As summer is closing up and my first weeks in college are about to begin, I am starting to feel like doing videos again. Which is ridiculous because I should've been doing videos all summer. Feel free to scold me in the comments. At least I'm doing a blog entry on time! This is actually the first productive thing I've done today as I reluctantly pull away from watching Rhett & Link videos. I'm going to talk about how my inspiration and drive works today, a sort of peek into my mind. Are you ready?
I guess I should start by talking about my state of mind as school ended. I hadn't made a video in a while, and I was getting a crazy amount of ideas for videos. So when summer started, I was SO ready to begin making awesome videos all the time.
Aaaand the above image shows what ended up happening. Seriously, nothing good was made. I just checked expecting one good video to link here and now I'm depressed :( I made a couple videos but they weren't classics, you know? At the beginning of the summer I was inspired to do games. I'd made a silly game on a graphing calculator to pass the time preparing for the AP Stats test at school. I wanted to transfer that to a computer game. I signed up for a bunch of game distribution accounts and game jams, but when it came time to do the actual coding I got through a couple lines and then clicked onto YouTube. Game programming is the hardest thing for me to keep up, because it's just so dense. I did some a couple days ago, and that felt good, but I find it so hard to pull through.
After the game phase was over I was into expanding social media and making everything look nice. I created this website and redesigned the channel banner, but that's about as far as I got before I realized how much was left to do and focused on other things, like actually making videos. I couldn't get anything good out and get a streak going, however, so I ended up stopping there too.
And then came the big thing I've been working on this summer: music. Geez, so much has happened this summer. I've gained twice as many SoundCloud followers, gained many producer friends, and networked fairly well. I managed to finish a couple songs, too. I still don't have a "demo song" that I'd send to a label/prospective client (that's next on the checklist). I tried to do another video during this musical inspiration; I set up the lights and everything but once I sat down in front of the camera I couldn't think of anything to say or do. It's like anything video-worthy stopped coming out of me as soon as I pressed record.
Now, with music, I feel like I actually accomplished something. Unfortunately I'm starting to burn out musically. And the vicious cycle will repeat once again: I am being inspired more and more to make videos again. We'll see how that turns out.
After the game phase was over I was into expanding social media and making everything look nice. I created this website and redesigned the channel banner, but that's about as far as I got before I realized how much was left to do and focused on other things, like actually making videos. I couldn't get anything good out and get a streak going, however, so I ended up stopping there too.
And then came the big thing I've been working on this summer: music. Geez, so much has happened this summer. I've gained twice as many SoundCloud followers, gained many producer friends, and networked fairly well. I managed to finish a couple songs, too. I still don't have a "demo song" that I'd send to a label/prospective client (that's next on the checklist). I tried to do another video during this musical inspiration; I set up the lights and everything but once I sat down in front of the camera I couldn't think of anything to say or do. It's like anything video-worthy stopped coming out of me as soon as I pressed record.
Now, with music, I feel like I actually accomplished something. Unfortunately I'm starting to burn out musically. And the vicious cycle will repeat once again: I am being inspired more and more to make videos again. We'll see how that turns out.
So what are the things I need to focus on the most as I improve both my work habits, talent, and technical skill? Completion. Adherence to self-imposed deadlines and schedules. Perseverance. Discipline. Setting priorities. Oh my God that's a long list I just made.
Completion. I rarely finish a project before I get more ideas for other projects or lose interest. I need to see a project through to the end no matter how I feel about it. Then I will learn.
Adherence. Rarely do I meet a deadline or goal I set for myself. I need to keep up with video schedules. I need to do x amount of work in y field every day. The thing I struggle with the most, however, is the idea of quantity vs. quality. Should I release videos on a set schedule so that people would be more likely to subscribe for regular content? Or should I wait until I have a really good idea, and skip all the crap that an uninspired spell would give me? I think it gets easier as you do more work and ideas come more freely to you, but only time will tell.
Perseverance. Coding sucks. The end result is awesome (a game you made?!) but figuring it all out and writing it out is a terrible process, especially if you're still learning and are self-taught. But the game won't finish itself if you take breaks every 10 minutes. The reason I don't complete projects/release them on schedule is because I procrastinate and lose interest. I need to learn to sit through the boring/bitter part because the ending is soooo sweet.
Discipline. Focus on achieving a consistent quality. Start and end work at set times. Take breaks to avoid exhaustion when you are into the moment. If you are excited about an idea, write it down but do not begin work on it until you are finished with the current project. It can serve as motivation to finish what you are already working on. If the project is boring, finish it. And don't go on the internet when you're supposed to be working.
Setting priorities. With so many disciplines I am working in, I need to focus on what is the most important at the moment. Since film is my current career choice and what I want to do as a living, I need to do anything film-related before all else. Then the blog if it's a Thursday. Then write a bit if it's Monday, or work on a script if it's Tuesday. I work very algorithmically, and I've been meaning to do a blog about that for a very long time. But I procrastinated.
Completion. I rarely finish a project before I get more ideas for other projects or lose interest. I need to see a project through to the end no matter how I feel about it. Then I will learn.
Adherence. Rarely do I meet a deadline or goal I set for myself. I need to keep up with video schedules. I need to do x amount of work in y field every day. The thing I struggle with the most, however, is the idea of quantity vs. quality. Should I release videos on a set schedule so that people would be more likely to subscribe for regular content? Or should I wait until I have a really good idea, and skip all the crap that an uninspired spell would give me? I think it gets easier as you do more work and ideas come more freely to you, but only time will tell.
Perseverance. Coding sucks. The end result is awesome (a game you made?!) but figuring it all out and writing it out is a terrible process, especially if you're still learning and are self-taught. But the game won't finish itself if you take breaks every 10 minutes. The reason I don't complete projects/release them on schedule is because I procrastinate and lose interest. I need to learn to sit through the boring/bitter part because the ending is soooo sweet.
Discipline. Focus on achieving a consistent quality. Start and end work at set times. Take breaks to avoid exhaustion when you are into the moment. If you are excited about an idea, write it down but do not begin work on it until you are finished with the current project. It can serve as motivation to finish what you are already working on. If the project is boring, finish it. And don't go on the internet when you're supposed to be working.
Setting priorities. With so many disciplines I am working in, I need to focus on what is the most important at the moment. Since film is my current career choice and what I want to do as a living, I need to do anything film-related before all else. Then the blog if it's a Thursday. Then write a bit if it's Monday, or work on a script if it's Tuesday. I work very algorithmically, and I've been meaning to do a blog about that for a very long time. But I procrastinated.
Of the above items, I struggle with #10 the most. I also realized, while I was writing the above "instructions," that I began writing in second person (you) rather than how I started, in first person (I). I think I began writing that addressing myself subconsciously, so that if I ever read this terrible piece of literature again it will be like me from the past saying "get off your ass, stupid, and go write a book."
I also realized that what I've been doing is reflecting on my past performance this summer. I didn't mean to, but it happened and it's okay because reflection is an important part of any process. I have managed to find my problems and I know what I need to do to address them, and I am motivated and inspired to continue building my work ethic into something others can be inspired by.
On a side note, I checked this website's stats and two days ago there were 43 unique visitors. I don't know where the heck they're all coming from, or even if they're visiting the blog, but thank you so much if you're reading this. I'm doing it for you :) Otherwise I'd get bored, procrastinate, and this blog would collect cobwebs and die. The fact of the matter is this blog is another thing that I've pretty much managed to keep up throughout the summer, something I never thought would happen. It gives me hope.
I also realized that what I've been doing is reflecting on my past performance this summer. I didn't mean to, but it happened and it's okay because reflection is an important part of any process. I have managed to find my problems and I know what I need to do to address them, and I am motivated and inspired to continue building my work ethic into something others can be inspired by.
On a side note, I checked this website's stats and two days ago there were 43 unique visitors. I don't know where the heck they're all coming from, or even if they're visiting the blog, but thank you so much if you're reading this. I'm doing it for you :) Otherwise I'd get bored, procrastinate, and this blog would collect cobwebs and die. The fact of the matter is this blog is another thing that I've pretty much managed to keep up throughout the summer, something I never thought would happen. It gives me hope.
While I typed that last sentence I got this sudden attack of flashes of Star Wars Episode IV, but I couldn't think of a way to turn it into a joke. Anyway, see ya guys, I'm going to photoshop my face onto this pickle now.
UPDATE: I did it, and it is my header on Twitter now.