You probably already know this but I can’t stress the point enough: filmmaking is an art form. An art form that requires time, patience and care. It’s something to spend time and care on.
I want to share with you my journey so far. In my opinion, it’s one of the best ever and will probably keep going for years.
My story begins 20 years ago when I joined the Marines; I joined out of curiosity not because of my own knowledge but in response to a recruiter. Not just any recruiter, but a recruiter who’s a friend of a friend and who was a Marine.
The recruiter at that time, who was the same recruiter I know today, said, “Hey, man, you want to do photography? We just need you to go get your MOS card!”
I knew I would say no. I knew that I would refuse and he didn’t make the promise that if he kept recruiting me that I would get a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) and be a photographer forever. He told me, “Man, this isn’t a real job, it’s a hobby.” We laugh about this today when I hear it from people, but the conversation is always about it. (In a way, it’s one of those truths which should be known and felt.)
Fast-forward 20 years… and I’m a photographer now and so are a lot of other Marines who had an identical conversation to mine over 20 years ago. They, too, tell me, “Man, this isn’t a real job, it’s a hobby.” We’ve been through so much. And then the Navy was born, we’d gotten through the Marine Corps and now we’re at the top of the Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) ladder.
And then finally they ask me, “Are you married yet?”
I say, “No,” and then they say, “Do you have a child?”
And I say, “No.”
And then they say, “Do you have any experience in film.”
And I say, “No.”
It was a time when, as you all know, we’re still very much in the ‘get out of jail free’ era. And yet, many of us haven’t made it because we know things are different today because we’ve been here. And yet, I’ve experienced something that I’ve never experienced in my life:
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