4 steps to making it

Everything worth doing is difficult. I bet you can count on a few fingers the good things that happened in your life that truly molded you into the person you are. Now, compare that to the number of situations you had to actually work through that shaped you. Work is a good thing. We make more than just pretty images.

Some actionable items you can actually accomplish

This is all about a simple formula to make a difficult task possible. Here are 4 things to do every week to make you a better filmmaker.

1. Read one screenplay every week. If you’re going to make a film its a good habit to get good at making translatable pictures from words on a page. After all a script is the blueprint for making a visual story.

2. Find ONE inspirational piece everyday, 7 a week. Be intentional about the things you watch. Don’t just be a viewer. If you like something you see, figure out why and take note. All good work is born out of other good work. “Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists Steal” -Picasso. I am in the incessant habit of making copies of all the work I see that I aspire to. Scenes, images, commercials, songs etc, its all fair game and I make sure to make an offline copy of it for reference. Evernote, your smart phone and Keepvid.com are your friends here.

3. Get out and make something. Don’t get 98% finished with a project and not finish it. Finish it, get out of it what you need to and move on. You’re not going to make an award winning product with every project… be okay with that. Practice does make perfect, but do it with a goal in mind (link here to “Get it done”). There are many “project a day (http://makesomething365.blogspot.com)” ideas out there. “You can’t use up creativity, the more you use, the more you have” Maya Angelou.

4. Create a schedule. The good thing about making a small change on a routine basis is the cumulative effect over time is huge. Try to set aside 2 hours everyday for structured tasks. Or, Try to spend 15 min out of every hour working on “non-work projects” or “research/inspiration”. House of Sticks realizes the best work comes from people who feel like their cups are full and the can give out of the overflow.

As creative people we tend to be bad about being structured but the best creativity comes from structure and constraints.