Filmmaking Focus

Not everyone shared Jim Burer’s vision and dream to become a filmmaker. In fact, there were many people who doubted his decision and thought that he was wasting both time and money on a project that he probably would not see through to the end.

“There are very few people in my life that have seen wisdom in my decisions and wholeheartedly supported me,” said Burer. “Some of it was justified. Perhaps I’m just one of those guys that’s not quite grounded. However, my decision to become a filmmaker was where I knew I was right.”

In spite of the negative reactions he received on becoming a filmmaker, Burer persevered and has proved that he can make films to those that doubted him but most importantly to himself. In the seven years since he first started pursuing his dream of filmmaking, he has finished several short films and has three “professional” completed shorts under his belt. He has also worked in a couple of post production projects and worked with another filmmaker in a year-long project that produced 11, 5 minute short films.

Burer describes his style as flexible. “My very first short played at the Atlanta Film Festival where it was reviewed as ‘Southern Gothic,’ explained Burer. “Lately, however, I’ve begun to do music videos where that term wouldn’t even come close to applying. I do however consider my life experience a very important part of each thing I do, which is exclusively southern based.”

Not having enough money to fund his ventures was only one of the challenges facing Burer when he decided to “shape this thing called life into something [he] really wanted to do.” A second job and some loans from family took care of the financial challenges of producing a film but there was something else that only life experience and the triumphs and trials of producing a film could replace.

“I didn’t go to film school…school has the great advantage of letting you be surrounded by peers who have the same interest and hopefully the same motivation to accomplish something,” said Burer. “I feel like I’m out here all by myself figuring things out and never quite building a creative partnership that will challenge and develop me the way a school environment can.”

Burer is a true self-taught filmmaker that has learned the ropes by jumping in head first. “The best thing I’ve done to increase my education is to read actual scripts and to break movies down scene by scene,” he said. “I also make a point of analyzing why films don’t work. I read bad scripts and break down bad movies scene by scene too.”

Burer says that his biggest challenge as a filmmaker has been to communicate concepts in his films without using words. “I wrote some of the stupidest dialogue at first because I didn’t know how to express what I wanted to express without explicitly stating it. It was awful.”

Like many other filmmakers, Burer gets a sense of accomplishment from seeing his work showcased in film festivals. He has yet to win any awards but does not really feel that winning is the most important thing to be gained from a festival. He looks at festivals as a sort of affirmation that he has created something that is appreciated by others and is flattered that they are willing to pay for it.

For the most part, Burer creates his films to be showcased on his website, www.angusgroove.com and takes pride in what he has accomplished. “I may not always succeed at this, but when I take on a project, it’s personal. It gives me strength to keep it going through the slow times and to create in situations that can be quite difficult.”