Filmmaker Alexander Payne is a big proponent of mentorship in the film industry. He credits his mentor with changing the course of his career when he was feeling stifled by the traditional route. In this blog post, Payne discusses five things he wishes every aspiring filmmaker knew before they decide to make their directorial debut. He also explains how to start your filmmaking journey and what you need to secure major opportunities.

1. Timing Is Everything

The movie business is fickle; if you wait too long to make your movie, it might never be made. On the other side of that coin, if you’re able to complete your project in a timely fashion, the industry can be very forgiving — even when they’re not interested in buying your work. An example is Sofia Coppola’s first film, “The Virgin Suicides.” It was made while she was still in school, released in 2000, and became a big hit.

2. Writing the Script Is an Important Step

This is an obvious point, but it’s important to remember that the screenplay is your first draft and will not be perfect on the first go. Alexander Payne advice to aspiring filmmakers is to write their hearts out — don’t worry about making it perfect.

3. Don’t Let Finances Affect Filming

I have a friend trying to secure money to make her first feature, but she kept getting turned down, which terrified her and made her think she would fail. Once she realized that the business wasn’t rejecting her because they didn’t see anything special in her, she could stick with the project and ultimately attracted the right backers.

4. Resist the Urge To Reconsider

Trying to change the film you’ve already written is counterproductive. Even if you believe that a different movie would be better, it’s also unnecessary. If you didn’t spend significant time and money making the film you want, perhaps going with something else is a better option.

5. Listen and Respect Everyone on Set

You may think that people who work in film are more than willing to stick around and help out any other filmmakers, but that isn’t always the case. I’ve seen great assistants move on because they got frustrated by the lack of recognition.

Part of the problem is that they weren’t listening to every word their directors said and instead got distracted with other things.