Storyblocks recently had the opportunity to support an awards event hosted by indie film publication Film Threat. It was so inspiring to hear from and speak with filmmakers who are dedicated to their passion. They deal with the daily challenges that most creators face (like overcoming creative blocks, sometimes hating your own work), plus the enormous task of acquiring funding to bring their stories to life. Once their films are released, they are up against major studios with seemingly unlimited resources and struggle to get their work seen by anyone. The indie film community is active and supportive. They love what they do and have meaningful, unique stories to tell.
My Start as a Creator This all got me thinking back to my early career. I aspired to be in documentary television and envisioned myself traveling the world, telling interesting, beautiful stories for a network like Discovery Channel or BBC. And I wanted to earn a stable income doing it. After graduating from school and spending a few months applying to every production or network job I could find, I was a bit discouraged. I took the safer route and accepted a corporate position where I could utilize my video production skills.
Kaitlyn Rossi, Creative Strategist with Storyblocks
I'm ultimately happy with where my career is today and my place at Storyblocks. I still get the chance to tell stories, edit videos and empower other creators, which is pretty great. And I honestly don't spend time contemplating different choices I could have made that may have landed me closer to my perceived dream. However, things like this awards show, and hearing how hard it is for talented filmmakers to be recognized can be discouraging. It makes me think about how the industry could offer better opportunities to those starting out.
Inclusion in American Film The barriers to entry are even higher for marginalized groups like people of color, women, and LGBTQ . The growing contempt towards the Academy Awards and the lack of diversity in their Oscar nominations year after year is no secret. The industry is painfully slow to course-correct. Parasite, a foreign language film out of South Korea, took home the most awards at the 2020 Oscars this week, including Best Director and Best Picture. However, Ang Lee is the only Asian-American to have ever won in either of those top categories.
At its worst, this sends a harmful message to studios and filmmakers about the types of people and stories that can be successful in Hollywood. There are things the industry leaders (like the Academy) could be doing to address this. For example, Film Threat's Award This! has dedicated categories celebrating Best Directress and Best Indie LGBTQ themed film. Ideally, it would be nice to see more balance in big categories, but acknowledgements like this matter to the conversion.
View this post on Instagram
It was a great night for independent filmmakers. Amara Cash won twice! For Indie LGBTQ and Best Directress. Congrats! #AwardThis #AwardThis2020
A post shared by AwardThis (@awardthis) on Feb 8, 2020 at 9:19am PST
--
The Next Generation of Filmmakers So going back to young filmmakers, we should ask ourselves how the industry can do better for the next generation. How can they make inclusivity a priority? Can they offer more opportunities to those getting started that don't involve doing coffee runs to pay their dues ? Can the explosive growth of streaming and self-serve content platforms create more space and opportunity? We should all be challenging the norm.
Some sources suggest that today, 43% of salaries in the film industry pay between $21k $34k annually. However, top-earning executives make millions per project. The gap is tremendous. There are creative, passionate people who don't go to elite film schools in Los Angeles or New York, or who can't afford to work grueling PA jobs for low wages. There are experienced video professionals who have developed skills working for themselves or running successful YouTube channels. These people have value to add to film, and the industry can do better at including them. If you want to see more diversity in stories told through film, diversify the people who are telling them.
There are two things I was taught in school, aspiring to enter the creative arts that really stuck with me - develop a thick skin, and manage your career expectations. The second was a real bummer. It's an elite industry without many spots, and I don't think that means the best of the best succeed. Sometimes it's the most fortunate, even luckiest, who prevail. It's not a healthy standard for the film industry to uphold, and my hope is that the next generation of filmmakers and creatives won't need to experience it.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
15/11/2026
Can VideoProc AI Really Reduce Noise and Enhance Blurry, Old Footage? Real-World...
14/11/2026
Longtime MLB Network employee David Maybrown passed away Thursday at the age of 57. David joined MLB Network in 2009 shortly after its launch, beginning as an i...
14/11/2026
Modular innovators introduce two guitar-based products
ADDAC System's recently introduced Four String Series makes it possible to integrate physical str...
14/11/2026
Marcelo Dai's Live Session Captured with URSA Cine Immersive
Brie Clayton November 14, 2026
0 Comments
Artist takes viewers on an immersive journe...
14/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
14/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
14/11/2026
Newest Lenses, Horizon Anamorphic Seminar & Guided Lens Character Experience Highlight Creative Possibilities
At the 2026 Toru CAMERIMAGE Film Festival, ZEISS...
14/11/2026
Sonnet Announces Black Friday Sale on Select Products
Brie Clayton November 14, 2026
0 Comments
WHAT: Sonnet Technologies is having a sale on a select...
14/11/2026
Berklee Alumni Shine at the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards This year's winners included songwriters, engineers, and performers who contributed to acclaimed reco...
13/11/2026
The UIM E1 Series wraps its third season this week with the Bombay Sapphire E1 Miami GP, Nov. 11-14, on Biscayne Bay at the Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island...
13/11/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
13/11/2026
Singer-songwriter Benson Boone will headline entertainment for the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles St...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone, a 7th order ambisonic microphone array that captures spatial audio for immersive video prod...
13/11/2026
SMPTE has announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infrastructure and communications technology for the Solutions Hub at t...
13/11/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the theme and program focus for the 2027 HPA Tech Retreat, which takes place Feb. 14-18, 2027, in La ...
13/11/2026
Football Manager 27 Touch is available on Apple Arcade starting today. The game ...
13/11/2026
MotoGP has announced a two-year media rights agreement with ESPN covering the Un...
13/11/2026
Apple Sports, the free iPhone app, has added the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to its lineup of supported sports, in time for Saturday's UFC 334. The...
13/11/2026
The NBA and Fanatics Studios, the joint venture between Fanatics and entertainme...
13/11/2026
ESPN held its annual EDGE Innovation Conference last night and offered up an ove...
13/11/2026
Regional sports network gives Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland students a platform to thrive
One of the biggest games in Division III college football will be pla...
13/11/2026
Studer-inspired 500-series PWM compressor unveiled
The HLabs range already includes a couple of Studer-inspired offerings in the form of the PRE169 and EQ16...
13/11/2026
Download Now!
To view the white paper, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name
Company*
Country* Please select your countryA...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Blue Lucy, the workflow orchestration and integration platform for broadcasters, rights owners and localisation companies, today announced an integration with c...
13/11/2026
Krotos announces Black Friday offers on Studio Pro and Studio Max
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
First-year annual plans start at US$195.99...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
New 7th order ambisonic microphone with 108 MEMS...
13/11/2026
Meet the Berklee Student Setting Planetary Motion to Music With his compositional platform SoniKosmos, Javier Roqueni aims to make the universe the ultimate i...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud company, today announced a partnership with Golden Times Media Technology (stock code 920021.BJ), a Beijing-based media and tech...
13/11/2026
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world, together with its Malaysian partner, Cedar ...
13/11/2026
SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infra...
13/11/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, will present its software-first approach to DRAM optimization at Android TV APAC Summit 2026 in Bang...
13/11/2026
Beginning today, November 13, Apple HomeView is available for purchase at Apple Store locations, on the Apple Store online, and in the Apple Store app in select...
13/11/2026
From pediatric research to smart hospitals, AI is helping care teams spend less time on routine tasks and more time with patients.
Health systems and startups...
12/11/2026
Industry leaders examine how Dynamic Media Facility, Media eXchange Layer, and c...
12/11/2026
The junior Tar Heel is embracing the technical and creative challenges of live production while emerging as a leader and mentor in the control room...
Storyblocks recently had the opportunity to support an awards event hosted by indie film publication Film Threat. It was so inspiring to hear from and speak with filmmakers who are dedicated to their passion. They deal with the daily challenges that most creators face (like overcoming creative blocks, sometimes hating your own work), plus the enormous task of acquiring funding to bring their stories to life. Once their films are released, they are up against major studios with seemingly unlimited resources and struggle to get their work seen by anyone. The indie film community is active and supportive. They love what they do and have meaningful, unique stories to tell. 
