You can’t film that documentary

If I had a penny every time somebody said that to me, I’d be a millionaire by now. 

But you can’t film that often means “I don’t want you to film that” which is often followed by “you might offend someone”. And I suppose a lot of documentary makers who also hold down fulltime jobs get  “you can’t film that because it’s a conflict of interest” 

Well, to be honest it’s all bullshit and you can make a documentary on what ever you want and the more I hear those words “You Can’t”, the more I see it as a challenge and makes my hunger even more.

Making documentaries is about supplying the world with information about a certain topic in order to expand people’s knowledge and if need be, for those people to challenge or accept your view. 

Those who say “you can’t” either have their own interests at heart and are scared you’ll tell the world something they didn’t know about them or their friends, corporation etc. Or they are those type of people who don’t have a creative bone in their body and just like to make everything awkward for everyone who doesn’t fit into their world. 

I mean, if David Attenborough didn’t film planet earth because someone said “You Can’t”. We would have missed some of the most astonishing footage ever filmed on a subject that most of us will never have the chance to experience in real life. But because he and his crew ignored the “You can’t” and replaced it with “You Can”, our view of the world is that bit more enhanced and our knowledge base is expanded.

What ever subject you decide to film . Ignore the words “You Can’t” and replace it with “You Can”. The moment you do that, you can call yourself a filmmaker.