Film Rebels

20/07/2024

It was great working with producer Gil Kolirin and chums on a Whisky commercial up in Scotland last week.

It was challenging to pull off a handful of locations in such a short space of time with a UK and French crew but the weather worked in our favour.

Looking forward to seeing the end product.

24/05/2023

Actors wisdom for Wednesdays!
What can we learn from one of the greatest actors of all time?

Considered to be one of the greatest actors of all time, Marlon Brando was devoted to innovation. His range of roles, whether a hero or a villain, is a testa...

18/07/2021

Are you programming or being programmed?

There’s a saying in the sales world ‘You’re either selling or being sold to.’

And, I think it’s the same with life - we are either programming or being programmed to.

What do I mean by that?

Most people, but perhaps not you, like to binge watch in the evenings and the weekends.

With the proliferation of internet platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Disney Plus, Apple Plus and now HBO Max we are inundated with shows that require our attention and not just for a length of a feature film but for a whole series and perhaps even more.

TV demands passivity. It is there to entertain the masses. All in the service of what the media company wants to sell us - a waste of time through entertainment.

These companies are working hard to get you hooked and keep you hooked, so they can profit.

Watching a show for an average of 10 hours is 10 hours spent not reading, not teaching, not connecting, not experimenting, not failing, not growing and in Seth Godin’s words ‘Not making a ruckus.’

For some it could be as much as 30 hours a week off not making a difference.

It’s a trap that allows us to exchange our time for a place to hide out from the challenge of learning to program.

To program a website, to program a lecture, to program a blog, a book or even a script.

You have to make it, not watch it.

Either you’re the creator or you’re the audience.

The choice is yours.

Choose wisely.

19/06/2021

Why we should all do a Zappa?

In the 1980s, musician Frank Zappa felt that he was going through a creative dry spell, so he came up with a plan.

Instead of getting up at the same time every morning, each day he rose one hour later than the day before.

This means that twelve days later, he was getting up at 8pm, having breakfast, working, eating lunch around 1am, going to sleep around noon, and getting up the next day at 9pm, and so one.

This behaviour pattern, he said, helped him come up with fresh ideas.

Of course, you don’t necessarily need to change your daily schedule to emulate Frank but see how you could possibly adjust your routines differently to shake up your life.

Find new ways to keep your creative mind active and flexible.

Discover a new route to work every day, or walk, or cycle, or skateboard instead.

Have lunch at a bus stop, a park or even at a gallery and not just your home or office.

Walk down streets you’ve never been down before. Stop and say hello to people you don’t know.

Experiment with new food. Wear different clothes. Listen to different music.

Move the furniture in your house around. Sit in a different position. Rearrange your home environment.

The idea is to get your brain working in as many different ways as possible, to shake off the shackles of the norm.

The aim is to kick the habit of what you’re used to as an artist.

Because highly habitual people don’t tend to have creative minds.

Therefore, think differently, invent interestingly.

The greater the uniformity, the greater the sameness.

The greater the change, the greater the difference.

13/06/2021

Creativity can also be garbage.

12/06/2021

Great to see Polaroid back in the saddle. Anyone remember the good ol’ days?

12/06/2021

Why it’s good to be weird?

The abbreviation of this eccentric word stands for the following:

Wonderful - you are unique and there’s no one like you in the world so embrace that and create wonder around you.

Exciting - you tap into the childlike energy of yours that unleashes play and creativity wherever you go.

Interesting - you become an interesting individual by showing interest in others, displaying curiosity and engaging with life on a constant basis.

Real - there’s no faking it. Integrity is vital for your spirit. If you can’t be honest with others then how can you be honest with yourself?

Different - You’re the next Jobs, Musk, even Einstein because you think differently to the rest. You swim upstream; take the untrodden path; and raise the middle finger when called for.

So, it’s good to be weird. Don’t you think?

07/06/2021

Talent vs Genius - by Jack Grapes

Everyone has genius in them they just don’t know what it is.

What they do know is their talent and your talent will never produce anything great.

It will only produce what is good.

Your genius is what is capable of creating something great.

But because you rely on your talent you often never get to your genius. Because talent is the obstacle to genius.

It’s when you don’t know what you’re doing, sometimes, that you’re falling and you’re at the mercy of the universe that your genius wakes up and says ‘this looks like a job for genius man!’

And genius comes through and you do something that is amazing.

What do you think are two things a person says when they access their genius?

Whether it’s through a painting, a story, a poem or as an actor. When they get something that is utterly amazing.

First thing they say is ‘Wow! That was amazing. Where the hell did that come from?’

And the second thing: ‘How can I do that again?’

The thing is there isn’t a formula for accessing genius, otherwise people would be accessing their genius constantly but they don’t because they usually depend on their talent.

Talent will only get you what’s good.

Genius will get you what’s great.

Your talent is your biggest obstacle and when you let go of your talent and are willing to fail, sometimes, your genius comes to the rescue and when it does you’ll do something that will shock you.

So, be on the lookout for the accident of your genius. Because talent will on do so much.

Talent does what it can, but genius does what it must.

02/06/2021

Why shouldn’t we take care?

George Lois in his book Damn Good Advice talks about an environment most of us grew up in where our parents told us to ‘be careful and take care of ourselves.’

The words ‘George, be careful’ were punctuated by George’s mother when he was growing up.

They have been a refrain throughout his life - a sincere admonition from the lips of people who have always meant well but never understood his attitude toward life and work as a creative.

George goes on to say that In the act of creativity, being careful guarantees sameness and mediocrity, which means your work will be invisible.

Better to be reckless than careful.

Better to be bold than safe.

Better to have your work seen and remembered, or you’ll strike out.

There is no middle ground.

You can be cautious or you can be creative but there’s no such thing as a cautious creative.

Forget being careful, forget taking care.

Take risks instead.

And… forgive your parents.