Why none of us will probably ever make it

Depressing headline eh? But I thought I’d talk about the problems I currently see with the industry. In the past I’ve tried to direct them by starting my own freelance collective which later became a creative content agency.

The name was Voena and it was derived from the Russian word for War война or Voyna, the E was silent, I did that as a way to say “fuck you” to the pressure put on creatives, and that we were isolated and pushed to compete against each other.

But I need tot talk about the elephant in the room “rich white kids”, kids like me.

There is a thirst, a desire to be entertained and an ever present need for content, but the problem is how we choose to make that content. We seem to want to hire the best, but for the most part the advantages come in the form of modern technology, which seems to be purchased mainly through privilege, mainly through people buying equipment. And when I say people, I usually mean someones family.

I am from one of those backgrounds. Truly, I know I’ve got it sweet, I was given $1000 for my 21st, I put towards a camera, and then I’ve gotten a huge advantage of knowledge by working in a studio, one that my father owned. I’ve had the training and knowledge that most people would dream to have.

I’ve worked for big commercial clients from a young age, assisting, and learning along the way.

I know I’m not the only one, but it’s only people like me succeeding. White kids, from affluent families, I see most of the kids succeeding seem to have one key advantage, their parents bought them a Sony F5, a Red Camera, pay for their studio time, and they live at home so they spent all their money on equipment, their cars paid for.

When it comes to creating content, it’s expensive, truly cost prohibitive even for creators. Every year about 1/4 of my income is put into software, repairs, equipment purchases, film (lol, so easy to be broke when you’re doing that), travel to and from locations, and all the rest.

It’s hard to compete with a generation of guys (primarily guys, tbh) who seem to have it easy. So I do have this ever present wonder, will anyone make it if the guy next to us, can get a $100,000 lone for equipment, he can instantly start to rent, because his parents took the risk out of the work. They can hire the best producer, a great DP, technician’s, lighting assistants, lights, studios, whatever. They have budgets from the start, and a drive to succeed, and I’m not saying they’re working hard, but it’s not taking them years to save up for that camera, and they’re not working two jobs to do it. They might already have connections as well, someone’s cut their show real.

But I’m about to present to you the real reason for the above rant, the only way to beat them, is to not try to play their game, it’s to work together, it’s to make stuff that they can’t think of, it’s to be original in ways they cannot, it’s to not try to match their production quality, or their aesthetic, or their stupid fucking IG flex’s, it’s to make something they can’t.

It’s to be original, and to do that, you’re going to have to stake more than money, you’re going to have to stake a creative vision.

Which is exactly why most of us will probably never make it.

We’re not doing that.