I want to produce & act in my own films. Need advice

I'm kind of conflicted right now. I'm not sure anyone here can give me some advice on this but if I can get some answers, that would appreciated! Basically I'm in my late 20's and I'm conflicted on how I should pursue this if I choose this is the path that I want to go on. In my heart of hearts I really want to start a production company with someone, where we make our own films, short films, etc. Right now I don't even have know anyone to start it with. I was thinking of taking some acting classes and trying to possibly network with some people like that. Another challenge even if I find people to start this journey with is the promotional aspect.

Youtube is not what it used to be, getting views is umpteenth times harder than it used to be. I honestly have absolutely no idea how anyone gets views anymore, let alone hundreds of thousands? Are people pumping thousands of dollars for promotion or is there some secret formula that I'm missing? I've tried using good tags, thumbnails, and even paid promo (which most of them were fake by the way) and I eventually gave up because I wouldn't get any substantial growth. I really want to do it this way because I just find the whole game of trying to get an agent, than auditioning 5000 thousand times for one yes, on a gig you probably don't even wanna do just to get an opportunity not really worth it in my opinion, especially at my age I just don't see chasing the "holly wood" dream realistic anymore.

I feel like even if I fail i'd find it more fulfilling to create my own stuff but being your own content creator these days is a lot harder because every thing is over saturated as hell. I know this sounds more like a rant but I guess I'm wondering what is the best way to go about an actor who wants to produce and act in his own films but have it be seen. I guess film festivals is one way but I don't know any one who is passionate about this like I am or anyone who is interested in this kind of thing. I also feel like the window is slowly but surely closing because late 20's doesn't seem that old in general but when you're starting again from absolute scratch it kind of is considering the fact that anything you pursue is a slow build. I pissed away most of my youth dealing with mental illness, loneliness and a bunch of other stuff but that's a whole story I won't get into. This is a lot to unpack but I hope I can get some genuine feedback, not troll type answers or condescending vibes. I'm just genuinely trying to get another person's take on my situation

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MarkPaul · 26-30, M

You need to break this down into bite sized chunks. And the first step is to come up with an idea for a film. Create a treatment. Let everything else go until you reach that starter step.

GhangisKhan · 26-30, M

@MarkPaul I already have that. I even have scripts ready to go. I just need to find people who are interested. Coming up with the idea is the easy part. That's the "fun" part. The hard part is finding people as well as the promotional aspect and getting it out there. That's where I'm lost. I also wouldn't want to put all this effort into producing my own stuff just for it to get 10 views online. I have no following which makes it even harder. I don't understand how these youtubers get hundreds thousandths of views. I want to make sure the effort and investment I put in has some kind of return, even if it's not monetary right away.

MarkPaul · 26-30, M

@GhangisKhan Well, do you have equipment? Can you explain your idea in less than 2 seconds? If you have equipment and can shoot a trailer, then you can send it, unsolicited, to studios or get it on youtube. If you can't but have a quick and effective way to get your point across, then you just need to get in front of movie distributors to sell them on your idea.

GhangisKhan · 26-30, M

@MarkPaul Most if not all studios don't accept unsolicited material. Well I have some scripts of like spin off to existing video games and movies, like remakes. I have some original ideas as well. I have shot a trailer before all by myself but again what I'm trying to do probably needs a team but that's a whole other challenge in it of itself. I was thinking of trying to get back into acting classes to try and network with people but than again most of them are trying to become actors the old fashion way and probably have zero intention of starting a production company with someone they barely know. It's a huge commitment. Yeah that's the issue, to get in front of a movie distributor you need connections from the inside. I did find out you could submit your own film or even short film to certain platforms like Appletv which is kind of like netflix , same with amazon but if it just sits there with no promotional machine behind it, doubt it does anything. Equipment I had to sell and return a lot of them because I had quit but it's nothing to get it back. These days getting high quality cameras for decent price is easy. Quality is not the problem, it's getting the people necessary to make this happen. This isn't just something you can up and just do on your own with a camera. It's definitely a team effort. Check them out https://www.youtube.com/@AxiA. This is a prime example of what I want to do.