1. God's Prayer says:

Hello, my name is Curtis Nichouls Jr., and in this blog I would like to write about some of my experiences as a first time feature film director. Being a film director isn’t like anything that I have every experienced before and anyone that has known me longer than two years will tell you that I have done a lot in the short time that I’ve lived. Directing films as an Independent or working with a major studio is one of the most rewarding experiences known to man. You have the opportunity to bring many people together for the common purpose of creating a timeless work of art. I’m an artist. I paint, sketch, sculpt, I carve works of art from wood, I love to create (God complex), but all of those things you can do alone, there is a level of comfort when you know that you only have yourself to depend on, but it’s an entirely different ballgame when you ask other artist, temperamental artist, to come and sort of live in your dream for the next few months. I’m not sure if many of you reading this blog have ever worked with artist before, but sometimes it’s like working with children, and that’s not in a bad way. Children have this quality about them that makes life special. Children are the portals to understanding. I once taught Painting with Oils at Washington Irving High School in New York and the greatest joy were working with students that felt free to express themselves. I learned more from my students than I may have taught. (Not to go on a tangent, but) If you are ever in front of children and they watch you do what you love and you show some genuine enthusiasm the look in their eyes tells you why you do what it is that you do. Now back to the actors, they are nothing like that! Just kidding, sometimes they are, but it’s those rare moments when they don’t have the faith in the events not yet seen. As a first time director and you're working with artist that don’t fully trust you yet, you’re in for hell! They will challenge your artistry, your vision, and your overall business direction, not to mention your ability to complete this great work of art. Now many people would say, “why go through that?” Well, that’s simple. Many great directors have gone through the same thing. Everyone around you will begin to doubt your abilities, just ask the great George Lucus. While directing his third film, a little small, little known film called, “Star Wars,” he was challenged by everyone around him. His crew began defecting, the actors began to call it a kiddy film, and the production studio actually fired him, all culminating into a heart attack. Imagine for a moment; all you want to do is create a piece of work that you would like to be appreciated by someone. You reach out to people that you believe can help you accomplish your vision and somewhere in the process they begin to defect on you and it hurts so much and you believe in what your doing so much, that your heart begins to fail. Keep in mind; a film isn’t created over night. It becomes an obsession for years. I worked on God's Prayer for two years, which is a short time for a film. It took me one year to get the screenplay to become shoot ready, I wrote it in eleven days. Eleven days writing from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am taking only a 1-hour break and 2 fifteen minute breaks as if it was a full-time job, because it is. I started the writing process by researching. I knew I wanted to write about a serial killer, so I went to The Philadelphia Department of the FBI and met with a very special lady, Special Agent Jerri Williams and she gave me pounds of information that I studied and cross-referenced for about three weeks before writing the first word. Then when I sat down to write I programmed music into my itunes, placed my headphones on my head and allowed the story to write itself. When I got to the end of the story, I was just as surprised. I mean, when I got there it was like that great Eureka moment! THAT’s IT! That’s the end! I hopped up from my chair like I just finished this great big race and it felt sooooo good. Don’t allow anyone to steal that moment from you. There will be people that will try. There will be people that want nothing more than to shut you down and kill your dream, just know that there are more people that want nothing more than to help you finish. Also know that you aren’t the first person to have your art challenged. The other thing is being careful of advice. Everyone has an opinion as to what you should be doing, how you should do it, when you should do it and in what time frame. Use your best judgment. A movie is eternal. When your shell is in the ground fertilizing the grass growing between the cracks in the sidewalk, some film student will be studying your film, watching it frame by frame, turning the sound off, critiquing it as you do with the films that were made before yours. So don’t imprison yourself. The problem with filmmaking as a business is that it’s an art and the problem with filmmaking as an art is that it’s a business. There will be people that will only be invested in your project from a business stand point, and that’s fine, and you need people like that. In that situation you must do your best to fulfill your business obligation. Be honest with them, but also place yourself in a position where they can’t stop you. Many great classic films have gone over budget and over the time allotted for filming. That’s nothing new. Just don’t allow it to dictate how the world views your work. When it comes to casting, try to enlist the best people for the roles. I say enlist and not hire because even if your paying your artist you don’t want them there just for the money. Because if the money became a problem somewhere in the process, those people will abandon you. If you need 30 days to finish filming find actors that can give you 60 days. Murphy’s Law is the common law of filmmaking and no one can escape that. I don’t care how much money you have. I don’t care how much influence you may think you have, how many quality people you think you have around you, what ever could go wrong will, you can only do your best to adapt. The saying, “It’s lonely at the top,” was said for a reason. You will lose a lot of people. The process of filmmaking takes a lot out of people and many people will bow out so I hope you're ready for that. When you look at many famous filmmakers or famous people in general there’s a reason why they are selective of the people they have around them. There is a reason why they standoff and act a certain way. If you were abandoned by friends when you needed them the most, if many people lost their belief in you when you needed them to just have faith in the unseen, then when that project they failed to believe in becomes a smashing success, you begin to look at the world in a different way. That in itself is a form of imprisonment. If I can ask anything of future filmmakers, it would be, “Don’t become jaded!” Never forget what you have gone through and how it has molded you and do something to help another future filmmaker. There is a certain language that only we speak. Many that dwell in this atmosphere may believe they know, but until you have created a feature length film, I respectfully say, “you have no clue.” Filmmakers and film lovers, please continue to create dreams. If you’re not following your dreams your only existing! Curtis Nichouls - Gods Prayer http://www.godsprayerthemovie.com