# Independent

We all have the same $25, so why is my film not receiving accolades? It must be because I’m a failure as an artist and not because I didn’t get $20,000 worth of in-kind loans or volunteer labor offered by a cast and crew with expensive training and access to equipment.

Mark broke down creative struggles into three main stages—the creatively crashed, the creatively frustrated, and the creatively excited (albeit a bit directionless)—before providing ideas on how to push through each stage.

Best practices are not to entirely depend on your friends and family but for your first campaign or two, it’s largely unavoidable. So what can you do if your starting “crowd” is broke?