Want to be a more productive, creative filmmaker? These tips might help you out.
One of the major hurdles every filmmaker has to overcome is productivity. We live in a world full of things that distract us, overwhelm us, and generally make us feel not so great, but there are definitely ways to combat them in order to get your creative groove back. In this video, filmmaker Kris Truini of Kriscoart shares ten tips on how to be more productive, and while they apply to pretty much anybody in any professional (or non-professional) environment, they certainly ring true for filmmakers as well. Check it out below:
Even though these tips are pretty generalized and have been shared in one form or another a multitude of times by many a multitude of different people, it doesn't make them any less true. In fact, Truini's video is a great reminder to slow down, refocus, and practice a little self-care. The film industry is notoriously brutal on the creatives who work in it, so it's imperative that we know that productivity isn't just about working more, but about working smarter and healthier as well.
Here are the tips Truini mentions in the video:
- Do more by doing less
- Take breaks
- Focus on yourself in the morning
- Take care of your mind
- Take care of your body
- Give yourself rules and routines
- Prioritize your daily tasks
- Stop multitasking
- Avoid postponing things
- Work in a creative/conducive environment
What are some things you think filmmakers should do to be more productive? Let us know down in the comments.
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2 Comments
This is great advice for anyone, not really specifically for a filmmaker. I have some things I've developed over the year that help me stay cranking:
To Do lists - I keep a google doc that says "to do" and first thing I do is look at it in the morning, add, move items around and then thats it. I just go line by line. It never gets completely cleared "write script about "mother ship" will take a sec" but its a good way to stay focused.
Trackball - I know, some people will talk $hit bout this, but a track ball is a life saver. Mice cramp your hands, and tablets while great for roto/photo are slow as hell for editing.
learn your hot keys - if you edit, nothing makes you faster (and more productive) then being able to do nearly everything without taking your hands off the keyboard. customize it, then save your settings to the cloud, and if you go to work somewhere else, you can just download your settings and its like youre at home.
organize - put all your sound effects and visual effects on a drive. keep all your films and footage organized on another. nothing can slow you down more then having to look for stuff constantly.
get help - a lot of times I send a friend to go shoot something that I was suppose to. There are a lot of little jobs you take on that become time consuming when other projects get in the way, so its good to have jr. people around you that are capable to take care of the business that you end up not having time for. It saves you the work, gives them an opportunity, and keeps you focused on more pressing projects.
Thats a few... I have a blog. With advice. And pictures of cats. www.cineclast.com
June 3, 2017 at 11:22AM
Some great tips, but now add a few kids to take care of and it starts to look very differently :). No free morning, but rushing to get your kids to school. You'll be happy to do something productive in the morning before they get back from school.
October 1, 2017 at 4:53AM