If you've read my blog, you may remember I'm a big fan of Brandon Li and love his advice for aspiring filmmakers:
Photo of Brandon Li via Google.
"My advice is to shoot a lot, finish what you start, and make your work public. If you're spending the majority of your time deciding which lens to use, or analyzing Wes Anderson films, get out there and shoot instead. If you're in a four-year film school and find yourself uninspired, drop out. If you're waiting for funding to come through on a big project, make a small one in the meantime. Create finished products that you can show the world, even if they're only a couple minutes long. Nobody can read a half-finished screenplay, or watch an un-edited film. That won't help your career. But a killer short film will. Go out, meet other filmmakers, and make stuff."
When asked what has been his best career investment, Brandon said:
"In terms of gear, the Sony A7s has made life so much easier. I can stick an f/5.6 zoom lens on there and shoot from day to night without worrying about low light performance. Great for run-and-gun. And I can get a rich, sharp image without having to hack my camera or shoot raw. I can't wait for the next version, which will hopefully have in-body stabilization, less rolling shutter, and internal 4k."
Since the article, which was written last year, Brandon has upgraded his camera to the Sony A7R II. Brandon also credited his love of extended traveling:
"Otherwise, my best investment has been long-term travel. Spending a month living in a country gives me a much deeper understanding of its people than I could hope to get in a week of vacation. I wish more Americans would do the backpacking thing abroad - the more perspectives you have on the world, the better you understand yourself and humanity in general."
Now time to grab that camera and go shoot!