The Importance of No in Film
No doesn't mean never. It just means not this time.
No is such an important word. It is a clear cut answer that should be more widely accepted, especially in the film world. When it comes to making projects, not everyone can be available for everything. Scheduling can and will be a nightmare more than it won’t be, and that is ok. As everyone grows in their career, they will become busier and busier and that should be applauded.
What this means for you as a filmmaker is that there will be people that will tell you no when it comes to your projects, and it’s important to remember that this doesn’t mean the person that said no never wants to work with you, it just means they can’t then and there. This isn’t a problem everyone struggles with, but the most important takeaway from this is that it is perfectly ok for you to say no to things too.
It is easy to get lost in working continuously until your shoes fall off, and that is extremely unhealthy. You have to allow yourself to choose the priorities and work you want to to focus on and not get lost in trying to take everything on. Find a good flow of work and rest, because just because a no comes up to start with, doesn’t mean you can’t work with those people again.
Follow up with people you have interest working with. Contact that person from a set years ago you felt you learned a lot from and update them on how you've grown. Contact a friend you haven’t been on set with in a while and see if they want to do that test shoot you’ve always wanted to do. Dust of that section of the contact list that only gets added to when someone new is met on set and never spoken to besides “hey this is…” to only save the number. There is nothing wrong with doing this, and honestly they may say no, but you’ll never get a yes.
Sometimes times don’t align. Sometimes it feels like everyone is telling you no, potentially even yourself, but as long as you remember that no doesn’t mean never, you’ll be able to prepare when the time comes around that things will go the way they need to.