How Film School Shaped My Creative Career
🎂 Happy Friday! Welcome back to my weekly newsletter where I give you high-quality insights and learnings on building a creative business.
Now let’s dive into this week’s post.
When I attended college in Chicago, I studied film and motion design.
My dad was into photography and videography so it must have rubbed off on me. I used to carry a massive video camera that took VHS tape, threw it over my shoulder, and filmed skateboarding videos with my friends.
My professors were excellent however my first class at 8 AM was Survey of Film. This meant that for 3.5 hours twice a week, we’d turn off the lights and watch old movies first thing in the morning.
I have to say it was brutal. People fell asleep, snored, walked out. As a morning person, the last thing I wanted to do was get all pumped up for the day, have my coffee, and then sit at a desk in the dark for hours. I was annoyed.
But after the film was over we’d discuss what we just watched.
Our professor was quick to point out little details and things said that went over my head when watching. “Do you see all the things on his desk? The antacids, the mess around him, how he’s chugging milk?” the class gave a collective nod, “that’s there to illustrate his internal stress and struggle.” Since film is a visual medium they took something we can’t see (like stress) and put it in a visual language that we could see.
“Nothing is on that table by accident. It was all meticulously curated for the viewer.” My mind was blown.
I was hooked at that point forward. During my film school tenure, I watched nearly every cinema classic out there. From Edison’s original Nickelodeons to the Cohen Brothers. Once I began watching through this new perspective, I became fascinated by each film.
I also had a Cinematography class where we’d breakdown scenes from films rather than an entire production. “Fair warning,” our professor remarked, “once you look at the plastic behind a scene, there’s no going back.” He was easing us into the fact that once you understand how something works, the magic is gone and you’ll never look at it the same way again.
Our professor was about the ruin movies for us for the rest of our lives.
I remember looking at a car crash from a French film called “Tell No One” and a choreography scene from a Korean film called “Three Iron”. These were beautiful, light incredibly well, and meticulously planned. He shattered the illusion and the magic of film dissipated the more we learned. It was like knowing how a magician does every trick. Then you begin seeing the trick everywhere. Magic will never be the same for you again. That is what film school was like for me.
These lessons helped shape my entire worldview. I was always interested in how things worked so it’s no wonder I was drawn to it. I wanted to see how to apply this thinking to other areas of my life. I often remember the Steve Jobs quote rattling around my head:
“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.”
During my first agency job, I was interested in how it operated, and how things worked. My whole career is based on the fact that I’m simply a curious person. When I scroll social media, I’m not mindlessly watching reels for entertainment. I’m looking behind what they’re doing. Why are they saying this? What are they selling? What does the link in their bio go? What’s included in their $2k course that’s going to make me a millionaire?
The world is moving towards a creator economy. Key people of influence are becoming the main authority in commerce, not brands. Now more than ever, people are the main influencers. We’ve lost trust in brands and have stopped believing anything they say. We look to influencers to recommend our products or rely on social proof and reviews from others.
I love how it’s possible to become wealthy all on your own now. And there are so many ways to do that in today’s world. The entire creator ecosystem is a good deep dive for another time. but here’s how all these influencers make their money:
The offer ecosystem
Free gift: Knowledge from consuming content or a free download to a guide or playbook. It could also be a podcast or a blog.
Core product offering: This is the main thing they sell. Maybe it’s a course or web design services.
Client product: Maybe it’s 1:1 coaching or high ticket item for those who want more after the core offering.
This doesn’t include other ways creators make money like sponsorships and affiliate income but we’ll get to those in another edition. My point is successful individuals today are the ones putting themselves out there. They’re not consumers. They are the content creators.
Here’s a challenge for you
I want you to put yourself in the mindset I had in college watching those films. When you’re looking through Instagram or TikTok later, get curious. Try to look behind the content and think about why they created the content and what they’re trying to get you to do. What are they selling or linking to in their bio? Look for the plastic as my professor would say.
There are only a couple buckets of content everything falls into: entertain me, educate me, challenge me, emphasize with me. Keep that in mind next time you’re scrolling.
Hit reply and tell me what you learned. I’d love to know if this was helpful to you. Go deep, get curious, and I’ll see you next week.
👋 Want to work together?
Shirakaba Studio just launched its new website and we’re now accepting clients. If you’re looking for a website or brand, let’s chat!
I’m working on a booklist to share with everyone. Coming soon!
Have a great weekend,
-Jimi