It all started in 2004. I was in my 4th year of medical school. It had been a challenging year, but also one that would shape the direction my life and dreams will take in ways I could not even begin to imagine at the time.
My gospel R 'n B band, Rivaflo had attempted to record some demos in the only digital studio in town then and I was totally blown away by the technology involved. So much could be done on a PC and incidentally, my dad had one at home. Naturally, my curious nature took over and over the next few months, I set out to acquire the resources for my own home studio. That opened up a whole new world for me. I had no idea I could be good at this kind of stuff.
I started honing the craft of digital sound mixing and even got as far as making mixtapes for the popular dance groups in town at the time, then I met a friend, Theo Keys who had a similar set up in his dad's garage, plus this guy was churning out some crazy animation and motion graphics. The rest is history.
Over the years, I doggedly pursued the dream to harness, master and fan into flame this creative spark. I always had a good idea the direction my dreams would take me but because of so many constraints along the way, I have had to make compromises and wait and learn, biding my time but learning all I could at every opportunity. Over time I evolved, improved on my craftmanship and got to the point where people started to laud my work.
However, earlier this year I decided it was time to take another step closer to my goals. I enrolled to get some formal education in film making. A couple of friends thought it was not necessary because they had been themselves and believed there was not much I didn't know already.
Well, I did go ahead with it and I believe it is the best decision I have made lately. I am absolutely enjoying every moment of this.
I am not used to bullet point approaches to success, but for brevity I would list now what I would say are highlights of why getting a formal education is such a good idea after all:
* Structured learning: in contrast to learning at your leisure through YouTube and Lynda.com tutorials (which by the way are a huge part of my learning with regards to film making), in school you have targets, homework and whatnots to keep you learning something everyday. There is also the added advantage of being able to ask questions and get answers to them immediately. Call it spoon-feeding if you like, but it sticks.
*Mentors and Models: One of my instructors said "there is really nothing new in film making, rather we all follow in the footsteps of our predecessors".
Every creative likes to think they have their own style and they are original, but the truth is even the most genius of us starts out by imitating the work of others we admire.
*Roots: Roots are important. It is where you go back to draw strength when you are overwhelmed. This comprises, the friends and teachers you met along the way.
*Collaboration: Film making is collaborative. That is one great lesson I learnt recently. Up until now, I had done most of my work by myself with or without one or 2 assistants. However, I have come to understand lately that the product is only as good as the efficiency and smooth running of the entire filmmaking machinery.
*Competition: One might be lucky enough to pick up some healthy competition in school. Healthy competition keeps one on one's toes. It is one good deterrent to stagnation.
*Positive Creative energy: It is such a powerful thing when you are surrounded by people who buzz in the same frequency as you. For me this actually stimulates my creative juices. I was also lucky to choose a school where lots of productions were going on and I could actually learn from other people's projects things like set design, costume and lighting choices.
*Routine: Routines are great. They foster discipline and discipline is important for consistent productivity. From punctuality to classes and shoots to taking logs of all the equipment, keeping a checklist and etcetra. I will just never work the same way again.
*Legalities: Ha! Now to the elephant in the room. I remember combing the internet in search of UK filming regulations when I moved here years ago. No one actually posts about these things. On a number of occasions I had done some filming looking over my shoulder. Well I am just so glad this "myth" has been demystified.
*Hands On experience: Finally, nothing beats being there to do that. One might spend all the time watching tutorials and yet not really improve, but when you are lectured on a particular technique and thereafter practically put your newly obtained knowledge to use, it sticks.
I probably could go on and on but these are nuggets from my experience so far. I am glad I followed my heart and I will err to the side that supports getting some form of structured knowledge in that field that could potentially propel your dreams to the next level.
Happy dreaming!
Dedicated to my newfound friends, Tobias, Yasmine, Prarthna, Hugo and my Instructors at the London Film Academy, Lincoln, Davie, Geoffrey & Simon.
