I guess everyone irrespective of their gender, joins a cinema or a media school to achieve name, fame and be the master of the game. All good, but success ain’t easy; ask any successful person, they will endorse the view.
The billion-dollar Q - how do you achieve success; only if the A was that simple!
The following text is from a Master Class, I conducted on the sidelines of American Film Market 2013 and is duly copyright in the author's (Amit KumaR Agarwal) name so please do not use it in any form, unless you have the written permission from the author.
Presenting “The 9 Month Rule” devised by Amit KumaR Agarwal
From my almost 10 years little but rich experience in the entertainment industry, I have seen that success in entertainment industry is very simple and has a formula, well reflected in the success stories of all icons, just that only .01% people can decipher it.
What is “The 9 Month Rule”?
Just like a mother nurtures a baby for 9 months; similarly a creative soul (not person, because creativity is rooted in the soul) nurtures the best creative juices for the initial 9 months of any project involved in; after that boom! The ‘creative juice’ starts to diminish. You might be an actor, a director, a screenwriter, an art director, a photographer or might be associated with any creative-form, this rule holds good. Next time analyse it and correct me, if I am wrong!
A plan is very important, if you want to succeed in life, even if you want the flow to be natural.
I will explain the rule w.r.t an actor’s perspective, since 90% of aspiring film-professionals strive to be either an actor or a model; the most visible of all creative vocations!
Every actor wants to work with A-list banners as the main lead, analyse the response in the first 9 months. There are only 9 to 10 top directors, rest all other directors are on an even keel; analyse, did you even manage to meet the top producers or directors; and here I don’t mean their associates or casting directors, but the top person in self; if not, time to move on; 99.9% you won’t be able to ‘work’ - the point is not just meeting but working - with the top person, in your lifetime.
Next 6 months should be spent in analyzing the film offers from the next line of yet-to-be established producers or directors, are they going to be one of those forever-in-the-making films, if yes, time to move on again!
Next 3 months should be spent in analyzing your resources, your contacts, your friends, is anyone making a festival film or a guerrilla film or even a web-series; if yes, is it interesting, if not, are they paying you at all; how is the track record of the film-maker; was the film visible in atleast 3 from the “Top 7” film festival circuit – Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, Sundance, Locarno, New York, London; if yes, go for it. Many a great success stories have emerged out of the film festival circuit, with cast and crew getting more film offers; actors being cast, right there; becoming international icons!
This is the basic 9+9 rule for any creative soul.
If this fails, the only two options for a creative soul, is either to put their own money or to return to their homes and start life afresh.
For any further details, do enroll for the next Master Class by Amit KumaR Agarwal. Best to all of you Creative Souls out there!
