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Tag: nature

Nov12024

What I Learned About a Film Career from Bloomin’ Flowers

In short: Flowers blossom at different rates… and some blossom more than once per calendar year.

Going for a walk recently, a local magnolia is in bloom for the second time this year and it looks lovely. Again! But as with any blooming shrub, I notice that not all flowers blossom at the same time. Some buds become ‘early adopters,’ opening up and announcing their colour to the world while others stay as buds a while longer before opening up and shining their colour. Neither flower is more beautiful than the other, they just have different timing.

So too, I’ve noticed with freelance film careers. Some folk manage to shine quickly in their given field while others find a longer path to find their niche (and so do their shining later on). Considering that finding your place in the industry is the success, then neither path is more successful than the other, it’s just different timing.

With freelance work being so volatile, that’s a comforting thought. Keep going along your path and find your way. You may not have blossomed yet, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be blossoming soon.

Cheers & a good shoot to you,
Deb

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FYI, the third edition of “Film Production Management 101” is coming to bookstores and online in January 2025, but available now for pre-order (e.g. on Amazon, Amazon Canada, Indigo-Chapters).

Jan12010

A Comforting Sign Along The Way

1-way-pathWouldn’t it be nice to have the path (read “career path”) laid out in front of you, and a sign such as this one, in the photo, assuring you that you are going the right way!

I think freelance life rarely sees this clarity. Freelance life is choosing the non-path – in this case striking a new path – your own path – in the woods. Yes, it’s hard and scary and lonely to leave the groomed trail – the one that others have prepared before you. With freelance life, you are cutting your own trail. You can visit the groomed path now and then, but you do not have to stay there. Making your own way you will find yourself blessed with living close to your career dreams. And that is as lovely a place to be as it is scary.

Hmmm, I wonder… if you had such a path and sign as this, would you actually choose to follow it?

Best wishes for the new year to you, whatever path you choose!

Cheers,
Deb

Dec112009

Conquering Perfectionism… by Listening to the J-Tree

J-TreeThe film industry strives for excellence, but it’s a very small step to start striving for perfectionism instead. We want every word in the script, every frame in the camera to be perfect.

Remember, however, that perfectionism is unachieveable – at least if you want to achieve it all the time. Striving for the impossible can leave you forever disappointed in yourself and others. In extreme cases, you may never complete a task because the outcome will never be good enough for you. At the end of the day, you will be very weary.

To conquer perfectionism, I found the answer in Nature. A walk in the forest and you’ll see all kinds of organized chaos. Trees seems to grow haphazardly; some grow right on top of fallen ones, ignoring the rich soil beside. Trees grow crookedly – like this “J-tree” here in the photo. And yet, it works. It’s beautiful. It’s excellence. It’s as close to perfection as it needs to be. It’s real.

So, you don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be real. For those who understand the weight of striving for perfectionism… what a relief, eh?

Cheers,
Deb