I want to be an actor but I live in a small island in Thailand right now. So I just want to do stuff for UA-cam. I don't care about being famous, I just want to be a WORKING actor, and do things that I like. Even if it's just for me and my friends.
Sadly, a lot of things died in 2008 America, and we never recovered. America has basically been living off a credit card and it's going to max out before the decade is over. A collapse and depression are coming. It will be so bad that we look back at 2008 as the good old days.
There’s a lot more to this story that is never going to be discussed. I worked in the industry for 30 years. The reality is a bit different than most people realize. You’re not wrong Tyler.
I’d love to hear more about your experience if you’d like to speak with me. You can book a meeting here: calendly.com/practicalscreenwriting/short-meeting-with-tyler-mowery
I finished studying film here in Argentina and I'm planning to move to Spain to continue this career, but the truth is that the current situation of the film industry demoralizes me a lot!
Currently writing a screenplay and planning to animate it into a show in the next few years and then just posting it on UA-cam so I completely agree with this. I can’t really bring my writing to an animation studio with the actual chance of getting it produced, so I have to do it myself
Even as a kid, I HATED 2008. Sure, there were some treasures like Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Cloverfield, Tropic Thunder, Kung Fu Panda, Wall-E, Wanted, Benjamin Button, Taken, Step Brothers, or Juno. But a lot of them were either "meh" or just mediocre. Nothing stood out as "Yeah, this year is because of this" it's the one year that's the least talked about in the 2000s and for good reasons. People say Hollywood in 2024 is running out of ideas. No. No! They've been running out of ideas a long time ago! 2008 was known for its remakes to remake The Day the Earth Stood Still, Prom Night, The Eye, Death Race or Funny Games. There were remakes like Speed Racer or Get Smart. And many sequels. Indiana Jones 4, Quantum of Solace, Rambo, Narnia: Prince Caspian, Harry Potter 5, Punisher 2, Saw 5, The Mummy 3, High School Musical 3, Madagascar 2, Hellboy 2, Beethoven 6, or Rambo 4. I can guarantee you if these came out today, you wouldn't like them and you'd go "Another one? Nobody asked for this!!" It's also the year of too many low quality direct-to-video movies, or Schock kids movies about dogs or fantasy. Terrible year overall.
I was in high school dreaming of being a screenwriter. 4 years later, several screenplays later, I’ve realized my writing must go elsewhere. Thank you Tyler for making the course and helping me
I'm not a screenwriter but I am a novelist and i have been struggling with this because I just want the trad path but I dont see many truly artistic ideas trad published anymore.
That explains why Adobe wants to suddenly own the art you create on their block-busted software. It's a bid for control. They know the creative's power has shifted to the individual.
I'm a CG animator who was affected by the mass layoffs in the industry. It's been hard but I do believe it has taught me that the people who fund projects of games, film, and tv, usually have no pulse on what to do in order to actually create art. At the same time they generally don't have the capacity for trust of the artists they hire. Thanks to your videos I have been able to flesh out stories I have either had in my head since I was a youth or create new ones, I have become disciplined and it's simply a matter of time until they are fully realized and animated. I don't personally care about hollywood anymore because I know people will always want to create stories regardless of the powers that be.
Natalie Portman said as much recently, when saying that young people know who UA-camrs are, but don't know who movie stars are. The MSM still thinks they're mainstream, but I think internet culture is actually more culturally influential today. Which is why I'm a little torn on what I should be doing, honestly. I have no dream of moving to Hollywood and being a mainstream movie screenwriter. I actually started out as a traditional oil painter-- I painted professionally for 11 years before my art job got automated. I became Catholic in that time period, thus I thought "great, I should be making paintings for churches for a living!" But instead, I felt a "calling" to do something with media. Whether that meant film or online content, I don't know. But at the time I figured it meant I should do "faith based" films, though I'm not interested in doing preachy on-the-nose sermons with a camera. Now I'm unsure what to do. I like storytelling, and I connect with your ideas and John Truby's ideas, because you discuss storytelling as the exploration and even somewhat the argumentation of philosophical beliefs/ideas. It's not the same as reading a book on philosophy or theology. Rather, IMO, the storyteller takes the ideas of the philosopher and puts them into a narrative form that the normies in the culture will understand. So a farmer in France didn't have to read Aquinas to learn his basic philosophical arguments for God's existence, and your average modern progressive doesn't have to read John Money to believe his progressive sexual ethics. In fact, normies usually have no idea who these people were, but the artists did, and the normies end up absorbing these philosophers' ideas through the arts without ever even knowing it. So I figured I should be making films that express such ideas subliminally through narrative stories. Now, I'm not so sure. The studios who would put my ideas into film are even fewer and far between than mainstream studios. And I enjoy writing, but my first true love is still painting. I sometimes think I should probably simply start a painting YT channel. They get more viewers and subscribers than you'd think. I'm at a professional skill level (I literally did nothing but paint realistic paintings for 11 years and got a decent salary). So there's potential viewers there, and potential for monetization, since a lot of these art youtubers sell courses, videos, etc. I even considered making it about sacred art in particular, and advertising it in some Catholic magazines/sites etc (not as expensive as you think) and that could bring in both viewers and also commissions. That could be niching down too much, though. But I think there's a bunch of people who would be interested in 1) learning to paint and 2) seeing beautiful work made for beautiful churches. The other problem is that painting takes WAY more time than most people think. WAY more. And after my art job got automated, I had to get a "normal" job. I simply don't have time to work my normie job, make youtube videos, AND make giant paintings for churches all at the same time. Perhaps if I was just focusing on "normal" paintings, it could be possible. Then another part of me says that storytelling is still more important than painting. And making "faith based" movies is an actual real, financially feasible goal. So UGH. It's confusing. But your video is so true. Long form big budget movies are less important now than small independent content creators now, no doubt... and even the money is probably more easily attainable online than in Hollywood.
How about using your paintings as illustrations in a book with your philosophy? Or you could use a painting as the book cover. You could do a bit with a UA-cam channel like you said to try it out. So yeah, content like YT videos / published books could potentially bring you passive income. (Indie / Self publishing is doable these days. Ebooks are popular, too.) Good luck 🍀👍🏻
Your comment got my attention. Am currently writing a sci-fi thriller screenplay while setting my faith based novel/series on the shelf. I sincerely believe my faith based story has a lot more depth and potential than the current screenplay in the works. Also, my screenplay is consuming most of my writing time. Am only considering the screenplay first due to my desire to learn the art and craft aspect of filmmaking. I don’t have anything published yet, which is another motive for me to grasp onto writing a screenplay first. Am blessed with an upcoming project to fund my first film. With that said, I am aiming at featuring my sci-fi series at my UA-cam channel. Afterwards, give my faith based story the time it deserves. Those (believers and nonbelievers) with whom I have shared snippets of my Christian based novel/series with have expressed a sincere interest in my work. A friend who is diagnostic, supports my work. Comments such as, your story reminds me of Harry Potter, and other comments comparing my novel to LOTR. My novel contains a vast array of characters and world concepts. Possibly you and I can collaborate. Your artwork may interpret my vision, allowing an opportunity for us both to introduce our work together. Just a thought of inspiration. Be blessed.
@@TylerMoweryI truly believe this alternative to achieve success for writers is a blessing in disguise. Before I wanted to become a writer, my desire to become a cinematographer was on the forefront of my mind. Now I can mesh writing and filmmaking together. My passion for both is overwhelming. I think, drink, and sleep both everyday. Your video is one of a few I have found to discuss and discover the new frontier for writing and film creators. However, your knowledge and in depth understanding of what we are facing is absolutely vital for our success. Thank you for that.
A new filmmaking era is in its infancy. Writers will gradually gravitate towards a new circle of creators and producers. The turn of the alternate gate code to filmmaking success is not as secretive and untouchable like the one in Hollywood. Creators out there are making features without a name brand studio backing them. One creator who comes to mind is Danny Gevirtz. A UA-camr who wrote and filmed a feature -I Think I’m Sick - with a UA-cam fan based crew. The results were phenomenal. His subscribers donated funds and their time on set to make this film into reality. He is just one example of what this video is all about. I now wonder if there is an independent film and writers guild available for us. If there isn’t one, then why not have one.
Hey Tyler! Just wanted to say thank you so much. I've been trying to write my version of Kung Fu Panda 4 for months, and now because of you and Abbie Emmons, I finally have a scene by scene outline ready for NaNoWriMo. I'll be putting you both in the acknowledgements. You're a real one bro. Rock on!
Tyler I want to post again and say 2005 was the last good year for films because it was the last time where the "Blockbuster" actually felt like a Blockbuster and when movies felt like actual movies.
How are things for TV writers? Do they have a better chance of actually making a show based on their screenplay if it's good and has an interesting hook? How much creative control do they usually have over the project?
TV has historically been more the writer’s domain. They might have a decent amount of creative control, but it’s the “getting to that point” that is the issue. Having creative control isn’t the problem. Getting producers to greenlight a project from a non-guild unknown writer is a tough ask in 2024.
@@TylerMowery i wish these creative careers didn't have so many barriers for newcomers. I've always been interested in working on the artistic side of movies. So being a concept artist or production designer has always been a dream for me. A few years ago I thought, maybe i could land a job related to these in some studios, and then use my experience, skills and connections to get into tv writing and create concepts for my screenplay, so that i would have a higher chance of getting a greenlight. But well, it seems like things are way more complicated than what i initially thought. Every industry is filled with these gate keepers who only want to make a stupid safe project with minimal risks or unknown people involved.
Tyler, what do you think about the opportunity to work in the British market? I've noticed the British film and TV market has become very popular recently. Projects filmed in Britain receive wide publicity, as do Hollywood productions. I think the British market is a good alternative for those who don't want to make a career in Hollywood
Sadly, I have to second this. I was up and coming as a filmmaker when 2008 happened. Budgets were slashed, so Senior Directors slashed their fees, In other words; who would gamble on a new name, when you could get a NAME to do it? By now, most people ask if I have a TikTok. I'm too old for that... I'm a filmmaker, not an influencer.
Thank you for the honesty. It's just depressing for those of us who love well-made films (and would like to write them). I've worked as an extra on film sets here in Georgia for the past six years and can definitely tell that the storytelling ability of most directors is just not there. I'm not sure if that's just because they don't believe in the projects or the writing just isn't there (or both) - but it's noticeable.
I agree. After finishing film school, I realized that I could create content online better than trying to fit in the mold of the Hollywood system. I still love writing.
I reached the same conclusions but from a different route, I was sending my first short film to major europran festivals, and I thought to my self: Why do I tell stories to elite europeans film festival people, and not to my own common folk people?? Art is needed in my socitey, the everyday people, not the film festivals folks, because they already watch lots of films. so how i can reach my people? I cant be a folk storyteller anymore, so it has to be the internet.
@@TylerMoweryi’m a fan of jodie comer so to me the movie was perfect but honestly it was pretty good made me want to ride a motorcycle and be austin butler
Interesting take on the industry. I also believe the viewer interests has changed, mostly because of forced new trends. Mostly every movie and tv series looks and feels the same today. Ive been a First AD for almost 20 years now, in Argentina, and things have been very rough the last couple of years here..
Just to get things out of the way, can you define "Hollywood?" I know what Hollywood is but I'm asking what kind/type of films are you referring to? Do you mean American films or films that are made by the big studios like Warner Bros. and Disney?
Gosh, your analysis is super interesting. Very astute perception. I learned something today. So ... what is your prognosis? Do you think powerful AI that write entire movies for viewers' prompts to watch themselves in scripted movie stories?
Yep, bottom line, the eyeballs went online. People have no issue watching their favorite podcaster interview someone for 2 hours on UA-cam. Now let's compare the production budget of that vs. a 2 hour Dune movie. Eventually the CPMs will go up accordingly Tangentially related, a UA-camr gets more analytics / metrics about their video than an independent filmmaker going through a random distributor. So a UA-camr can iterate, adjust, improve rapidly and grow their audience. Exciting time to make content!
Also - some of the fault is the writer's. The older writers knew how to tell a story, the newer writer's for the most part do not. Also when film was analog movies were better - there had to be more creativity, the film itself was precious and expensive, when digital came along, for some reason the quality plummeted and budgets soared. I really want to watch movies - but there is nothing but garbage and older films are becoming more inaccessible - again
Hollywood is basically only good for local actors groups, improv groups and small workshops collaborating. The internet does provide some of this, but its not as valuable as in person, IMO.
I agree with you, but what is your take on streaming? I think that streaming will be more influential than UA-cam because there is a userbase willing to sit to watch a film and the producers actually get pay.
I think hollywood system is getting similar to anime industires because all of the big hits and blockbusters are IPs that are guaranteed. Similar like anime industries these days. I think studio exucitives always tend to be conservative, So what I have thought is that Screenplays might not be the proper way to start writing. I used to love movies, and I never read webtoons these days which suck a lot of character depth and editing skills of each cuts, but because the Korean film is dying, I have nowhere to go.
They've got Back to the Future, maybe films like Bloodsport with a cult following, and uh, maybe all those 90s action movies like True Lies and The Rock to mercilessly dig up from the dead and force reboots upon.
Nah, you've still got some gems pre-2016. It seems to all go down the drain once Trump got elected for some reason. Every single movie coming out since 2016 seems to more focused on forcing down a message, whilst relying on "ips" and not coming up with something new. Much rather do the 60th reboot of a franchise for a "modern audience", then creating art. Can definitely see a 'prologue' of sorts in the first half of the 2010's, but there are still some bangers from 2010-2015. Not found a single movie I love post 2016. Some are alright, but most are frustrating and tedious. I don't want to be TOLD to think a certain way, I want to be moved by what I see. The writers seemed to have forgotten the main rule of writing: "Show don't tell". Turning the movie industry into something akin to the fast food industry, where they pump out Marvel movie after Marvel movie with characters who act more like logos (BRAND RECOGNITION) than they do actual people, has hurt the industry, and I don't think it's going to recover because of how politicized they've become. Their biggest flaw is that their aim is to persuade you that their 'political views' are correct, rather than telling a story, for the sake of telling a good story. Thus, they are constantly TELLING us what to think, than SHOWING us a story unfold.
Love how at 13:42 you look behind you just in case Harvey Weinstein is there. This may be some of the realest talk on show biz around bro. Seriously people need to stop swimming upstream and realize that no amount of gaslighting us against streaming and social media and the new paradigm is going to change these tectonic shifts. Great lighting too, very Bob Richardson!
Hello Tyler, interesting video as always, many thanks. I've got a question, though. Why didn't you get into the club? Guess there are screenwriters who do get in, right?
The real club is quite small. You can play the business game and get a project sold. But to really become a star, there is more to that. Also, it’s not a club worth joining. You have to be evil to truly get in.
@@TylerMowery Thanks for your reply. Including those screenwriters whose films you've provided as examples of good/great work in your previous videos? All of them? Please excuse my curiosity and even disbelief - Hollywood is million solar years from me and, unlike you, I know practically nothing about its reality. Yet an evil circle of the only people who are given the right to sell their writing/having their films made still looks like a sort of over-generalization to me. I could be wrong, please don't take offence.
Hollywood died in 1992 when they released Alien 3. Ever since then, I have been watching every franchise that I loved get totally destroyed. It has been a slow painful death. 1 by 1 they all got ruined. The only 2 I can think of that didn't get wrecked are Blade Runner & Dredd. Mad Max was doing ok until Furiosa flopped. Everything else has turned to shit.
Ive watched the internets influence grow since i left college a decade ago & the pull to make content has been strong but personally if all I end up doing is making a new short films that get a thousand views on Vimeo im happy - I'm not interested in immigrating to Hollywood, Im buring to collaborate & get these stories made
Same case in bollywood also , producers change the script to add a forced romantic sub plot, comedy and different languages. When the films don't work we suffer the consequences
I love your videos on writing but this is such an ice cold take. If you think it’s harder now for unknown writers to get a shot than it was pre 2008 I can only imagine the size of the rock you live under. The way we consume things has changed, and we have a lot more options for entertainment you just have to know where to look for it. Ultimately it’s much better now for creatives and consumers because we’re not at the whim of a handful of executives who have all the power in what gets made.
The framing of this as now ‘hollywood’ or ‘the internet’ is quite ignorant and shows that you have to get out more, experience different types of films, mini series and documentary. Without a doubt the pathway to get things made has changed, it has fractured beyond the centralised ‘Hollywood’ but give the a,out of movies made (pre2020 and hasn’t fully recovered but IS recovering) and the amount of mini series tv shows made, it’s a market for fresh voices and creatives to find a way in… vlogging and streaming is not that way in…. The reason is usually more left wing than ring win is that the progressive left creates culture, the regressive right reacts or retreads and is therefore generally boring, dull or done to death… so hence new and interesting and less represented perspectives and character are progressive and a progression of culture. Hollywood was only Hollywood because it centralized production, now production has been de centralized and it less about asking the gatekeepers for permission but about doing the work… but that has always existed… looks at the first films of some recent and legendary directors, more often than not they weren’t in Hollywood and most definitely weren’t made in the Hollywood system… So all you’re saying is, Hollywood isn’t paying millions or hundred of thousands for a nobodies script, but that is kind of meaningless because in reality that was an outlier not the norm… so banking on the outlier any time in history was a gamble… The highest budget films have gotten less interesting, but the mid budget art/independent film is fucking poppin off at the moment.
There is also the problem of politics, both in screenwriting and publishing. What if you're not a left-winger? I'm agonizing over whether to take a couple of scenes or jokes out of my comedy script because they don't tow the left-wing line. Will a project from a nobody, a good script, really get zapped if it veers off the left-wing path these days, even a little?
Just make what is true to you. Your audience will decide if its right or wrong to them. If you gear your content towards executives then you will need to cater to whatever they deem valuable or marketable. If you write with a group of people in mind you will cater to them ect. Write your story. Write for you. If your being real with yourself you eventually find an audience that appreciates you. But i cant say if that will be what society values or see's as acceptable or unacceptable.
I would argue we are entering a more exciting phase of film making/ story making. Now we don't need the studios to make our movies. A.I. is going to level the playing field where we can all get our stories out there. Will there be more stories? Yes. Will there be more ineffective stories? Yes. It is sort of like going from the paper and pen to the type writer and then to screenwriting software.
@@TylerMowery I don't think A.I. will be the end all be all. It is going to allow people to make their stories a lot easier than in the past. It is going to make the studios rethink their business model because now anybody can make good and compelling movies.
@@JERSEYBOYPLAY2HARD I disagree, with every new tool with creating story we have been flooded with bad stories that were content. Just think of the penny dreadfuls back in the day.Will there be back stories and a lot more of them, absolutely but to say there will be no more last stories, I don't agree with that.
I'm so exhausted listening to people shill marketing for A.I. because they think using a content vending machine justifies calling themselves an artist. PS: You A.I.-Bros have already ruined the internet for looking up casual information about any fucking hobby or task. Trying to replace a part on a chainsaw and you have to scroll past dozens of A.I generated search results giving you a lengthy and useless article with headlines like "Why do people use chainsaws?" and "Are chainsaws safe?", all so my browser can be crippled by ads. Meanwhile I still haven't found the actual answer I'm looking for.
I still don’t understand why you continue to blame union writers for the worsening working conditions of writers. It is only because of unions that there exist some writers that can make a living wage. You say that union writers go on strike because of a bad economy and not to get better working conditions, which honestly just sounds like an oxymoronic statement. It is because it is financially unsustainable to be (or become) a writer, that the writers union goes on strike. That is a good thing. The 2008 strike gave writers better pay and gave tv writers permanent contracts. That was a huge win. If that strike hadn’t happened the entire industry would have become a big gig economy (which it kind of is anyways). Where writers are competing against one another by working for less and less pay in a race to the bottom. Now obviously, that is kind of what Hollywood is anyways, but you cannot blame the writers union for that. They were the only institution that resisted the oligopoly of Hollywood (because no western government has had any interest in improving workers rights for writers). It appears to me, that you are implying that Hollywood has stopped hiring writers (or at least outside/newcomer writers) because the writers union has demanded too much. That they switched to reality tv and AI and whatnot, because they didn’t want to pay writers more. And that this is because the writer union demanded too much. But this, I think, is a laughable notion. Writers have always represented a minuscule fraction of the cost of a movie and movie studios have made record profits over the past two decades. It is true that reality tv was created was created to spite writers. But that was during the writers strike in 2008. Big studios used reality tv to prolong the time they had before they needed to cave into the demands of the writers. They had hoped that with this extra revenue stream, while writers were not earning anything obviously, that writers would give up and start working again without having their demands met.
I never said union writers are the problem. The leaders of the WGA control union writers. Union writers get no say. “If that strike hadn’t happened the entire industry would have become a big gig economy (which it kind of is anyways) - in other words, the strike was harmful to writers long term. Which is exactly what I’m saying.
I want to be an actor but I live in a small island in Thailand right now. So I just want to do stuff for UA-cam.
I don't care about being famous, I just want to be a WORKING actor, and do things that I like.
Even if it's just for me and my friends.
Make things online!
Sadly, a lot of things died in 2008 America, and we never recovered. America has basically been living off a credit card and it's going to max out before the decade is over. A collapse and depression are coming. It will be so bad that we look back at 2008 as the good old days.
Honestly I thought you were gonna mention that 2008 was when the MCU started 😂
Exactly what i thought 😂 2008? Did Happen anything meaningful in earth? Only entry: The Dark Knight😅
There's a reason it started that year
And Netflix/streaming started a year before (2007)
Exactly
Great point
I agree, no wonder why the screenplays before 2008 are the most enjoyable
There’s a lot more to this story that is never going to be discussed. I worked in the industry for 30 years. The reality is a bit different than most people realize. You’re not wrong Tyler.
I’d love to hear more about your experience if you’d like to speak with me. You can book a meeting here: calendly.com/practicalscreenwriting/short-meeting-with-tyler-mowery
I finished studying film here in Argentina and I'm planning to move to Spain to continue this career, but the truth is that the current situation of the film industry demoralizes me a lot!
Build your network and take your work seriously. We cannot control the industry and the state it is in.
@@TylerMowery Thank u a lot!
The good thing about the current writers' and state of Hollywood is that we might start seeing an uprise in indie/foreign film so don't be demoralized
Is like that in every industry at the moment.
@@rne1223 yep. Strange time in America
Currently writing a screenplay and planning to animate it into a show in the next few years and then just posting it on UA-cam so I completely agree with this. I can’t really bring my writing to an animation studio with the actual chance of getting it produced, so I have to do it myself
What’s great is there are graphic novelists and other animators out there online. You can still get your story told!
Even as a kid, I HATED 2008. Sure, there were some treasures like Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Cloverfield, Tropic Thunder, Kung Fu Panda, Wall-E, Wanted, Benjamin Button, Taken, Step Brothers, or Juno. But a lot of them were either "meh" or just mediocre. Nothing stood out as "Yeah, this year is because of this" it's the one year that's the least talked about in the 2000s and for good reasons.
People say Hollywood in 2024 is running out of ideas. No. No! They've been running out of ideas a long time ago! 2008 was known for its remakes to remake The Day the Earth Stood Still, Prom Night, The Eye, Death Race or Funny Games. There were remakes like Speed Racer or Get Smart. And many sequels. Indiana Jones 4, Quantum of Solace, Rambo, Narnia: Prince Caspian, Harry Potter 5, Punisher 2, Saw 5, The Mummy 3, High School Musical 3, Madagascar 2, Hellboy 2, Beethoven 6, or Rambo 4. I can guarantee you if these came out today, you wouldn't like them and you'd go "Another one? Nobody asked for this!!" It's also the year of too many low quality direct-to-video movies, or Schock kids movies about dogs or fantasy. Terrible year overall.
Those films weren't that bad man.
I was in high school dreaming of being a screenwriter. 4 years later, several screenplays later, I’ve realized my writing must go elsewhere. Thank you Tyler for making the course and helping me
Couldn’t agree more dude! Also, thanks again for the conversation yesterday. It really helped a lot. 👍
Great to talk with you as well!
I'm not a screenwriter but I am a novelist and i have been struggling with this because I just want the trad path but I dont see many truly artistic ideas trad published anymore.
Self publishing / internet audiences will be the way to go in the future.
That explains why Adobe wants to suddenly own the art you create on their block-busted software. It's a bid for control. They know the creative's power has shifted to the individual.
Great point
I'm a CG animator who was affected by the mass layoffs in the industry. It's been hard but I do believe it has taught me that the people who fund projects of games, film, and tv, usually have no pulse on what to do in order to actually create art. At the same time they generally don't have the capacity for trust of the artists they hire. Thanks to your videos I have been able to flesh out stories I have either had in my head since I was a youth or create new ones, I have become disciplined and it's simply a matter of time until they are fully realized and animated.
I don't personally care about hollywood anymore because I know people will always want to create stories regardless of the powers that be.
Keep going, Christian. 🙏🏻🙏🏻 thank you for sharing
I agree with what you are saying, but what about the negative aspects of the internet and the algorithm prefering trends over art?
Natalie Portman said as much recently, when saying that young people know who UA-camrs are, but don't know who movie stars are. The MSM still thinks they're mainstream, but I think internet culture is actually more culturally influential today.
Which is why I'm a little torn on what I should be doing, honestly. I have no dream of moving to Hollywood and being a mainstream movie screenwriter. I actually started out as a traditional oil painter-- I painted professionally for 11 years before my art job got automated. I became Catholic in that time period, thus I thought "great, I should be making paintings for churches for a living!" But instead, I felt a "calling" to do something with media. Whether that meant film or online content, I don't know. But at the time I figured it meant I should do "faith based" films, though I'm not interested in doing preachy on-the-nose sermons with a camera.
Now I'm unsure what to do. I like storytelling, and I connect with your ideas and John Truby's ideas, because you discuss storytelling as the exploration and even somewhat the argumentation of philosophical beliefs/ideas. It's not the same as reading a book on philosophy or theology. Rather, IMO, the storyteller takes the ideas of the philosopher and puts them into a narrative form that the normies in the culture will understand. So a farmer in France didn't have to read Aquinas to learn his basic philosophical arguments for God's existence, and your average modern progressive doesn't have to read John Money to believe his progressive sexual ethics. In fact, normies usually have no idea who these people were, but the artists did, and the normies end up absorbing these philosophers' ideas through the arts without ever even knowing it.
So I figured I should be making films that express such ideas subliminally through narrative stories.
Now, I'm not so sure. The studios who would put my ideas into film are even fewer and far between than mainstream studios. And I enjoy writing, but my first true love is still painting.
I sometimes think I should probably simply start a painting YT channel. They get more viewers and subscribers than you'd think. I'm at a professional skill level (I literally did nothing but paint realistic paintings for 11 years and got a decent salary). So there's potential viewers there, and potential for monetization, since a lot of these art youtubers sell courses, videos, etc. I even considered making it about sacred art in particular, and advertising it in some Catholic magazines/sites etc (not as expensive as you think) and that could bring in both viewers and also commissions. That could be niching down too much, though. But I think there's a bunch of people who would be interested in 1) learning to paint and 2) seeing beautiful work made for beautiful churches.
The other problem is that painting takes WAY more time than most people think. WAY more. And after my art job got automated, I had to get a "normal" job. I simply don't have time to work my normie job, make youtube videos, AND make giant paintings for churches all at the same time. Perhaps if I was just focusing on "normal" paintings, it could be possible.
Then another part of me says that storytelling is still more important than painting. And making "faith based" movies is an actual real, financially feasible goal.
So UGH. It's confusing. But your video is so true. Long form big budget movies are less important now than small independent content creators now, no doubt... and even the money is probably more easily attainable online than in Hollywood.
How about using your paintings as illustrations in a book with your philosophy? Or you could use a painting as the book cover.
You could do a bit with a UA-cam channel like you said to try it out.
So yeah, content like YT videos / published books could potentially bring you passive income. (Indie / Self publishing is doable these days. Ebooks are popular, too.)
Good luck 🍀👍🏻
Great comment. I really like your perspective. The only way forward is the hard way, in my opinion. And that hard way is detachment from Hollywood.
Your comment got my attention. Am currently writing a sci-fi thriller screenplay while setting my faith based novel/series on the shelf. I sincerely believe my faith based story has a lot more depth and potential than the current screenplay in the works. Also, my screenplay is consuming most of my writing time.
Am only considering the screenplay first due to my desire to learn the art and craft aspect of filmmaking. I don’t have anything published yet, which is another motive for me to grasp onto writing a screenplay first.
Am blessed with an upcoming project to fund my first film. With that said, I am aiming at featuring my sci-fi series at my UA-cam channel. Afterwards, give my faith based story the time it deserves.
Those (believers and nonbelievers) with whom I have shared snippets of my Christian based novel/series with have expressed a sincere interest in my work. A friend who is diagnostic, supports my work.
Comments such as, your story reminds me of Harry Potter, and other comments comparing my novel to LOTR. My novel contains a vast array of characters and world concepts.
Possibly you and I can collaborate. Your artwork may interpret my vision, allowing an opportunity for us both to introduce our work together.
Just a thought of inspiration. Be blessed.
@@TylerMoweryI truly believe this alternative to achieve success for writers is a blessing in disguise. Before I wanted to become a writer, my desire to become a cinematographer was on the forefront of my mind.
Now I can mesh writing and filmmaking together. My passion for both is overwhelming. I think, drink, and sleep both everyday.
Your video is one of a few I have found to discuss and discover the new frontier for writing and film creators. However, your knowledge and in depth understanding of what we are facing is absolutely vital for our success. Thank you for that.
@@Inkironnrum glad you enjoyed! Keep up the good work
A new filmmaking era is in its infancy. Writers will gradually gravitate towards a new circle of creators and producers.
The turn of the alternate gate code to filmmaking success is not as secretive and untouchable like the one in Hollywood.
Creators out there are making features without a name brand studio backing them. One creator who comes to mind is Danny Gevirtz. A UA-camr who wrote and filmed a feature -I Think I’m Sick - with a UA-cam fan based crew. The results were phenomenal.
His subscribers donated funds and their time on set to make this film into reality. He is just one example of what this video is all about.
I now wonder if there is an independent film and writers guild available for us. If there isn’t one, then why not have one.
Love your videos, always an eyeopener
Hey Tyler! Just wanted to say thank you so much.
I've been trying to write my version of Kung Fu Panda 4 for months, and now because of you and Abbie Emmons, I finally have a scene by scene outline ready for NaNoWriMo.
I'll be putting you both in the acknowledgements.
You're a real one bro. Rock on!
Nice work!
Tyler I want to post again and say 2005 was the last good year for films because it was the last time where the "Blockbuster" actually felt like a Blockbuster and when movies felt like actual movies.
Rip blockbuster 🫡🥲
How are things for TV writers? Do they have a better chance of actually making a show based on their screenplay if it's good and has an interesting hook? How much creative control do they usually have over the project?
TV has historically been more the writer’s domain. They might have a decent amount of creative control, but it’s the “getting to that point” that is the issue.
Having creative control isn’t the problem. Getting producers to greenlight a project from a non-guild unknown writer is a tough ask in 2024.
@@TylerMowery i wish these creative careers didn't have so many barriers for newcomers. I've always been interested in working on the artistic side of movies. So being a concept artist or production designer has always been a dream for me. A few years ago I thought, maybe i could land a job related to these in some studios, and then use my experience, skills and connections to get into tv writing and create concepts for my screenplay, so that i would have a higher chance of getting a greenlight. But well, it seems like things are way more complicated than what i initially thought. Every industry is filled with these gate keepers who only want to make a stupid safe project with minimal risks or unknown people involved.
Tyler, what do you think about the opportunity to work in the British market? I've noticed the British film and TV market has become very popular recently. Projects filmed in Britain receive wide publicity, as do Hollywood productions. I think the British market is a good alternative for those who don't want to make a career in Hollywood
This might be one of the most important video for filmmakers on the internet
Sadly, I have to second this. I was up and coming as a filmmaker when 2008 happened. Budgets were slashed, so Senior Directors slashed their fees, In other words; who would gamble on a new name, when you could get a NAME to do it?
By now, most people ask if I have a TikTok. I'm too old for that... I'm a filmmaker, not an influencer.
Thanks for your video!
My pleasure!
Thank you for the honesty. It's just depressing for those of us who love well-made films (and would like to write them). I've worked as an extra on film sets here in Georgia for the past six years and can definitely tell that the storytelling ability of most directors is just not there. I'm not sure if that's just because they don't believe in the projects or the writing just isn't there (or both) - but it's noticeable.
Always seems like great storytellers can’t find the money and the money can’t find great storytellers. Unfortunate!
I agree. After finishing film school, I realized that I could create content online better than trying to fit in the mold of the Hollywood system. I still love writing.
man the direct sunlight makes you look divine 😂
Interesting take. 👍 Take care man.
Thanks bro 🎉
You too!
There’s this film called La Haine and while it has so many amazing technical qualities, can analyze why the writing in the film is so good?
I reached the same conclusions but from a different route, I was sending my first short film to major europran festivals, and I thought to my self:
Why do I tell stories to elite europeans film festival people, and not to my own common folk people??
Art is needed in my socitey, the everyday people, not the film festivals folks, because they already watch lots of films.
so how i can reach my people? I cant be a folk storyteller anymore, so it has to be the internet.
I have come to this conclusion this week after watching “The Bikeriders” on opening day with only 4 people in the cinema
How was that movie?
@@TylerMoweryi’m a fan of jodie comer so to me the movie was perfect but honestly it was pretty good made me want to ride a motorcycle and be austin butler
@@TylerMowery I loved it. Goodfellas on bikes
Interesting take on the industry. I also believe the viewer interests has changed, mostly because of forced new trends. Mostly every movie and tv series looks and feels the same today. Ive been a First AD for almost 20 years now, in Argentina, and things have been very rough the last couple of years here..
I just came back from Argentina, everywhere it's very much the same in our industry.
100% agree I'm currently filming a web series called Trip which I will be releasing on UA-cam. The Internet is the way.
Just to get things out of the way, can you define "Hollywood?" I know what Hollywood is but I'm asking what kind/type of films are you referring to? Do you mean American films or films that are made by the big studios like Warner Bros. and Disney?
Gosh, your analysis is super interesting. Very astute perception. I learned something today. So ... what is your prognosis? Do you think powerful AI that write entire movies for viewers' prompts to watch themselves in scripted movie stories?
Thank You 🙏
endless blessings
I would like to here more about this topic bro
Will do
Yep, bottom line, the eyeballs went online. People have no issue watching their favorite podcaster interview someone for 2 hours on UA-cam. Now let's compare the production budget of that vs. a 2 hour Dune movie. Eventually the CPMs will go up accordingly
Tangentially related, a UA-camr gets more analytics / metrics about their video than an independent filmmaker going through a random distributor. So a UA-camr can iterate, adjust, improve rapidly and grow their audience. Exciting time to make content!
yeah also woke in hollywood to
Also - some of the fault is the writer's. The older writers knew how to tell a story, the newer writer's for the most part do not. Also when film was analog movies were better - there had to be more creativity, the film itself was precious and expensive, when digital came along, for some reason the quality plummeted and budgets soared. I really want to watch movies - but there is nothing but garbage and older films are becoming more inaccessible - again
Hollywood is basically only good for local actors groups, improv groups and small workshops collaborating. The internet does provide some of this, but its not as valuable as in person, IMO.
Story does cost something to those who are smart to get paid. Doing it for free is a waste.
I agree with you, but what is your take on streaming?
I think that streaming will be more influential than UA-cam because there is a userbase willing to sit to watch a film and the producers actually get pay.
The problem with streaming is no one wants to watch something forever constantly. And the content becomes lessened because there’s so much of it
I think hollywood system is getting similar to anime industires because all of the big hits and blockbusters are IPs that are guaranteed.
Similar like anime industries these days.
I think studio exucitives always tend to be conservative,
So what I have thought is that
Screenplays might not be the proper way to start writing.
I used to love movies, and I never read webtoons these days which suck a lot of character depth and editing skills of each cuts, but because the Korean film is dying, I have nowhere to go.
They've got Back to the Future, maybe films like Bloodsport with a cult following, and uh, maybe all those 90s action movies like True Lies and The Rock to mercilessly dig up from the dead and force reboots upon.
What is a good place for a starting writer to stand out in this day and age?
Fitzcaraldo is so good
Nah, you've still got some gems pre-2016. It seems to all go down the drain once Trump got elected for some reason. Every single movie coming out since 2016 seems to more focused on forcing down a message, whilst relying on "ips" and not coming up with something new. Much rather do the 60th reboot of a franchise for a "modern audience", then creating art.
Can definitely see a 'prologue' of sorts in the first half of the 2010's, but there are still some bangers from 2010-2015. Not found a single movie I love post 2016. Some are alright, but most are frustrating and tedious. I don't want to be TOLD to think a certain way, I want to be moved by what I see. The writers seemed to have forgotten the main rule of writing: "Show don't tell".
Turning the movie industry into something akin to the fast food industry, where they pump out Marvel movie after Marvel movie with characters who act more like logos (BRAND RECOGNITION) than they do actual people, has hurt the industry, and I don't think it's going to recover because of how politicized they've become. Their biggest flaw is that their aim is to persuade you that their 'political views' are correct, rather than telling a story, for the sake of telling a good story. Thus, they are constantly TELLING us what to think, than SHOWING us a story unfold.
Love how at 13:42 you look behind you just in case Harvey Weinstein is there.
This may be some of the realest talk on show biz around bro. Seriously people need to stop swimming upstream and realize that no amount of gaslighting us against streaming and social media and the new paradigm is going to change these tectonic shifts.
Great lighting too, very Bob Richardson!
🙏🏻🙏🏻
All natural sunlight! 🌞
Hello Tyler, interesting video as always, many thanks. I've got a question, though. Why didn't you get into the club? Guess there are screenwriters who do get in, right?
The real club is quite small. You can play the business game and get a project sold. But to really become a star, there is more to that. Also, it’s not a club worth joining. You have to be evil to truly get in.
@@TylerMowery Thanks for your reply. Including those screenwriters whose films you've provided as examples of good/great work in your previous videos? All of them? Please excuse my curiosity and even disbelief - Hollywood is million solar years from me and, unlike you, I know practically nothing about its reality. Yet an evil circle of the only people who are given the right to sell their writing/having their films made still looks like a sort of over-generalization to me. I could be wrong, please don't take offence.
Hollywood died in 1992 when they released Alien 3. Ever since then, I have been watching every franchise that I loved get totally destroyed. It has been a slow painful death. 1 by 1 they all got ruined. The only 2 I can think of that didn't get wrecked are Blade Runner & Dredd. Mad Max was doing ok until Furiosa flopped. Everything else has turned to shit.
Ive watched the internets influence grow since i left college a decade ago & the pull to make content has been strong but personally if all I end up doing is making a new short films that get a thousand views on Vimeo im happy - I'm not interested in immigrating to Hollywood, Im buring to collaborate & get these stories made
Producing short movies for UA-cam is still worth the effort, or the way to go is animations and other simpler ways to convey stories through videos?
Either can work. The most important thing is to be working on a project you enjoy and can bring to the finish line.
SORA type AI will put the nail in bro, don’t worry, its really going to happen, not like your metaphors bro, lol, can’t wait!!!
You will have the writers room dude work hard on that from your website its all about getting people in a video chat writing thats new.
hi when will new videos going to come
Same case in bollywood also , producers change the script to add a forced romantic sub plot, comedy and different languages. When the films don't work we suffer the consequences
I love your videos on writing but this is such an ice cold take. If you think it’s harder now for unknown writers to get a shot than it was pre 2008 I can only imagine the size of the rock you live under. The way we consume things has changed, and we have a lot more options for entertainment you just have to know where to look for it. Ultimately it’s much better now for creatives and consumers because we’re not at the whim of a handful of executives who have all the power in what gets made.
I think it is better now. The future is bright! But probably not for Hollywood.
Did you delete your instagram? I only realized today.
Right.
Clear perspective.
High praise
tru
The framing of this as now ‘hollywood’ or ‘the internet’ is quite ignorant and shows that you have to get out more, experience different types of films, mini series and documentary. Without a doubt the pathway to get things made has changed, it has fractured beyond the centralised ‘Hollywood’ but give the a,out of movies made (pre2020 and hasn’t fully recovered but IS recovering) and the amount of mini series tv shows made, it’s a market for fresh voices and creatives to find a way in… vlogging and streaming is not that way in….
The reason is usually more left wing than ring win is that the progressive left creates culture, the regressive right reacts or retreads and is therefore generally boring, dull or done to death… so hence new and interesting and less represented perspectives and character are progressive and a progression of culture.
Hollywood was only Hollywood because it centralized production, now production has been de centralized and it less about asking the gatekeepers for permission but about doing the work… but that has always existed… looks at the first films of some recent and legendary directors, more often than not they weren’t in Hollywood and most definitely weren’t made in the Hollywood system…
So all you’re saying is, Hollywood isn’t paying millions or hundred of thousands for a nobodies script, but that is kind of meaningless because in reality that was an outlier not the norm… so banking on the outlier any time in history was a gamble…
The highest budget films have gotten less interesting, but the mid budget art/independent film is fucking poppin off at the moment.
What indie films that are impacting culture now?
There is also the problem of politics, both in screenwriting and publishing. What if you're not a left-winger? I'm agonizing over whether to take a couple of scenes or jokes out of my comedy script because they don't tow the left-wing line. Will a project from a nobody, a good script, really get zapped if it veers off the left-wing path these days, even a little?
Just make what is true to you. Your audience will decide if its right or wrong to them. If you gear your content towards executives then you will need to cater to whatever they deem valuable or marketable. If you write with a group of people in mind you will cater to them ect.
Write your story. Write for you. If your being real with yourself you eventually find an audience that appreciates you. But i cant say if that will be what society values or see's as acceptable or unacceptable.
I would argue we are entering a more exciting phase of film making/ story making. Now we don't need the studios to make our movies. A.I. is going to level the playing field where we can all get our stories out there. Will there be more stories? Yes. Will there be more ineffective stories? Yes. It is sort of like going from the paper and pen to the type writer and then to screenwriting software.
More stories yet.. last longing stories that will have an impact no. with the flood gates being open and rushed it's going to just be Content.
I agree we are entering a more exciting phase. Although I don’t think AI is going to solve all our problems.
@@TylerMowery I don't think A.I. will be the end all be all. It is going to allow people to make their stories a lot easier than in the past. It is going to make the studios rethink their business model because now anybody can make good and compelling movies.
@@JERSEYBOYPLAY2HARD I disagree, with every new tool with creating story we have been flooded with bad stories that were content. Just think of the penny dreadfuls back in the day.Will there be back stories and a lot more of them, absolutely but to say there will be no more last stories, I don't agree with that.
I'm so exhausted listening to people shill marketing for A.I. because they think using a content vending machine justifies calling themselves an artist.
PS: You A.I.-Bros have already ruined the internet for looking up casual information about any fucking hobby or task. Trying to replace a part on a chainsaw and you have to scroll past dozens of A.I generated search results giving you a lengthy and useless article with headlines like "Why do people use chainsaws?" and "Are chainsaws safe?", all so my browser can be crippled by ads. Meanwhile I still haven't found the actual answer I'm looking for.
I still don’t understand why you continue to blame union writers for the worsening working conditions of writers. It is only because of unions that there exist some writers that can make a living wage. You say that union writers go on strike because of a bad economy and not to get better working conditions, which honestly just sounds like an oxymoronic statement. It is because it is financially unsustainable to be (or become) a writer, that the writers union goes on strike. That is a good thing. The 2008 strike gave writers better pay and gave tv writers permanent contracts. That was a huge win. If that strike hadn’t happened the entire industry would have become a big gig economy (which it kind of is anyways). Where writers are competing against one another by working for less and less pay in a race to the bottom. Now obviously, that is kind of what Hollywood is anyways, but you cannot blame the writers union for that. They were the only institution that resisted the oligopoly of Hollywood (because no western government has had any interest in improving workers rights for writers).
It appears to me, that you are implying that Hollywood has stopped hiring writers (or at least outside/newcomer writers) because the writers union has demanded too much. That they switched to reality tv and AI and whatnot, because they didn’t want to pay writers more. And that this is because the writer union demanded too much.
But this, I think, is a laughable notion. Writers have always represented a minuscule fraction of the cost of a movie and movie studios have made record profits over the past two decades.
It is true that reality tv was created was created to spite writers. But that was during the writers strike in 2008. Big studios used reality tv to prolong the time they had before they needed to cave into the demands of the writers. They had hoped that with this extra revenue stream, while writers were not earning anything obviously, that writers would give up and start working again without having their demands met.
I never said union writers are the problem.
The leaders of the WGA control union writers. Union writers get no say.
“If that strike hadn’t happened the entire industry would have become a big gig economy (which it kind of is anyways) - in other words, the strike was harmful to writers long term. Which is exactly what I’m saying.