All You Can Learn Buffet
When I was in junior college, I fretted that I still didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I felt like every day I spent 'wandering' was a day wasted; another day behind on life.
I had ideas of what I wanted; maybe I'd get into web design or maybe photography. So I did the stereotypical college thing and bounced around from concentration to concentration. I took photo classes, I took graphic and web design classes, but nothing really grabbed me.
Then I took a film class. It was my second year of junior college and it was then that I realized this is what I'd like to do; that I'd like to make movies as my personally fulfilling work and career. So I took more film classes, learned a lot about film and filmmaking. And because it's my primary interest and passion, I still am always trying to learn more and more so I can further improve my work.
I want to act primarily; that's my preference. But I also have ideas for movies, so I write and direct films too. Just recently, and for the first time, someone asked me direct a short film they had written! I also do some cinematography; I enjoy trying to capture the visual imagery of a film but it's not my highest skill set, other's can do better and have more equipment than just the bare essentials on hand. I edit films; generally for my own work and reels but it's a skill I can bring to any project if needed. I also use my attention to detail and powers of organization to produce films; help colleagues bring together the elements of production so the magic of film can happen.
But about those classes I took before I found my passion for film; even though they felt like a waste when I was in college, they actually proved beneficial to supplementing my film work. It's because of the foundation of those classes that I am able to build my own websites, design my own film posters, and, if necessary, shoot my own headshots.
Though I want to focus on acting, I have all these other film and non-film skills that help me promote myself and build up my name; ideally sending it out into the world with the reputation of a good, hard worker with a wide array of skills and knowledge.
You learn about yourself in the process of seeking out knowledge. What you like. What you don't like. I find myself enjoying video editing somewhat; I like it to the point of editing my films, making reels, and other small tasks, however, I don't find myself eager to learn much about executing complex and time-consuming editing effects. Perhaps it's merely a matter of necessity; when a project comes along that needs a flying character, teleportation, two of the same character in a shot, or lightning, I have buckled down and taken on the task; I just might not be the perfect guy for the effects driven editing job. It's certainly not an aspect I'm deeply passionate about. [Yes, I edited those. Yes, that is a fat me co-starring.]
[Oh, one more note, that teleportation cut...wow that is smooth! I don't think I've been able to achieve anything quite like that since, unfortunately. Truly, my white whale is clean scene transitions like that.]
Gather all the knowledge you can but recognize where you lose interest; you don't have to do it all. Personally, I would love to draw better but the patience I need to improve and learn outweighs my interest. However, when I wanted to build a better website for my acting work, I was much more eager to hop online and seek out more advanced information and tutorials on coding to execute what I desired.
The point of all this is to encourage your own self reliance; everything you can do for yourself means it's just going to be done quicker and done just how you want it because it's your hands building it.
There's little else on this Earth you'll find more valuable than something you did yourself.
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