Staying motivated as your starting your career in film can be tough. Whether it’s lack of recognition or lack of jobs, powering through everything can take a toll. It’s times like these when we need to pick ourselves up and keep moving forward, but that’s not always as easy as it sounds. So, I have created this list of things that helps get me off the ground and moving towards my goals.
Rewatch your favorite movies
Even seeing a clip or a screenshot of my favorite movies can set me on a day long spree of creating and writing. It’s a reminder of what could be made if I focus my energy on a specific task I’ve been putting off. For example, a friend of mine today sent me some new songs she’s been mixing and she used some soundbites from Blade Runner 2049. I immediately felt the urge to continue working on a script I’ve been writing. Kind of crazy how quickly it works.
Listen to music
Music, even more so than movies, is the universal way to inspire people. To be completely honest, you sometimes don’t even need to know what the lyrics are to feel something from the music. That all being said, music is meant to inspire, and it always works for me, especially when I throw on a movie soundtrack.
Spend time with other creative people
Meeting up with other creative people and talking about new ideas always gets my creative juices flowing. Every time I leave a creative meeting, I get home flooded with inspiration. It sparks a desire to create something more amazing then before. Honestly, I always seem to get past creative roadblocks when talking to others.
Sometimes just saying things out loud can give you a different perspective on something. For example, the other night I met up with a group of friends, and I was talking through a script of mine that I was working on. I mentioned that I couldn’t get past one part because it didn’t make sense chronologically. As I was speaking, I figured out a way to fix it. Us creatives tend to lock ourselves away until we can solve an issue when in reality, talking to others can help us tremendously.
Create a system
A large amount of creatives tend to be unorganized or at least a bit scattered. Creating a system to help organize your ideas can make all the difference in the world.
I used to constantly think of ideas for movies or shorts that I wanted to make. I would think to myself “I’ll remember this” and I never once did. Now, I take the time to jot down my ideas on a scrap piece of paper or in my phone. From there, I used to start writing a script just off the top of my head. That worked for a little while but ultimately became unorganized. Now, I always make an outline of my idea first and then get to writing the script. This system has worked for me recently, but it’s all about creating your own system that works for you.
Try writing down as much as you can on a page and later go back to create the outline, or maybe you start with the characters. Whatever it may be, find what works for you and run with it.
Personal Ways I Stay Motivated
For me, I am a creature of habit. If I’m constantly working, I like to stay in a constant grind state of mind. However, if I get lazy, I like to stay lazy. So to stay self motivated, I follow these tips to keep myself from staying too lazy. I hope these help you stay on the path to being the creator you hope to be
