My favorite film authors, Camille Landau and Tiare White, say a movie shouldn't be a means to an end; that it's an end in itself. There is a lot of activity in the independent film world, however, showing the contrary. A lot of directors make short films to get their feature films made, or they make a feature film to attract investors for a screenplay that they truly want to develop, or to get a job working under another director or to put them in the right circles where they fulfill other objectives.
These are illogical behaviors that waste time, money and resources because I figure, if you want to do that other thing you hope the current project you’re working on will lead you to, why not just do that other thing instead of spending your time going around it? I made that mistake years ago when completing one of my earlier movies; it was a project I pursued solely to help me make another film -- the movie that I really wanted to produce in the first place, at the time. All was not lost, as that sorta guinea pig project did bring me closer to learning more about film festivals and working with journalists and film critics and things of that nature.
Now, I can only wonder what would have become of my pet project that was shelved. There's no telling, as that time has passed and can be chalked up as a lesson learned.
Have YOU done any work for the sole purpose of getting an opportunity to do something else?
Are YOU an opportunistic person?
Do YOU think being opportunistic brings positive results, or negative results?