Ultimately, writer/director is where I want to settle. I love cinematography and editing, but with a real budget those are the tasks I could hand off to other people without completely feeling like I'm getting away from the reason I got into filmmaking in the first place, which is to tell the stories I've been dreaming up my whole life.

Good grief this discussion has gotten nasty for no good reason. I am not playing dumb; I'm asking you questions because despite the fact that you've never written more than a single, semi-cryptic sentence in this entire entire discussion, I thought that maybe you actually had something to say that was worth hearing. I guess I was wrong.

So do you suggest not doing so much myself, or simply not advertising how much I do myself?

People don't view that a *little* differently when you're just making your own no-budget work in small town USA?

Ahh, I guess I see what you're saying. I don't really think working for a major ad agency is in the cards for me given where I live and my experience. I actually made this more with narrative work in mind.

For the last couple years I've mostly made a living winning video contests, but over the last year or so I've been a lot more proactive in finding freelance work in about the $2k-$5k range for local businesses. Video contests are drying up, though, and narrative film is my true passion, so until I can get funding for my next feature I'd like to try finding some work as a cinematographer on some local and regional shorts and features. Shorts with 4 and 5 figure budgets, features with 5 to low 6 figure budgets. That kind of thing. I have quite a few contacts in the Christian film world who are working on films of that scale, so I may even be able to find some jobs outside of my region.

So that's more what I have in mind here. I think I have quite a lot to offer those kinds of productions.

Why would I be taken more seriously by people by pretending that I was only the cinematographer on these films? If a shot is good, isn't it more impressive if people know that I was essentially working as a one-man-band when I created it?