Noah Baumbach, Taika Waititi, and David Fincher Give Advice to Young Directors

Every time I talk to a filmmaker, I try to ask about the one lesson they wish they knew when they were coming up. It's so important to listen to the generations that came before and to seek out advice whenever possible. 

That's why I get so excited when people make advice compilations. And in this one, we have three great ones. 

Noah Baumbach is an American filmmaker who received two Academy Award nominations for writing The Squid and the Whale and Marriage Story, both of which he also directed. Taika Waititi is a New Zealand film and television director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and comedian. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards. David Fincher is an American film director whose films have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for Best Director.

Yeah, these are great people to listen to. 

Check out this video from Filmmaking Advice, and let's talk after the jump. 

This was a wealth of information in only a few minutes. Baumbach focuses on the technical changes and the way to make things. You can be off the grid and you can learn from the transparency of financing and making independent movies. He also talks about how things can be done digitally now, keeping prices down and ingenuity plausible. 

He sums it up as, "Just go do it. Find a way to make your movie."

That's your starting off point, but how do you know you're ready? 

Waititi didn't make a movie until he was 30, and thinks it's important to absorb what life has to give you, and use that fuel to then create and become a filmmaker. It's okay to wait, just chill out. He wants people to know that there's a lot to gain by just living your life and letting storytelling come as it may. 

Fincher wants you to focus on articulating your intentions. You have to deal with financiers, writers, actors, and everyone at every level. Those people are going to ask you to communicate your vision. Fincher wants you to be able to talk about what makes your vision important in the marketplace. You need to hear what people are saying and why they are saying it that way. If someone gives you notes, you have to be okay collaborating or pushing back with an educated opinion. 

Did all that help? 

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Source: Filmmaking Advice