A recap of episode 85 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Ron Dawson the power of storytelling, putting in the work, and learning on the fly among many other things.
Ron Dawson‘s earliest experience with film came through a time traveling caper film he created when he was a kid. Unfortunately, like many creatives, “real life” aspirations took over.
Instead of following his passion for film, he followed his interest in business. Ron’s first endeavor in business was attempting to buy and sell businesses with his cousin. Although this idea did not work out, it gave him a taste of the business world.
After failing to launch his business buying venture, and graduating with a business degree from UC Berkley, Ron got a job at Screen Play Systems. After some time there, he later moved up to become a business manager at Intuit.
While working for these different businesses, Ron was also working as a wedding videographer on the side. This was a pivotal crossroads for him. He could either continue with his six-figure salary, or he could venture out on his own. Instead of continuing to work at a high paying job he didn’t love, he chose to do a job he did love, making films.
In this episode Ron talks about the power of storytelling, putting in the work, and learning on the fly among many other things.
Here are three things you can learn from Ron:
Tell Stories with Your Work
One of the things that sets artists apart is their ability to tell a great story. Stories give your work meaning. They impact your audience in a way that your work can’t do on its own.
Ron believes his ability to tell a story set his work apart from other wedding videographers. Instead of just documenting the wedding, he got to the emotional truth of the moment.
“There is a documented truth in the images that you capture because this is what happened on that day, but I would argue that it’s not an emotional truth of what happened, but then you take those same emotions… and you kind of reduce them down to their core essence and you edit it in a way that flows like a story… and instead of an entire 60 minute Catholic ceremony… you just have the poignant parts of it and all those kinds of things that punch the emotion and you show that in such a way that anyone who watches it will be moved… then that has a more ringing of emotional truth.”
The ability to tell a good story allows you to connect with anyone, even if they aren’t naturally connected to what’s happening on camera. Ron realized that anyone can document an event, but not everyone can tell a story that makes an impact.
“The emotional truth of the day is that this is a day that moved people to tears or to laughter or to whatnot, and the best way to capture that and instill that in people who are not that emotionally connected naturally is through storytelling and music and the kind of things that filmmakers have used for a hundred years in order to tell stories.”
Being able to tell a story through your art makes a huge difference. It allows you to connect directly to the moment.
“It makes a huge difference the way that you deliver and tell a story in terms of being able to communicate a message or like I said, an emotional truth.”
Put in the Work Before You Think You’re Ready
I’ve talked a lot about how the perfect moment does not exist. It’s a lie we tell ourselves so we don’t have to put in the effort. But you will never get anywhere if you continue to wait for the perfect moment. You just have to walk through that open door when the opportunity presents itself.
“As you do projects like that, ideas come up and the industry evolves, opportunities and doors are opened, and so it’s about doing that kind of stuff, and being mindful of the doors that open, and walking through them when you have the opportunity to do so.”
Don’t wait until you have the right amount of money or equipment for the job. There is no right formula. The perfect moment doesn’t exist. Get started where you are with what you have.
“I think a lot of creatives want to wait… until they have all the money that they need or they want to wait until they have all the equipment that hey need. They’re always waiting for just the right time or just the right formula and you can’t wait. You just have to start working on it.”
The best way to make progress with your business is by building momentum and learning by doing. Don’t make excuses. Just do the work.
“You need to actually get the momentum and start doing the thing you want to do, and then start learning along the way. But it’s the momentum of doing it, because you can always find excuses as to why you can’t or shouldn’t.”
Learn and Do
We’re all guilty of placing blame for why we haven’t found success as artists. One excuse we like to use is saying we don’t know enough. “I don’t know how to do that” is a phrase commonly heard among artists.
The only way to learn is by doing. You have to put yourself out there. Like Ron says, if you want to be a filmmaker, start making films.
“Always be learning anyway, but going back to that Pressfield quote about putting your ass where your heart wants to be, go out and start doing it. If you want to be a filmmaker, start shooting, start making films. This is going to be the number one piece of advice any filmmaker is going to tell you… if you want to be a filmmaker, start making films.”
I know everyone wants to be prepared before they get started. But you can’t prepare for everything. There are some things you can only learn by doing. You have to learn as you go.
“Start making something and learning how to make it and kind of learn as you go. Don’t feel like you have to learn everything at once.”
The point is that you have everything at your disposal to become a successful creative. Stop making excuses for why you can’t do something. If you truly want something, you have to put in the effort to achieve it.
“It’s so easy with all the tools at our disposal to do any kind of creative endeavor online now or offline. There’s no excuse whatsoever. Price is not an excuse. Time is not an excuse. There is no excuse to not just get out and start doing whatever it is you that you want to do.”
A recap of episode 84 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Brett Michael Innes where he talks about adapting to your situation, why mentorship is powerful, and not letting fear get the best of you.
Brett Michael Innes didn't know if he would ever fulfill his dream of becoming a film maker. As a teenager, he knew he wanted to make movies but there were a few things that stood in the way of him accomplishing his dream.
During that time, his family went into debt, so he couldn't afford to go to film school. He also had to work at a call center just to support himself.
After some introspective thinking, Brett decided he wanted to pursue his dream of film making. So he worked a year at the call center so he could afford to go to film school. With the help of his parents and a scholarship, he was able to finish with a degree in film production.
Although Brett wanted to major in directing, he was forced to get his degree in film production. This ended up being a stroke of luck because this experience with production helped him land a contract with M-Net, the HBO of South Africa.
With the help of M-Net, Brett was able to work on his novel, Rachel Weeping, and his movie Sink, at the same time. Both the novel and movie were met with critical acclaim, which has allowed him to continue work doing the thing he loves, making films
In this episode Brett talks about adapting to your situation, why mentorship is powerful, and not letting fear get the best of you.
Here are three things you can learn from Brett:
Many of us feel stuck in our jobs or our careers. We believe it's way too late to change. Should haves flood our thoughts.
I should have started earlier. I should have taken a different path. I should have taken more chances.
If your mind is filled with should haves, I have good news for you. It's not too late. Stop dwelling on the past. Everything you've done up to this point will help you moving forward.
"I think nothing is wasted. A lot of people may switch a degree or change jobs or careers in their forties and feel that everything that led up to that point now has been wasted because they take a sharp right, but actually, it all feeds into that thing that you're doing. Now I'm appreciative of it, but when I was in the midst of it all, it completely overwhelmed me."
The most most important thing you have at your disposal is your ability to adapt. Human beings have adapted and evolved many times over millennia. Brett was able to adapt to his surroundings. You can too.
"I think if I look at myself, it's that flexibility of not saying this is the only way it's going to be done and if I don't it won't work out. If it doesn't work out this way, it's a failure. But to now see that as with water, I've just got to find the grooves that are in the landscape and the career landscape that's happening around me, and just keep going at it."
All you have to do is be like water. Even when things get in its way, water learns to maneuver through the gaps.
"Just keep being creative and to just move like water through that space. I'm able to find success and see something happen not according to my own plan."
Artists often overlook one of the most beneficial relationships they can be a part of, mentorship. Before the industrial revolution, that's how most occupations worked. You would work under the tutelage of a master. You learned directly from someone who was skilled in the craft.
Nowadays we try to do everything ourselves. We aren't interested in learning from others. Brett believes we can greatly benefit from having a mentor.
"A lot of guys disregard what someone with thirty years of experience could teach them. And for me it's that curiosity of learning from those who have gone before even though market is changing drastically and how we do things changes, there's just something incredible about just the emotional intelligence of someone who's done it before is able to impart to you."
The only problem is mentors have to be willing to take you on. They must want to impart their wisdom on the upcoming generation.
"The reality is it comes from his side, someone who is older actually seeing that they want to father or mentor a younger creative. And it is as it is in life... Babies don't bring themselves into existence... It's the parents who make them and father them and choose to impart knowledge into their lives."
Brett's goal is to become skilled enough to impart his wisdom on others. He wants to pass down wisdom so future generations can find success like he has.
"Hopefully when I get to the point where I can teach someone something, I will see that that young filmmaker who just needs someone as a sounding board, to be there for them."
One of the biggest reasons artists don't have successful careers is that they let fear control them. Instead of going out and doing the things they dream of, they do nothing. They give in to insecurity and fear.
"If I look at a lot of my peers who are wanting to do stuff, who are single with nothing standing in their way, the biggest thing that holds them back is insecurity and fear, and I don't have that side to myself when it comes to pursuing a career."
Another problem many artists have is one of perfectionism. They wait for the right moment of perfect opportunity. But there's no such thing as the perfect moment.
You can't wait for permission. You can't wait for some imaginary benevolent patron. You just have to go out and seize things yourself.
"I know a few artists who really, they don't want to do anything because, if it can't be done perfectly, they don't want to attempt it at all, and I think that's a mistake to make. It's a thing of starting to do it and not waiting for someone to pay you to do it either... If you have a job that enables you to do the stuff that stuff for free, don't try and make it so that you have to... make a career out of it. That can come later. Just do it on your own dollar."
Stop waiting to be discovered. That rarely happens. Most artists who are discovered have worked many years at their craft. They worked relentlessly at their craft with an obsessive passion.
"I think there's a big discovery kind of fairy tale that's fed by your idols or... if someone just discovers that I can tell or write a story and they'll pay me to do it, then I'll do it. That's absolute B.S. Firstly those people who are discovered... have been doing it for years and it's just the way these shows work... that's not real. It's a scene that we love because in our own heads it means that someone can wave a magic wand and our lives can be transformed in a creative lotto, where suddenly we get to do this. But some of the best artists in the world never received a dollar for the paintings that they made or the poems that they wrote. They were just obsessed with this thing and they did it. I think that's a healthier approach to how we do things."
Maia Monasterios has been making documentary films for over twelve years. She has worked for companies ranging from National Geographic to MTV, but had the desire to do her own independent work. Her latest project is an independent documentary film titled Time is Art, where she is working with the creative collective Things are Changing. They are raising funds for the film until August 2, 2015 on IndieGogo.