Reinvent Your Filmmaking Career in 2025

The New Year can be overwhelming, but here's my secret: you actually don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

You just need to improve your daily and weekly systems to fit your vision. 

Today, I'm going to teach you how I work smarter (not harder) to create a productive and profitable career in the branded, commercial, film & TV industries.

Where Most Creatives Miss the Mark

Close your eyes and picture your ideal filmmaking career.

Don’t just think about the films you want to make – think about how you want to feel, who you want to work with, and where you want to be. 

Ask yourself:

• What types of projects do I want to work on?
• What caliber of creatives do I want to collaborate with?
• Where do I see my work being shown?
• What impact do I want my work to have on the world?

The clearer you get, the better.

This is all a part of your vision board.

But now what?

Visualization without skill won't work.

So next, ask yourself:

• What hard or soft skills do I need to acquire to get there? 
• What quality of work do I need to deliver?
• What effort am I committed to putting in?
• How much discomfort am I willing to endure?

When thinking of goals, we often think about only the upsides of achieving it. 

But what are the downsides?

If something goes wrong, how will you course correct?

If I fail, how will I bounce back?

You will likely face more challenges than you will win, and this mindset shift has helped me navigate my career through the ups and downs.

My 3-Step Framework to Reinvent Your Career in 2025

Step 1: Track your filmmaking goals weekly 

There’s evidence-backed power in writing down your goals.

For example:

• 2025 goal: I’ll direct my first film and submit to five film festivals
• Monthly goal: I’ll finish my pitch deck and director's treatment and reach out to 3 potential collaborators
• Daily goal: I'll dedicate 2 hours per day to researching and writing

Writing these goals down makes them tangible.

I take things one step further and schedule daily, weekly, and monthly time in my calendar to keep myself even more accountable.

Every Sunday night, I set aside time to re-read my yearly/monthly goals and then I set my weekly priorities.

From there, I will check in on my weekly priorities daily. 

Step 2: Break down your goals into actionable skills

What separates people who achieve their goals vs. don't?

The action they're putting into it.

For example:

• If you want to meet industry folks, attend at least one industry event per week
• If you want to work with top-tier creatives, educate yourself to create industry standard work
• If you want more experience in the field, produce and shoot spec work
• If you want your film to be seen, learn to edit and share weekly snippets or behind-the-scenes content on social media
• If you want to sell your film or series idea, start by learning to write a pitch deck

There are countless examples, but the bottom line is you need to focus on activities that move the needle.

I'm guilty of being a productive procrastinator, where I knew I was working all day, yet I felt like I didn’t get anything done. 

It's easy to get overwhelmed by high-priority projects, put it off, and spend your time on every other task. 

This is why it's been so important for me to differentiate between daily/weekly/monthly/yearly goals, and to revisit them consistently. 

The more relevant skills you acquire, the more likely you are to hit your goals.

Step 3: Set shorter deadlines

You don't need more time, you need a deadline!

The speed of your filmmaking success is set by the speed that you make moves. 

It's so easy to get caught in the planning stage.

This is the biggest mistake I've personally seen from talking with hundreds of creatives, directors, producers, and filmmakers last year.

Perfectionism might feel like pre-requisite for high achievement, but I've found it actually comes at a major cost with lost opportunities.

Don't let perfectionism stop you from your potential.

Your ideas have a better chance of happening out in the world than stuck on your computer screen.

Action Steps & Summary

Here's how I work smarter (not harder) to create a productive and profitable filmmaking career:

1. Write down and track your filmmaking goals

2. Break down your goals into tangible skills

3. Set shorter deadlines