Post Category:

Daily Film Habit

What you call it matters

The labels we give things affect how we feel about them.

I’ve chosen to call my daily films ‘films’ very much on purpose. I feel better about that than a ‘skit’ or (god forbid) a Tik Tok.

Is it a job or a calling? Do you have to do it or do you get to do it?

Change your label change your life.

Why I’m making a film a day

  1. Identity: They say identity comes from what you do often. I’m an actor and a maker, so I gotta do that every day to keep that identity. Kind of like how a marriage celebrant must renew their license every couple of years.
  2. Presupposition: I don’t have to think about whether I will make a film, the making is a given. Removing the option of not making something means that the only questions I face are What do I want to say? What am I interested in exploring? What excites me? These are also the type of questions that align with my chosen identity.
  3. Practice: Self explanatory really. The more you practice the better you get. A potter must make many pots
  4. Failure: All the best stuff comes from failing. The person who gets in the baseball hall of fame for most home runs also has the most strike outs (or something). When you train a muscle to failure at the gym it’s forced to grow to accommodate the new demand.
  5. Fun: One day I was really not feeling like making a movie. I happened to be flicking through my journal and came across a note from the day I decided to begin this habit. I’d written what would I have to believe in order to successfully make a movie every day? I’d have to believe it was easy and fun and that it is making me better at something I love. I read that and thought- easy I can do that!
  6. Who’s that guy? I’m very interested to see who I become at the end of this. Who is the type of person that can make a movie every day?

Would I make that?

There are many awesome side effects to making a movie every day. One of my favorites is how it has framed my role as an ‘actor for hire’.

I have the privilege every day to be able to make anything I want to. Any style, genre, length, look, feel, theme- it’s all on the table every. single. day.

I’ve done this for one hundred and eleven days straight now, so I’ve been through the entire spectrum of feelings; from complete inspiration to the very edge of giving up.

Because I get to make whatever I want to and more specifically, play any character I want to and have complete creative control, I’ve found myself increasingly sensitized to acting opportunities.

Instead of jumping at any old audition, I find myself asking a new question:

Would I make this? Would I script this character for myself and put the effort into creating the end product to the best quality I can? If the answer is yes, then of course I want to be a part of an entire team bringing this vision to life. But if the answer is ‘no, I’d probably not do it quite like that’, then I know I don’t need to engage with that opportunity. It’s quite simple actually.

Useful, inspiring and cool things

Join my newsletter