talent is nothing

Talent is the seed. Courage is the water. Persistence is the sun. You need them all.


Luck doesn't hurt. Sort of like compost.
 
Yes, but of the three, talent is the least important. A brave and persistent individual will accomplish success a lot sooner and higher than the most talented chicken who won't even try. :thumbsup:
 
Not in the art world.
Jump in. Go woohoo. Then figure it all out.
I can tell you if I waited until I was technically qualified for a job before I stuck my chest out and asked for a position in this field, I would have never started working.
Ability has very little to do with success in video or any other art.
My biggest break in my career was taking a staff editing job at TNN/CMT. I was hired over the phone because when they asked if I knew Adcom's NighSuite, I quickly said heck yeah, no problemos. I then hung up the phone, called everyone in Dallas to find one, hopped on it for the first time in my life and trained TNN's staff on it when I got there.
That's courage to the point of arrogance. It's a requirement, imo.
 
The original quote from Woody Allen's Manhattan:

"Talent is luck. The important thing in life is courage."

Then he goes off on this hilarious thing about jumping in to save someone drowning in the river. (I added the thirst part for my own amusement :) )
 
I recently worked on a major feature film shot in Oklahoma. Everyone in the camera, grip and electric departments were very nice and accommodating to each other. It made for a great working experience.

If anyone had been carrying themselves in an arrogant manner, they would most likely be ostracized, made fun of, and found out (at the least).

Confidence and courage are good attributes to have - arrogance... not so much.
 
I think arrogance is sometimes mistaken for being a pompass ass.
To me, arrogance is your being the only one that knows you have it all under control. Confidence is what got ya there.
Now an asshat, he's the dude boasting about what he knows in order to hide what he obviously doesn't. Cocky doesn't cut it in any industry but disposable stunt men.
Confidence works in every industry but law.
 
grinner said:
Not in the art world.
Jump in. Go woohoo. Then figure it all out.
I can tell you if I waited until I was technically qualified for a job before I stuck my chest out and asked for a position in this field, I would have never started working.
Ability has very little to do with success in video or any other art.
My biggest break in my career was taking a staff editing job at TNN/CMT. I was hired over the phone because when they asked if I knew Adcom's NighSuite, I quickly said heck yeah, no problemos. I then hung up the phone, called everyone in Dallas to find one, hopped on it for the first time in my life and trained TNN's staff on it when I got there.
That's courage to the point of arrogance. It's a requirement, imo.
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I'm not sure I'd call that arrogance... arrogance is having an overinflated opinion of your abilities and who you are. But that sure is a ballsy move. I'm not sure I'd necessarily recommend that sort of approach, though. You were fortunate enough to find a NightSuite to learn on, and willing enough to learn it. But if you didn't...? I've seen and worked with people who pulled similar stunts and have it blow up in their faces before because they weren't able to learn what they said they knew and were found out. And in the process of being bounced out of their job, earned a bad reputation in the process.

Confidence plus humility in my opinion is more often than not a more successful approach.
 
I lose track of the number of times I have been asked do you use (software/hardware) XYZ?

Of course I know that hardware and software. Or at least, I will by the time I start.
 
Mike Harvey said:
I'm not sure I'd necessarily recommend that sort of approach, though. You were fortunate enough to find a NightSuite to learn on, and willing enough to learn it. But if you didn't...? I've seen and worked with people who pulled similar stunts and have it blow up in their faces before because they weren't able to learn what they said they knew and were found out.
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Either one can or one can't. I have 6 mouths to feed and can't afford to ever doubt myself.
If I did, there is no way I'd be in this industry.

Today, when I hire a freelancer, it has to do with their attitude. That's what they can bring to the party with me. Heck, I can show a chimp what the buttons do but I need confident people skills and an ability to attack an idea with absolutly no hesitation due to doubt. As I get older, I see I hire who I use to be. The young guy that was so confident he wore a t-shirt to the interview. I like that.
 
Appearing at an interview in a t-shirt is a great way to get me to pass you over.

Confident is great, skilled is essential, but show up before day one dressed to communicate I'm a slob who can't bother to arrive looking one-quarter-of-the-way professional and I don't really care how great your reel or book might be.

Plenty of other fish in the sea, who will bother to at least pretend they know how to conduct themselves professionally.
 
What if my t-shirt said "I devote all my time and attention to my job" ? Or, "I couldn't dress up b/c I'm unemployed and can't afford any new clothes" :)

later,
Jason
 
Sad Max said:
Appearing at an interview in a t-shirt is a great way to get me to pass you over.

Confident is great, skilled is essential, but show up before day one dressed to communicate I'm a slob who can't bother to arrive looking one-quarter-of-the-way professional and I don't really care how great your reel or book might be.

Plenty of other fish in the sea, who will bother to at least pretend they know how to conduct themselves professionally.
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what about if they show up wearing a suit? but instead of being a real suit, it is actually body paint made to look like a suit?
 
Sad Max said:
Appearing at an interview in a t-shirt is a great way to get me to pass you over.
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I understood this as I interviewed places to work at. I never looked at it as their interviewing me but my selecting where I wish to spend most of my waking hours. I started wearing t-shirts to interviews and bringing resumes on tie-dyed paper as part of an easy weeding process. If they had a problem with those things, I felt it was better to engage it then than after relocating.

Many forget this is a creative industry. As a client, man there is no damn way I'd pay 200 bucks an hour to sit in what feels like an office with some corporate dude in dockers. It wouldn't matter what they did there, I'd not spend my day there. I would, however, anty up to be taken care of in a nice creative studio. I always looked at my boss being the client, never the dude that hired me. Prolly why I work for myself now. Catering to clientele is easy. Stroking the ego of a guy who fancies himself as creative... not so much.

brings us full circle. As Einstein said... Creativity is more important than knowledge.
 
Jason Ramsey said:
What if my t-shirt said "I devote all my time and attention to my job" ? Or, "I couldn't dress up b/c I'm unemployed and can't afford any new clothes" :)
Click to expand...

ugafan said:
what about if they show up wearing a suit? but instead of being a real suit, it is actually body paint made to look like a suit?
Click to expand...

^ points for creativity, anyway.

grinner said:
I understood this as I interviewed places to work at. I never looked at it as their interviewing me but my selecting where I wish to spend most of my waking hours.
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Sure, an interview is always a two-way process. I have my own methods for determining if I want to work with the people interviewing me; dress code just isn't a part of it.
 
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grinner said:
...Today, when I hire a freelancer, it has to do with their attitude. That's what they can bring to the party with me. Heck, I can show a chimp what the buttons do but I need confident people skills and an ability to attack an idea with absolutly no hesitation due to doubt...
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Like I said... "willing enough to learn it". I think that attribute goes a heck of a lot farther than mere confidence, arrogance, cockiness, or whatever you want to call it. You obviously have that. I've just seen more than a few people who talk a good game, but either aren't willing to learn how to play a good game, or are so clueless that they don't (or won't) realize that they don't know how to play a good game, and end up three months later on their asses on the door step.

We hired a producer for our 11pm show a year ago who apparently had all kinds of confidence and said she could produce in the big leagues. Then when she actually had to produce the show, she couldn't. And I don't mean she was bad... she literally didn't know how to produce a show. She didn't understand what it was she was supposed to do.

I get what you're getting at, Grinner. BUT... far too often I've seen folks cop the I'm so good I only need to wear a T-shirt at an interview attitude, and more often then not simply couldn't back it up. That costs a company money, regardless of the industry. I would wager that most folks who try to pull off what you do probably couldn't, even though they think they could.
 
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