DIRECTOR

anyone who says directing is about having a “vision” and telling people what to do is a fool.

directing is about being fully present when serendipitous magic happens and recognizing that these “happy little accidents” are exactly what you were looking for ( yes, that’s a bob ross ref ).

it’s getting out of the way and letting the talent do their thing. actually, it’s running out into a thunderstorm with an umbrella to keep everyone dry and waiting for lightning to strike, which it will. because it always does. you didn’t need all your hair anyway.

EDITOR

i suppose i love to edit because i love to direct;
they are chiral - indistinguishable mirror images of each other ( i learned that from breaking bad: episode 2, first season - go watch it now ).

also, like writing and directing, editing is really just puzzle solving. except that the pieces can fit together in more ways than there are atoms in the universe and the job is finding the right way. or rather, the way that tells the story right. it’s like building lego or kit bashing.

who knew that childhood hobbies would turn out to be essential training???

PRODUCER

producing is like getting a bunch of people together in a room and throwing a box of lego on the floor and telling them to create a symphony. 

obviously they will ask for more lego, and then suddenly for rubber chickens, which they don’t need, cause all they really need is the lego, and then a few of them will go insane and try to break the lego, refusing to believe they don’t really need the rubber chickens, and a couple will probably throw some of the pieces at you, and the only thing you have to do is make sure no one leaves the room or gets poked in the eye. and then the next thing you know, the symphony is done without even remotely resembling the original design because now it’s even better and everyone forgets that you had anything to do with any of it.

enjoy.

VFX PERSON

after i decided to become a writer and then a director and no one wanted to pay me to do those things yet, i became a vfx person.

turns out it’s both of those things, plus a bunch of others, like design and art and technology and editing and puzzle solving and wearing headphones so you can listen to “blue monday” really loud on repeat when it’s dark outside and you just have to get that thing right, whatever that thing is, you just have to get it right before you push away from your desk and call it a day. 

it’s about pixel fucking and telling a story with every shot and serving a goal that’s bigger than you and declaring oh my god that looks amazing. it’s sorcery and black magic and witchcraft. 

hail satan.