie Q forums allow us to do just that. So, just do it! (Yikes! Nike flashback)

Thanks for listening, but, more importantly, thanks for getting involved!

I own one camera for shooting my films, and tend to shoot from different angles, and force the actors to pick up where we left off. This is due to the fact that I finance each film, and I choose not to look for outside monies. So, I’m cheap. <wink> This has actually caused me to write the scripts in a way that allows for this, which one could argue, gives a particular “style” to the films that is consistent.

What about you? I notice many films uploaded here on Indie Q seem to also use only one camera since the shots and dialogue lend themselves to stopping and starting a shot to move the camera and sound equipment. Am I wrong?

I also started to write a script of my own, and found that, unlike writing novels, where one can elaborate as much as they like, film doesn’t allow for that, since you have to be able to express unspoken things on the screen. Did that make sense? No wonder budgets are outrageous. Well, since I will produce my own, I decided to keep the story location specific, which presents its own challenges so that it isn’t boring, and found that I am loving the test of wit. I think it will be good. I even dreamed a scene this morning. It does take time, however, and that has taken me away from things like this blog.

Anyway, regarding finding information related to film in Albuquerque, I am now making more contacts that will help in that area, and you can see those updates on my Twitter account, ABQFilm. So, hopefully it will help you to find your own sources, and provide a way to get more involved. I’ll also try to keep up with articles related to important information and post them on this blog.

I am hesitant about joining every group I have seen, that is film related, since I may not like it and leave, which would cause hurt feelings. However, I do think that IndieQ may be of interest to me, which I recently joined (the mailing list anyway). It’s sponsored, I think, by the Film Office. I’ll let you know. Their next meeting is in April.

So, I hope to be more active here, and hope you’ll forgive me if I’m not. I’ll post as much as I can on Twitter, so definitely join me there.

Talk to you soon…

Since I began this blog, I have also kept up a Twitter page under @ABQFilm which gives updates from around the area and the Internet related to film. I want to be more specific to the area, but I am finding it hard to find updated information. This tells me one of two things: either there is no updates because the industry is too much in its infancy, or, there are people who know things but aren’t sharing them. Now, it could also be that I suck at gathering information, but not for lack of trying. So, I need your help.

I have called the city film offices several times requesting a means of receiving updates, but no one ever calls me back. I also go to their Facebook page, but find the updates are not numerous enough to matter. I try to find industry people locally that I can follow on Twitter, but it seems they aren’t sharing either (not much anyway). I have also gone to the broader spectrum of the NM Film Office web site so that I can find information there as well. It just seems I am not tapping into the right places, even though these are where any individual would likely land up if they too were trying to get the low-down on a regular basis.

So, here is my pledge to you, the reader of this blog: I will continue to try and break into this industry locally, and then tell you the things I find out so you too can benefit. I will post my finding here and in my Twitter feed so that you can get up-to-date information. I will not give up (at least for now), but will persevere.

Now, if you have any information, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, on the industry or contacts I can use, then tell me! Until then, I will continue to provide relevant, albeit random, tidbits of information and videos that will help.

Here are some of my future plans:

1. Provide useful database of industry contacts
2. Video of your projects (sent as embed code from YouTube
3. Current happenings of film in Albuquerque

I’ll leave it there. Of course, I can do anything you want me to do, just as long as you talk to me. This is the beginning’s of something good, but only if you help. I provide the forum, and you provide the information and ideas. So, let’s get to it.

Please contact us if you have any ideas for making this website more useful. We have a plan, but it includes listening to YOU! So, don’t be afraid to comment.