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Grace, grit and accountability are necessary for climbing the ladder of success.
I recently spoke with a colleague I’ve worked on several projects with about the person who brought us together. We confessed to each other how neither of us wanted to work with that person again. In the film and production industry, this is not uncommon. Here is why.
We both liked this person and appreciated their tenacity, their willingness to get things done and their ability to bring people on board for a shared vision.
We had all worked together “on location” where cast and crew convene in one place to stay, eat and film for weeks. It is bonding on a deep level. With an average of 12-16 hour days on a set, you learn a lot about yourself and others. This was also an independent project where we all worked at scale (minimum) to help this person succeed. We wanted to take the ride with them, their vision for the films they were making.
The challenge was, that once the project was completed, it was not picked up. The person got mean and started making ultimatums by saying people had to do this or that to remedy the issue.
All of this was well after the project wrapped and we were all on different projects. This was also after clear communication in which I was setting good boundaries of what could and could not be done in the parameters that were requested on the initial call. We all have had bad days, but this was different.
Had that person come back and apologized or explained the blowup, we could have moved forward again carefully. The challenge was, by not doing so, that person was saying they thought their behavior was OK. To me, this indicated that this behavior would most likely happen again. I like teamwork, having each other’s backs and engaging in clear communication, regardless of how hard that communication may be. The truth helps me assess what is needed, what to implement, etc.
Even so, let’s to go back to the root cause. The project was not successful, and this was to be this person’s pivotal career changer. They were “banking on” recouping their investment, being picked up by a streaming company, hired as an independent, among many other positive variables. But this did not go in the direction they had intended, which can be a hard truth to accept for anyone.
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This has happened to countless people; it is the nature of the business. Not all films do what you set out for them to do. How you handle that, and what you do with that, will help you toward success — or not.
The goal is to effectively work and collaborate with fellow film industry professionals.
Based on your years of experience in this business, you need to figure out what works for you. By examining your lived experiences, you can glean what you like and don’t like in the industry. But there are some very basic successful codes of conduct for working in this industry:
• Be nice.
• Offer a win-win.
• Honor your words.
But sometimes we just need a break. What I mean by this is, go out of your comfort zone in a different sector than what you are used to. If you are usually very active, slow it down. Try to do something you have never done before. I remember a point in my life when I booked every minute of every day (I’m not kidding) and realized I had too much going on. So I chose to take archery lessons, which was a wise decision for me. Not only did it get me to clear my mind, focus and challenge my inner self, it even had me use muscles and movements I normally do not.
Tap into new opportunities. Get zen today. Do something totally different.
