🎬 Finding direction by doing the work

Jonas Marcel

7d (edited) • 🦄 Let's talk

Starting out as a filmmaker you think you want to do films about "A". (Enter gym vids, sport vids etc)

You start there.

You build the portfolio,

craft the pitch, set up the website.

You're convinced this is "it."

Then you do the work.

And somewhere between the third shoot and the tenth project,

you realize you actually love B. Not A.

B was always hiding in the details—in the way light hits a product, in the rhythm of a different kind of story, in working with clients who excite you in ways you didn't expect.

So you pivot. And then stumble into C.

My A was skateboarding videos

My B was fashion films.

My C was artistic documentary filmmaking.

And it is still evolving.

This is the filmmaker's journey nobody tells you about.

⚠️ The Trap of thinking you need to have it "all figured out" and spend hours over-planning.

Here's what most people do: they figure out what they think they want to do as a filmmaker, then they invest heavily upfront. New website. Logo. Brand guidelines. Marketing funnel. Social media strategy. The whole apparatus. And this is what i did myself.

Six months in, they realize it's not actually "it."

Now they're either stuck doubling down on something that doesn't excite them,

or they're starting over with all that wasted effort.

✅ The Better Way: DO THE WORK FIRST before you build the business around it.

Start free.

Start for passion projects.

Start for friends.

Start for anyone willing to let you experiment.

Why? Because doing reveals truth that planning never will.

When you're actually on set, actually editing, actually talking to clients—that's when you discover what genuinely lights you up versus what you thought would light you up.

Maybe you start making gym videos and realize you're actually obsessed with luxury e-commerce cinematography. Maybe you thought you wanted narrative but you're actually a documentary person. Maybe you think you want to direct but you're really in love with color grading.

The work teaches you.

Planning only guesses.

🎯 The Framework

Shoot what you think you want (film freely, experiment, explore)
Mess around until you figure it out (real work reveals the truth)
Find what actually excites you (through doing, not theorizing)
Start monetizing from there (now you know it's real)
Build your portfolio with real work (not renderings or hypotheticals)
Show that proof to ideal clients (they see you can actually do it)
Increase prices as you prove value (slowly, sustainably)

💭 The Dream 100 Move

Here's a power move most filmmakers skip: write out 100 dream clients.

Anyone in the world. No realism filter yet. The brands, creators, productions, companies you'd be thrilled to work with. The ones that make you go "man, that's the work I want to be making."

Then look for the pattern.

What do they all have in common? What's the throughline? What kind of work are they all doing? What's the aesthetic, the budget level, the industry, the vibe?

That pattern? That's not random. That's you discovering what you actually want to film—not in theory, but through the lens of who excites you.

🚀 Your dream 100 reveals your evolution before you're fully conscious of it.

From Dreams to Reality: The Real 100

Now that you know what excites you, it's time to get real.

Do a Real 100: a list of actual businesses, creators, and brands around that same aesthetic and industry that you could realistically work with right now.

These are the local studios, the up-and-coming brands, the emerging creators, the mid-level production companies. The ones who don't have massive budgets but have real budgets. The ones doing work in that space that's adjacent to your dream 100.

This is where you start. This is where you build proof.

Dream 100 shows you what excites you.

Real 100 shows you where you start.

Then you grow into it.

The difference? By the time you're building your website and marketing, you're not guessing. You've already done the work. You know it's real. You're just packaging something you've already validated.

⏳ The Patience Play

This takes longer than the "get famous overnight" narrative. But it works.

Because evolution isn't failure—it's discovery.

Every filmmaker evolves from what they thought they wanted into what they actually love. The ones who win are the ones who let themselves evolve before they've locked themselves into a brand they don't believe in.

So do the work. For free. For passion. For learning.

Let the evolution happen.

Then build the business.

How did you discover your "thing"

Comment below

7 comments