Letting go

I was watching a clip from an interview the other day. The interview was with Samuel L Jackson and he was being asked to give advice to up and coming actors or want-to-be actors, and what he said made me think. I won't go into how he laid it all out, because I don't completely remember it, but what it boiled down to was 'give up on your expectations and do it for the sake of doing it.' I want to note that it was give up on your expectations, not give up on your dreams. Because a lot of people don't realize how their expectations hinder them in chasing their dreams.

Really what he was saying, echos something that I see in these types of interviews a lot and it centers on the fact that people, in all walks of life, have certain expectations about doing things and succeeding at doing things. And when reality doesn't align with those expectations it makes it easy to give up, or quit. Another actor I listened to talked about the actors that basically say, 'I'll give a try for a few years' and he said, if that's your attitude, save yourself the two or three years and figure out what you want to do. Now in these cases they were talking about acting, but it is true in a lot of fields ... art, writing, music, sports, business, investment, careers in general.

My script writing professor in college on day one had us go around the room, saying what we wanted, not just from the class, but from learning script writing, what was our ambition with the skill, and as people answered he wrote the answers up on the board. Some of the answers were, fame, wealth, have a script made into a movie, learn story structure, learn character development, finish a degree. (The story structure answer was me for the record). Once everyone was done, he circled Fame and Wealth and then crossed them out saying, 'If you're here for these reasons, do yourself a favor now and go find something else' and then he circled 'have a script made into a movie' and said 'if you want to do this, or want to learn to tell better stories, I'll be happy to teach you what I know.' He continued saying 'because if your focus is on becoming famous or wealthy it's much more likely that you will become discouraged and fail, but if you focus on the craft of telling a great story, then it's much more likely that you might find wealth or fame.'

 The problem with it is expectation, if your expectation is that you're going to be famous, if that is your focus, then every time you fail to live up to that your likely going to lose a little more drive, doubly so if you see someone else get a break ... more over when you are focused on fame or money, you're more likely to try and make what you think will sell or be popular, which likely means that what you create will end up just one of hundreds or thousands of others almost just like it.

In any creative endeavor, create to create. Create for you, write the story that's in your heart even if (possibly especially if) you can't imagine that anyone wants to read it. Write the music that you want to hear, the lyrics you want to sing. Paint what speaks to you, take pictures of what catches your eye and sparks your imagination. Because if YOU love it, if you love making it, you'll improve at it, you'll learn and get better because you want to make it better, you'll create and polish your creation and it will shine. Then the next one will be better as you take what you learned and start from a better place, and you'll learn and improve and polish. 

I won't say that if you do it you'll absolutely become famous and rich, but I will say that if you're doing whatever you do because you love it, you're more likely to stick with it through the hard times and, thus, increase your chances of coming out better on the other side than if you were just doing it for money. Because if I've learned anything it's that if you care about the result then nothing is ever easy, because things are only easy if you don't care about the result ... and if YOU don't care about the result ... neither will anyone else. 

The Importance of ....

 ... To be honest I've got a couple of things bouncing around in my head today, so I honestly have no idea where this is likely to go. For those that don't know me, I work in the film industry, so a lot of what sparks my rants lately have to do with that. Not specific issues, but broader things, like the issues I discussed last ramble ... the shift in focus in Hollywood from making movies to making money (and really the shift in businesses ... specifically large corporations, which is what most studios have become). 

I've been working in this industry for ... well it will be 30 years later this year so I'm just going to start calling it 30 years. I've seen a lot of change in my time. The rise of digital audio from the reel to reel audio recorders, the move to high definition, the death of film (Ok, ok, there's still some film being shot, but let's be honest, there's still people shooting on VHS if you look for them ... While I still honestly believe that there is a look to film that digital doesn't quite capture, the medium is basically no longer a mainstay in the industry) and the rise of purely digital production. "AI" being the latest big change in the workflow, but I'm not going to talk about THAT elephant at the moment, however.

It's, honestly, one of the things that I love about my job. The constant change, the evolution. Encountering new processes and workflows, finding the flaws and coming up with solutions. Learning new tech and figuring out how to best integrate it into the current workflows, or sometimes how to manage something similar without the expensive new toys.

There are two pieces of advice that I give to every student tour, young new hire, or anyone else interested in starting in the industry. The first is to make 100 percent sure that you love it before you commit to it, because this industry does not tolerate half measures. And secondly I don't care where you're going to school, focus on internships (the Professors don't always care for that one, but it's true).

 Students will occasionally ask me why. The answer is simple, experience. Internships told me that I really DIDN'T want to try and be a DP. Not that I didn't enjoy working with the cameras, setting up shots, and the artistic part of that job, but it showed me that I HATED working on set and in production. It also gave me experience in parts of the industry that I hadn't considered. And when it came time to get INTO the industry it was that experience that got me that first job, not fancy film degree I had ... and that was a job in a city where I didn't know anyone, where I had no connections in the industry and was at just about every disadvantage you can have starting out as a result.

This is very much a networking industry, knowing someone, getting a reference from them, or a suggestion of who to call or contact is the primary source of finding work, particularly early on. Internships give you connections and, more importantly, gets you connections that have experience with you in the working environment. Meeting people that you don't know at a networking event is all well and good, but the chances of them giving you a referral or a reference from that meeting are slim. If they're looking for someone and you just met them recently, maybe you'll get a leg up as you are fresh in their thoughts .... if they don't have names with better references already in line.

But I can tell you ... it isn't just about getting an internship and showing up. No. Show interest, ask questions, pay attention and show it. Interns, obviously, are often given the errands, understand that a lot of jobs start that way and own it, if you're frequently getting coffee for someone at the same time each day, have it ready for them, the way they like it, before they ask for it. Don't have an assigned task at the moment, ask someone if they mind if you just hang out and watch, or, if you see someone is busy, ask if there's something you can help them with. Be willing to learn things outside the area that you think you want to go into. First, learning is always good. Secondly, you might find another interest.

If you show an interest in learning, attention to detail, and a proactive approach to helping out. You will distinguish yourself to the people you're working with and it will put you on a short list. More than that, the industry is small, and even if where you had your internship doesn't have work for you right away, they may suggest a contact at another company or reach out to see if their other contacts are looking for anyone. THAT is gold.

I will tell you from experience if I got an email with a resume, I'd look it over and file it under possibilities, but if I got a resume for a prospect from someone that I knew, someone I had worked with in the past or otherwise knew professionally, those resumes went into the call back folder ... that was the folder that was my first go to if none of my personal contacts were available. Why? Because someone that I knew had vouched for them, as opposed to the otherwise random resume that just showed up.

Because here's the thing about a reference or a referral. By giving it they have said that they approve of you, and, to some degree, that is putting their reputation on the line for you, and there are very few that will be willing to do that unless they know that you will be a good fit, that you can do good work. If I recommend someone to my contacts, it's going to be someone that I think will leave them with a positive reflection on me. And if you're the intern that sat around waiting for someone to tell you what they needed done ... you aren't the one I'm recommending.

I know, I know, you're going to film school ... surely you'll just jump into an editor's gig, right ... yeah ... no. Doesn't work that way. You're not getting out of school and editing the next Marvel movie. If you catch a lucky break you might land a post PA position with the edit team. If you do, remember what I told you about getting people coffee. ;)