This week, the first volume of our Life Improvised series was released as a single anthology on Tubi. It consists of ten episodes of what began as standalone micro-shorts about the moments that make up human interactions and relationships. It is 49 minutes long and the episodes are grouped by themes: loneliness, a first date, betrayal, and change.
When we initially began filming these small short films three years ago, we had no thoughts of creating an anthology, or to even make enough episodes that such a thing was possible. For us, it was a way to explore small ideas between the bigger projects we do, to work with new actors, to experiment, even shoot in new locations. We released them on YouTube and that was that.
But releasing an anthology of Life Improvised made me pause and reflect on the power of time and consistency in filmmaking. If you do this long enough, if you create new content often enough, over time you will have a career as a filmmaker.
The poster for Life Improvised: Volume One
Consistency is the key ingredient of the “success” recipe. Talent and skill are just the seasoning. I used to run the Made In Melbourne Film Festival and every year I would watch films that were fantastic. The following year the same filmmakers would enter new work that was equally great. It was clear these filmmakers were super talented. But more often than not, when I reach out or hear about these filmmakers all these years later, they have stopped making new work.
And I understand it is tough. Life, family, careers, often mental health get in the way. Filmmaking – the rejection, the doubts, the financial pressure and inconsistency of income – is brutal on mental health. So it is no surprise that so many filmmakers, after early work that shines so bright, often burn out, walk away, move on.
I don’t think I have half the talent or skill of some of the filmmakers I used to program at the festival. But seventeen years after directing my first ever film, I am still here making movies and doing it full-time.
For me, it was the realization that no other job could fulfill me, so I had to make filmmaking work. I’ve lost track of how many jobs I quit to go make a film or run the festival. How many jobs I have been fired from for letting filmmaking get in the way. How many opportunities I’ve turned down – join my sales company, be my full-time conference videographer, become a news editor and cameraman – because I knew my real passion was making movies instead.
So I always found a way to keep going. Keep making films. And now I’ve done it over a long enough period of time, and I have done it consistently enough, to have built a library of content that pays the bills.
Consistency over time compounds and creates value. It isn’t just filmmaking, it is any artistic or personal endeavor. Want to write a book but don’t have the time? Write a page a day. Still don’t have time? Write a paragraph a day. Over time, even if it takes you years, you will have a book.
Now releasing a 49 minute anthology of Life Improvised may not seem like a big deal. Each episode is the definition of small, usually running under five minutes. But we kept going for three years, kept making new episodes consistently, and over time the small shorts added up to a whole anthology. There have been other benefits of course – we have met and worked with new creatives in different countries, including Croatia, Malta, Germany, Portugal, and Australia, building our network across the world – but for me, the whole experience is a microcosm of what consistency can achieve.
We even filmed a brand new episode of Life Improvised in New York just a couple of weeks ago. So we are still going, and in another three years, maybe there will be enough content for a second anthology.
It all depends on consistency.
Watch Life Improvised: Volume One on Tubi Here.
Written by Ivan Malekin