Ever thought about making your own movie? Maybe considered the advice “If you want to be a filmmaker, just shoot a film!” It sounds simple. But take it from our confessor: Do-it-yourselfing can be a dangerous (and expensive) business!In this week’s confession, we hear from a gung-ho aspiring director who gets tired ofwaiting for something to happen in their career and decides to take action to achieve theirdream. Unlike some Hollywood hucksters, however, our confessor isn’t comfortable claiming to be something they’re not. So they do it the hard way…“My level of work ethic, first, and dignity, second, tells me I cannot wear a title if Ihave not earned it. But I started to realize the things I wanted to do cost money.Like, a LOT of money.”After years of frustration, they join a collective of artists who claim they’re all going tovolunteer time to work on each other’s short films… only to discover that no one in the group wants to produce. So our confessor realizes that if they want to direct, they’re going to have to do the whole thing on their own.“If I don’t move the needle, nothing will move. Because who’s going to do it? Who’sgoing to do anything for me if I don’t do it for myself?”Determination and self-reliance lead our confessor down a path riddled with crazysetbacks and miraculous breakthroughs. Ultimately the film gets made… but will it make their career?In this episode, we get into the following:        1. How to make your own short film2. How to work with actors (when they don’t want to work with you)3. How to deal with setbacks in your creative careerAs content creators ourselves, this story really resonates with us. We’d love to hear what you think! Shoot us a note about when you tried to make your own film @fessuphollywood, or leave us a review here. Other episodes we think you'll enjoy:“The Comeback” - A fearless aspiring filmmaker scores a job directing a studio feature right out of college. But when it turns out not to be the big break they expect, they must find a way to stay in the game through 25 years of diminishing returns."Clipboard Girl" - A tough aspiring filmmaker faces a disaster her first day on set but finds a way to turn it into a win for her career.“Resting Smile Face” & “The Method” - A PA learns that their friendly face might encourage a-holes to ask for favors. An aspiring actor deals with a shady coach who was really teaching people to bully.Connect with us: Instagram Facebook Twitter Website Hollywood Confessional is a Ninth Way Media production, produced by Meagan Daine and J.R. Zamora-Thal. Sound Effects and Music provided by Zapsplat and Pixabay.Keywords: filmmaking podcast, film podcast, screenwriting podcast, entertainment podcast, Hollywood, filmmaking, writerslife, actorslife, setlife