“If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.”

― Betty Reese

I LOVE this quote, which came at a timely moment, when the whole family was being extremely British, desperately trying to enjoy a holiday in France whilst is poured with rain daily, and we got eaten alive by mosquitos! But it’s so true. Get trapped in a room with one tiny, buzzing annoying mozzy and by morning you are covered with the itchy lasting effects of its midnight feast. Tiny, but bloody effective.

Working from home in a small village in Norfolk, it’s very easy to feel insignificant, small and like you are a tiny spec trying to make an impact in an oversaturated and colossal industry. In a moment of excitement and passion, you imagine audiences worldwide watching your creations and touching peoples lives, and the next moment, you remember your surroundings and the four walls of your small office that house such big dreams. It’s easy to talk yourself out of continuing and talk yourself down from the top of the tall poppy you have become in your head. Because, come on, can one small team of filmmakers, with big dreams really make an impact?

Well, yes, actually. I do believe they can. 

You only need to experience the feeling of making an impact once, for it to drive your next journey and venture. Each time you make something that creates a splash of engagement, no matter how long that engagement lasts or how far reaching it is, it’s enough to spur you on to do it again. Maybe the next one will be a bit bigger, or will travel a bit further. This feeling is so positive and contagious. Mostly fuelled by the genuine love of creating a lasting feeling with your audience - and what an amazing feeling it is too - and maybe a sprinkling of ego and narcissism.

I realised not too long ago that I am someone who requires verbal affirmation. A good pat on the back, a gold star or a “Rach, you did a great job here!”. It seems so juvenile! Like a child being rewarded for colouring inside the lines. But these affirmations spur me on and give me the confidence to go into the next project with my head held high and raring to take on something bigger and more challenging the next time round. A basic concept, but it works.

For others, this vote of confidence is harder to achieve and cannot be so easily boosted by such simple notions as kind words and encouraging peer feedback. They set the bar so high for themselves, that their view of success is hard to achieve and will only come from true, authentic audience acceptance of their work. Anything less goes only skin deep and wares off almost instantly. Even financial reward, although helpful, doesn’t cut it. These people want to be that annoying mosquito, leaving a lasting effect on you for days and weeks to come; a daily reminder of what their work has achieved! Rich, like many writers, directors and creatives, wants mosquito style lasting effects, (caveat: with zero blood sucking and biting!) They want to get under your skin, trigger your emotions and have you talking about how their film and storytelling impacted them, to anyone who listens. Hopefully these people are slightly less annoying than a mozzy, but I cannot guarantee it. 

When we finish a project on time and on budget, I am delighted. Job done. Box ticked. Next! But the impact that film has is what drives Richards sense of achievement, and we are lucky enough (and have worked hard enough) to have created many projects that have really resonated with audiences over the lifespan of SubMotion so far.

Being British, it is impolite and crass to brag about successes, accolades and awards - a very interesting topic, because where is the line that shouldn’t be crossed? - but for the sake of getting my point across, I wanted to share a comment left on YouTube from one of our short films. It really encompasses everything we want to achieve as filmmakers. Who knows what lasting effect this film had on this viewer, but in the moment of writing this comment, it was powerful:

“Just sat down with my morning coffee and decided to watch this...just when I get to a point in life where I am not sure there is any good left in the world...I really needed this - like a little angel tapping me on my shoulder…” -  @SqueakyBarbarian, YouTube.

Comments like this have literally kept us going when times have felt rough, they are a constant reminder that what you are doing, has purpose. Film is such an amazing way of waking up peoples emotions, getting viewers thinking, riled up, inspired, tense, angry, frustrated, loving, and above all empathetic. 

If like us, you can effectively awaken the feelings in your viewers, all over the world, from your small office in the arse end of nowhere, with your small team and your zero budgets and nay sayers. 

Then you too, are one badass mosquito. 

Comments that fuel progression!

I had great fun going back over comments and reviews to find a few nuggets of joy that keep us pushing forward. I highly recommend you think about all the positive comments you have garnered over the years and keep them stored mentally or in a space you can re-visit, for when you need a little reminder and pick up.