Starting a filmmaking career

Money is a huge factor in filmmaking. If you're just starting out and wondering how you should split your resources, here's what I would recommend based on my past experience - which, to caveat, is subjective.

1. Education & training: 30-40%. This might seem like a large investment, but it really is, in many cases, the most important thing that sets you on the right path to meeting like-minded people, learning skills and figuring out your interests. This doesn't necessarily mean going to film school: it can mean doing a foundation course, going to university on a student loan, taking regular courses alongside jobs, and online classes too - as well as practical, on-the-job training. I personally had the chance to go to university and study Film & Television for four years, which wasn't even a practical curriculum. However, watching and writing about a wide range of movies meant that I developed personal taste, learn to use the right language, and realised what did and didn't interest me.

2. Equipment: 30%. There are different schools of thought on this question - should you own a full kit of professional gear or rely on renting it depending on the work you get? There is logic to both: on one hand, owning equipment means you hopefully get to use it frequently and learn how to operate it. However, professional gear is expensive, becomes dated quickly and creates a significant expense in terms of upfront costs, potentially debt. It can often create sleepless nights, especially if you have a family, high property costs and/or struggle with finding paid work in a regular manner. I would nuance both arguments here. It's essential to create and invest in a system for yourself that is manageable at a small scale, to avoid debt, high devaluation/depreciation with time, and ridiculous insurance premiums. The second thing I would say is to invest in a system that is upgradeable further down the line, and gives you access to a brand/system with upper tiers. For example, starting out with a Sony FX30 (an entry-level professional model) is a good way to learn the Sony system, so that you can eventually use larger kit like the Sony FX9, Burano or Venice. Keep it simple, upgradeable and manageable.

3. Portfolio & production: 20%. The mistake I made when starting out was spending a lot of money on films and shoots that never saw the light of day. At the time, my order of priorities was reversed: I spent most of my money on making, and not enough on longer-term kit purchases that I would have paid off over 4-5 years. I also didn't put enough effort into things like IMDb, credits and a website, and felt like I made it up as I went along. These all take a long time to develop properly, and can be frustrating. This question also depends heavily on your personality: are you someone who prefers to iterate over multiple short projects, or invest more time into longer endeavours?

4. IT & software: 10-20%. This might seem like an obvious one, but investing in a long-term work machine, as well as a good phone with decent video/photo capabilities, really goes a long way. It's often an expense that gets forgotten about - but almost makes more difference than some of what I've mentioned above. When you think about it, your IT setup at home is the thing that everything else filters through - your footage, editing, pitching, written communication, organisation, showcases, etc. Make sure you're regularly backing up the essentials, being organised and rational with your purchases as well as taking the time to properly learn the software you're buying.