Something that has been on my heart of late is the word collaboration. I (like many of my esteem colleagues) have learned to work in different areas which we are uncomfortable in out of necessity rather than choice. But like many of my heroes, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarintino, these guys are very much a DIY filmmakers. And rightly so, they have pioneered a generation of filmmakers who have learned to make films all by themselves and have taught me that money should not be the defining factor in you telling the story you want to tell. But as I continue to work with people I am learning more and more of the shortcomings I have as a filmmaker and as a director, and how much better my work becomes as I work with very talented people. The documentary “the making of church news” you see below was an amazing group effort and I believe that without those people, the product simply would not have shone as well as would have. And to be honest, the stuff I am proudest of is rarely the stuff I work on alone, it’s actually the stuff I have collaborated with people on. In essense, I have come to the realisation that I NEED people to make great stuff. And collaboration with the right people is always going to yield better results than you trying to do it all on your own.
Now this is not to say as a filmmaker you should try to avoid some common pitfalls:
• When you are directing a film, appoint someone the director. Co-directing can be difficult cause you’re always going to have differing opinions and for the sake of your crew and sanity, make sure the crew knows that the director will have the final say even if no one else agrees. I don’t care if you are all friends. Pick a director and make sure you respect that director!
• Pass your script around and make sure it makes sense and don’t be too proud for them to ask you the hard questions. You’ll be happier for it I promise.
• ALWAYS test screen your film before you show it to the world. Nothing worse than showing the world your beautifully crafted movie and finding out it has terrible undertones to it. ugghhhh… Yes Jess if you are reading this, this one is for you 
Throw your ego aside, and let someone else help you. I promise you’ll at least be surprised by the results.
Tags: collaboration, directing, DIY, filmmaking, quentin tarantino, robert rodriguez, video editing
You are totally right bro… Especially since film/video combines so many different areas, both technical and administrative, it is easy to get spread-to-thin. When this happens, you are unable to give every detail the attention that your project deserves.