Occasionally, I’m asked what my number one piece of advice is for filmmakers starting out and my answer is always the same: side projects.
Side projects have been instrumental in my career. They have increased my skill set, helped me get jobs and kept me sane.
But I know people often struggle to make time for side projects. In fact, I’m writing at a time when I’m struggling to make time for them. (My current side project has been in the edit for over a year!) So what follows is partly a stern lecture to myself.
I’ve also had a think about what we — or at least, I — can do to make more progress on side projects. So below, you’ll also find three suggestions for that.
But first, lecture time.
Here are 5 reasons sides projects are essential for any filmmaker:
1. Side projects increase your skills
It can be hard to increase or improve your skills whilst doing a regular television or video-creator job.
You might get some official training courtesy of your organisation (pretty unlikely these days) but many people seem to hope the experience they pick up on the job will be enough to teach them what they need to know.
Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. In fact, it’s quite easy to work in television without really practising the real skills of making films. When I was a runner and researcher, much of my day was taken up with basic admin work (I can still put together a mean call sheet!) with few opportunities to practise skills such as scripting, interviewing or editing.
Don’t get me wrong, I got a lot out of these junior jobs but if you want to be a director, for example, you really have to be practising directing. And the day job rarely gives you a chance to do that.
This is why a side project is perfect. It’s a chance to practise the skill you’re aiming for directly.
In fact, I often choose side projects that’ll enable me to hone a certain skill, such as editing, or become proficient in a particular software programme, such as After Effects. For example, in 2015 I made a short video about the idea of a government “mandate”. Every time I came to a part of the process I wasn’t familiar with, I’d just stop and learn about it. The motivation to finish the project was the incentive I needed to complete the sometimes boring (but very useful) Lynda.com courses on Illustrator, Photoshop, and Character Animator.
2. Side projects help you get jobs
There’s a sombre truth about the creative industry: people won’t pay you to do a job until you can prove you can do it.
This might seem harsh but it makes sense. Imagine if a stranger offered to cut your hair but they hadn’t cut hair before. It wouldn’t be much reassurance if all they could offer was, “Well I’ve seen lots of finished haircuts and I’m very enthusiastic!”
Of course, this puts you in a fix: how can you get that opportunity to prove yourself when the opportunities only go to those who have already proved themselves?
Side projects are one way out of this situation. For example, when I was trying to get my first commission for a journalistic explainer, I was able to show the commissioner a number of explainer films – such as this one about St George’s Day – that I had made as side projects, that (when combined with my willingness to accept a small budget!) was enough to get me over the line.
3. Side projects help you eat sh*t at work
As a creative, it’s easy to get frustrated when you’re not in charge. The people you work for keep making the wrong decisions — on visuals, script, or whatever — and you just have to accept it.
Well, it’s a good thing you’ve got your own creative side projects as an outlet!
That said, you need to remain invested in the day job. But if you’re getting depressed, sulking or otherwise being a brat, then you’re in too deep. Save that energy for the side project.
4. Side projects are where innovation happens
Often the best creativity happens when you can experiment and play, when you try things out and explore — in other words, when tinkering on side-projects! Everything from the microwave to the post-it note, from Craigslist to Khan Academy started this way.
Unfortunately many “creative” organizations have little space for experimentation, with a relentless pressure to just keep delivering things faster and cheaper.
It’s not easy for companies with tight margins to make space for experimenting, but it’s worth knowing there can be big dividends. Things Not To Say, the series I made for BBC Three that was a big boost to my career, came out of a series of side-projects I oversaw whilst running a debate show called Free Speech. In that role I saw an opportunity to divert some of our time and budget away from the live show and towards making short films for our Facebook page. The channel didn’t ask for it and I figured if I didn’t ask permission they couldn’t say no.
After a series of happy failures, we made a film that went viral and got over 4m views and 52k shares. That film — Things Not To Say to a Trans Person — would lead ultimately to six series being commissioned and several industry awards. That’s not a bad return on an unsanctioned side-project!
5. Side-projects help you work out what you want to say
This really is the big one. It’s great to use side-projects to improve your skills and help your career, but fundamentally the reason to make films is because making films is the whole point, and if the market won’t pay us to do we need to do it on our own.
We got into this business because we have things to say and because we want to bring something into the world. Yet we spend so much energy hustling for jobs, and helping others — execs, commissioners, clients — say what they want to say, we’ve forgotten why we got involved in all this in the first place.
You need to have a space where you can work out what your take is on it all. If it’s been a while since you gave yourself this space it can be quite intimidating — “I could say anything! But what?”. But if you stick with the discomfort and give your instincts space you’ll remember why you got involved in all this. The best way to find your voice is to use it.
Okay, so that’s five reasons to be working on creative side-projects, but now comes the hard part: how to actually make progress on them? Here are three suggestions:
1. Mark time in your calendar for side-projects
“Try harder” is not an effective strategy. If you want a different outcome you need a different set-up.
Start with your calendar. Is there time scheduled in your week to work on side-projects? If not, they’re not going to happen. No amount of motivation or aspiration will make them appear without time spent on them. (Tip from one reader: try a physical calendar, your brain might take it more seriously than a digital one.)
Personally, I’ve come to the conclusion that finding “extra” time in the evenings or middle of the night is not the best answer, though it may not be the only answer you have (it certainly was for me at points). The problem is you’re taking time away from relaxing and socialising, which grinds down the parts of you that are needed for experimenting, learning and play.
If you can, try and find time during the regular working week. Working remotely makes it a bit easier (one of the main reasons I wanted to stop doing regular freelancing) but other options are taking holiday, lunch breaks, or — if between jobs — marking some time off as “booked on another job”.
2. Pick small projects and finish them
It’s not enough to have side-projects to work on, you need to finish them. It’s at that point that you can show it to the world and learn something. Better five small finished projects, than one big one that never ends.
So try and pick simple material. For example, when I made some videos about all the two-letter words in Scrabble, I picked that topic because it was small and limited, and thus I minimised my chances of getting lost in research. Later, to practice After Effects I did a project about historical misconceptions. Again, I was trying to pick simple material.
(In fact when I did my first side-project that took on a topic I really wanted to say something on — a film about how science viewed the gender binary — the research and writing almost broke me. It took me over a year to finish!)
3. Work with other people
I find it very hard to prioritise my own work. I’m not sure why.
At least with commissions there’s a real person who really wants the thing or who has a real problem that needs solving. With my own work I can’t help escaping the feeling that no-one really cares. Maybe I’m just not punk enough.
Some people suggest fake deadlines, but I’ve had no luck with that. The best thing I’ve found so far is involving other people. How exactly I’m still not sure, but here are the things I’m exploring and trying:
- A partner – this seems an ideal solution, though how to find someone with the same goals?
- Mastermind groups – You join a group of three or four other people to encourage each other and hold each other accountable. Unfortunately most of the ones I’ve seen are privately run and cost a lot to join.
- Coaches – there are writing coaches that help people finish their novels. Perhaps they could do the same service for a film project?
Anyway, if you have any advice or are in the same situation let me know on email or Twitter! I’ll update when I have more to share.