Scary songs, cheap camera's and collaboration
5 Things worth sharing this week.
Hey Crashers,
Sebastian Strand, everyone’s favorite human, storyteller, true creative, maker of the best guacamole known to mankind, Swedish native, photographer extraordinaire, encourager, friend to many, truth seeker, and lover of God.
You’ll find him most regularly behind a camera or in front of a computer editing - so we asked him if he would share his Rapid 5 today. As you can imagine, it centers around film but has takeaways for us all.
MAKE A SCARY SONGS PLAYLIST
I think we all have them, albeit often neglected or rather lost in the plethora of music that fills our endless playlists. “Those songs,” the scary ones, not in a horror genre sense but in that “I can’t listen to this tune, it carries too much nostalgia.” They can be great reminders of the frailty of life, of the human experience, a place and time that mean something to us, or even of God, and by curating them for yourself, you can intentionally visit that place that often is forgotten in the rush of “productive” creativity.
I simply have a playlist on my Spotify that I call “Scary Songs ☠️” and when I come across a song that makes me want to cry (which tends to be my litmus test), I drop it in there and on occasions, I choose to simply delve in and turn myself into a mess on the floor of a safe place.
REMEMBER YOUR OWN WORK
When I feel deflated and uninspired and wonder if I’ll ever create anything I’m actually proud of, sometimes I do that thing we’re not supposed to say out loud that we do. I scroll back through my own portfolio, be it Instagram posts or Reels, a Vimeo account, or a physical photo album, and I spend some time being pumped by some of the work I’ve done. This can, of course, quite easily lead to the mounting of a high horse, but when done with the right heart, it can actually be a nice confidence boost and a reminder of how far we’ve come and hopefully inspire us to further great work.
GET AN AFFORDABLE NEW CAMERA
I recently had a good friend visit from abroad, and to document his travels, he was using a really average digital camera from the late noughties. My side-eye turned into envy when I saw the results it produced. I decided to go online and find a second-hand camera and ended up with a USD$30 point-and-shoot from 2010. I’ve now had this little camera with me for months and have used it in both 5-figure budget projects as well as my own Instagram Reels. It’s kept me inspired and creative this year.
Now, it doesn’t have to be a digital camera from post-Y2K, or even a camera at all, but getting a new toy related to a creative area can be a source of renewed inspiration.
DA VINCI COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS
If you’ve ever gone near collaborative post-production before, it may have resulted in both wakeful and nocturnal nightmares of duplicate files, errors, and frustration. I was, therefore, naturally hesitant to approach Da Vinci Resolve for its team-sharing capabilities, but after having been half-convinced and half-forced into using it for a project that required collaboration, I was dumbfounded. It really worked a lot better than I expected, and now it’s turning into a staple for me when working in collaboration with another editor.
BE A NOVICE AND AN EXPERT
We talk a lot about practice and becoming the best at what we do, the best in our field. And there’s a joy in becoming really, impressively good at something. But there’s equally for many a joy in learning something new. Whether it be a language, an instrument, or (like me) learning to 1st AC instead of only directing or editing, doing something that we’re not great at but have a natural flow towards can help bring new inspiration and a sense of fulfillment. What is an area of interest you would youtube without being paid to? Perhaps it’s time to sign up for a cooking class or have another look at those “Strengthfinder” results from 2017 and see if there are some natural skills of yours to be chiseled. With me choosing to have a go at 1st ACing, I suspect it had more to do with my extroverted and ‘Helper’ side (helping the DP, for example) rather than a deep interest in gear. Worst case, you hate it and move on to something else.
What to read: Factfulness by Hans Rosling seems more and more relevant with each year that passes these days.
What to listen to: Benjamin William Hastings’ album is worth a full listen-through from top to bottom. It hits the spot. Amanda Cook’s new album SURVEY: Part 1 is wonderful too.
What to night-out: If you haven’t been to a musical or theatre show in a while, go see something like ye ole Dear Evan Hansen in a city near you.
Sebastian Strand
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
Ever wonder if the way you lead other people is the right way? Is there a “right way”? And if there is, what would that look like, especially in Church leadership? That’s what the latest edition of the Rhino Journals is all about. If you lead other people (and we all lead someone), then this is for you!
Grace and Peace,
Cass & Rich