There are a million colleges and people out there trying to sell you their courses. Before you buy in, see what they’ve done and what they’re doing. . . It’s not the only criteria by any means and there are plenty of professionals who are awful teachers and their experiences
Dealing with writer’s block can be really frustrating, especially if you’re in a deadline. Someone’s taking a break a coming back to it helps. The best solution is to have found is to start putting ideas down. Maybe it’s not what I end up going with, but eliminating things
The film and music world is a small place. If you’re going to be critical, be careful who you’re saying it to. Additionally, I’d recommend being a bit charitable to whomever you’re criticizing. Often people get stuck doing things they may not want to be doing in this business to
In the Entertainment you can’t take things personally. As long as you know you auditioned well for a gig, you’ve done what you can and should have. . . People will remember a good audition, someone who was easy to work with, and delivered. Be easy going and keep at it.
It’s easy for indie filmmakers to get caught up in where we’re at in the industry as well as in our career. You’re not a failure cause you haven’t worked on high end projects. There are plenty of people who work on top tier films who are only a few steps away from being jobless.
As an introvert, I struggled to network in the film industry. I had to really push myself to come out of my shell and do outreach. It’s still something I have to push myself to do. Some strategies I’ve found helpful: (share more in the comments, it might help someone else) . .
Every movie I work on has at least one memorable line that I quote to my wife. I wanted to revisit some of them. This is from my 3rd feature I ever did, but the last line is 🤌🏻. . . Any lines that stick with you through the years from projects you’ve worked on?
“What’s the worst that could happen?” Is the most freeing sentence that I got from a teacher during college. As an artist, we often struggled with fear and self doubt. But asking myself this question allows me to put things in perspective. Need to each out to an important person
As a freelance creative, it’s absolutely essential you have collarborators who are pushing you to be better. Maybe it’s a client, coworker, colleague, someone. . . I know it’s been essential for me to find my voice and push into styles I may not have thought I could do.
We make time for the things that are important to us. Yes, I do have 6 kids and one of the things that it’s made me realize is how much I didn’t prioritize my time before having them. If you have been putting off something with that rationale, really take the time to look at
I’m optimistic about the entertainment industry’s future. I know it’s rocky for most right now, but anecdotally I’ve heard and seen about a lot of activity getting rolling. More slates filling up and crews starting to get rolling. . . Keep on pushing and we’ll get there. Just
Setting boundaries with friends and family can be really tricky. Too many times I’ve seen resentment and relationships destroyed over work squabbles. It’s okay to set boundaries and not work with certain people. It’s okay to choose to not work with family. . . If you happen to
You don’t learn ask much from success as you do from failure. Even in your successes, there are mistakes we can learn from. The more projects you’re putting out the more opportunities you have to learn. When I first started I had to have my space setup in a very specific way to
Look at us, 2 film workers. Filmmaking takes all strikes and all kinds of skill sets. Our skills are complimentary and needed. I guess maybe we should learn a few more things 😂
Especially as a filmmaker, I try to be charitable to specific artists/departments on movies. You have no idea the work or time constraints, working conditions, notes they were given. Especially at the studio level, you get notes by committee and who knows why that steel drum
Sending in a demo or audition that only emulates what a project is asking for is FINE, but ideally we have to find a way to stand out. Projects will get the stereotypical down the middle demos over and over. They may not remember that shade of green in the 30 other shades of
Being talented isn’t everything. There are tremendously talented people, who are constantly flaking and leaving creatives and clients in a lurch. Be there for your clients, make sure they’re taken care of, and hit the deadlines and you’ll be okay in this business. No promises