Eamon O’Rourke is a director, screenwriter, and producer who’s made several films, including; The Bad Batch, Asking for It, and others. Eamon has a lot of tips to share with anyone interested in film, filmmaking, or the industry. Here are just five things he wishes he knew before he started:

1) Filmmaking is a long-term thing, preparations should be at the peak:

Eamon O’Rourke says, filmmaking is a long-term thing, and if you don’t have the discipline to stay in shape, it can be a hard slog. If you’re not prepared, you won’t make good choices and will fail.

2) Take control and let the financiers not interfere with the process:

Eamon says that when he started getting funding for his films, he had a hard time controlling the money. He says that some financiers would require O’Rourke to hand over creative control, but he knew this was a risk he didn’t want to take. Instead, he worked with people who could not meddle or have creative control over his films and could get financing and make the films he wanted.

3) Believe in yourself, avoid doubts and be open to learning:

Eamon O’Rourke says that most important thing he has learned regarding filmmaking is the ability to learn new things. Eamon says it has been beneficial in his career as a filmmaker to work with so many different people and find people with many different experiences. He adds that believing in yourself and not having doubts is important.

4) Never benchmark your success to those of others:

O’Rourke says he has seen many people compare their accomplishments or failures to those around them. It doesn’t make sense to him because everyone will have their own path and journey in life. He says one must focus on and trust oneself instead of looking at others for inspiration or motivation.

5) Experimenting and learning is unending this are things that should be continuous:

Eamon says that in filmmaking, one must experiment with new things and learn how to find the proper process. He says there will always be something new to learn, so no matter how long you do it, you will always find a way to grow as a filmmaker. He adds that the most important thing is to work hard and not get discouraged by failure. All one has to do is keep working hard, and eventually, success will come.