Receiving feedback is usually hard. We human beings just don’t like when others feel entitled to tell us how we should have done what we have done.
In a creative industry like film, it's a daily thing.
But it's not just creatives who encounter this, it’s also part of the technical side of filmmaking as well.
Film industry, is not set up for easy learning. This is why who can learn efficiently get ahead faster.
A lot of things are going wrong on set usually.
I think most of these happen because of unclear communication.
But fortunately an easy solution was already taught to us, we just need to use it consciously.
“The palest ink is better than the strongest memory”
I recently met this chinese proverb, but I have already seen the truth of it many times before. On set, in the rental, everywhere.
I noticed how one of the 1st ADs I worked with recently remembered my name only after one short introduction.
Even after not having worked together for a week or so he greeted me by my own name.
I was curious if it was something that came naturally for him, or he was working on it deliberately.
A couple of years ago as a newbie in film industry I was frustrated with the endless incoming line of new tasks. Each new one overwriting the previous one in importance. Feels like we have to work on multiple things simultaneously. If you look up multitasking everyone says, “just don’t do it”. “Create a work environment where you don’t have to multitask.” But is it possible for us in film...
Prioritizing on a film-set is often troublesome. Everything seems to be important and usually all of them at the same time.
And like it’s not enough. When you get home, there are also new tasks waiting for you in your mailbox, or on the fridge door. All of them urgent and important as well.
So what do we do? :D
Well… panic and complain of course. But what should we do?
"Soft skills are a combination of people skills, social skills, communication skills, social intelligence and emotional intelligence quotients among others that enable people to navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals with complementing hard skills." An in depth list with resources to start with.
On set, we make mistakes whether we acknowledge them or hide them.
Noone is perfect. And it’s perfectly okay.
I think it is also culturally embedded in the film-crew that making mistakes is something close to the end of the world, and in some cases it is.
But let's see what else is out there about making mistakes.
Especially when you are just starting out.
Lets talk about film-life topics with the "A" - Camera Focus Puller of Life of Pi, Saving Mr. Banks, The Founder, Only the Brave: - Being ready for things going wrong - Building a great team - Personalities on set - Letting things go - A reversed career path to 1st AC - Networking - Shifting gears to Family life - Mentoring, Being mentored, Lifting others up - Being ready for opportunities ...
