Make 'Em Laugh

This week's creative output: I should be more… entertaining?

November, Week 1

Last week, I set out to dedicate November to creating a short film.

On Monday, I recorded a 'garbage pass' of the entire film.

It's the best way to get a first draft and took roughly 2 hours. I simply used my phone camera to chronologically shoot my way through the story, relying on instinct to tell me where to place the camera.

Then, I edited all of that together and discovered my instincts were WAY off. Which is good!

I made notes on what to change and how to improve, and will spend today reshooting a second garbage pass which will inform the actual production next week (I'll eventually share a side-by-side).

Make 'Em Laugh

So why am I spending a month making a single video?

I've realized that a lot of my video content can lean far into technical experimentation. Lots of exploring animation and effects techniques (I've always been this way).

Which is fine, but without a story to drape it over, that kind of content tends to fall flat. It's more academic paper and less colorful foam explosion in the classroom.

So rather than churn out quick tricks for likes, I'm taking a beat to return to my directing roots and make something purely entertaining. To take a cue from Singin' in the Rain: make 'em laugh!

🎤 On the Podcast

This week on How Do Artists Make Money? I spoke to magician Alex Ramon.

He not only performs magic nightly at his residency in Lake Tahoe, but also owns a screen printing business.

After discovering he was spending way too much on merchandise production (to sell at his shows), he rolled profits into purchasing a business that could not only print his own stuff but also for endless corporate clients.

I'm not quite at the level of acquiring a business to cash flow my art, but it was interesting to hear Alex describe the moments he knew he was ready to level up.