Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Life direction by way of Errol Morris.

Years ago I had the great good fortune of shooting with the director Errol Morris. Perhaps the best part of the experience was hanging with him in some crappy casting room in Santa Monica. While there, I got to see his genius.

When and actor came in and stood on the line, they'd invariably wait around for lines to read, waiting for something to say.

All Morris did was give them the most simple and painful direction, "Do something," he would say. If he liked what they did, he'd give them more direction: "Do something else."

It occurs to me that "Do something," is about the best advice--the best direction you can ever be given.

As I enter my 10th month of freelance, I think about it often.

Usually when you're called in to work there's something dire in the air. A pitch. A shootout. A crisis. Or an unhappy client.

You don't get a lot of time.

There's nothing fun, funny or leisurely about it.

It's Tuesday, say, and you have to show work on Wednesday.

Not one or two boards, eight or 10.

You have to do something.

You have to trust your experience, your know-how, your track-record and your talent and bring them all to bear quickly.

In this era of "selfies," it seems that half the world is taking pictures of themselves doing nothing.

Selfies won't get you hired. They're polishing your own turds.

Doing something will.

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