Recently a creative friend of mine asked me if I could help him by answering a few questions. The aim was to help breakdown what an individual feels most passionate about and where their greatest strengths lie.
However after I had completed answering the questions I began to realise that asking those same questions to myself may be of a great benefit. Often creatively, I find myself being pulled in many directions in pursuing various creative goals and projects. Yet this kind of flippancy can often leave you feeling drained and unsatisfied. The lack of focus of going from one random creative venture to another lacks a sense of progression in anyone creative field.
So, whilst I do enjoy doing film reviews, photography work and various video projects I do think it would be beneficial to myself to try and pinpoint and then focus on where my true passions lie. Therefore, bellow here you will find the results of these questions:
What Do I Do Well?
I’m a smart guy and I’m very good
at putting together intelligent, well thought out films and videos. I’m a good
writer and have a real flair for storytelling: whether through the medium of a
film review, a formal essay, a fictional script, a non-fiction documentary or
advertisement.
I’m also good at dealing with and
motivating others to pursue their passions and push their own boundaries, no
matter what their endeavors may be.
I care for people and the work I
do. I’m passionate in my creative outlets and push myself to do better. And try
to simplify and streamline the processes where necessary.
What Do I Feel Passionate About?
I’m passionate about people. I
enjoy the company of others and like listening to what they have to say. I like
to be challenged; I like to hear other people’s perspectives on things,
especially when they may view things in a way I have never heard of before.
I like going on journeys: in
narratives, in cinema, in books I read and in real life as well. I like to go
off the beaten path. I want to see new things, things that excite me, new
things that I haven’t seen before. And I want to create journeys like this;
journeys that I can experience and embellish upon: experiences that I can
create and share with others and show them new and exciting things as well.
What Do I Think I Am Uniquely Gifted In Doing?
Honestly, I think I’m uniquely
gifted with a true open-mindedness. I have a passion and determination to
create things and push boundaries wherever I can. I also pride myself on
helping others and honing their potential into practical solutions.
My even flowing passions for
creative projects (films, photography and writing) push me to persevere and
encourage others to do the same. I am never happier than when I am hard at work
on a creative endeavor and pushing for the project to be the best it can be.
What are my talents and abilities?
I think I’m a very creative
person. When necessary, I have often gone outside of my comfort zone and
produced quality content in fields I have been unfamiliar in.
I also have good leadership
qualities (in helping and motivating others forward) whilst not being over
zealous or forceful.
I have a decent understanding of
lighting and photography, but I’d say my greatest strength is in my mastery of
storytelling and filmic sequential techniques. Also my writing abilities have
come on leaps and bounds in the past few years, as I have made it a priority to
improve on weak areas in my knowledge base.
When I find problems I make moves
to come up with practical ways of solving them. In this way I’m very pragmatic;
although on occasions I do have a tendency to over think things, I more often
than not overcome this slight deficit.
What can I be trusted to deliver, and is there anything else that makes
me special?
I can be trusted to deliver high
quality (professional standard) video and photographic content. Whether working
on a small or a larger scale, I have always prided myself on my ability to over
come limitations and challenges that have come before me; I would even go as
far as saying that I have often not only learned a great deal from these
challenges, but also that I have continuously thrived in these situations.
No matter what the task is, I can
be trusted to push myself, and in collaborative work encourage others to go as
far as possible to create a great product. I pride myself on my creative
adaptability and my ability to experiment on different projects. I’m not afraid
to try new things if I believe it could provide a practical solution to the
task at hand.
In terms of specialties, I’d say
I have a very good ability to breakdown complex ideas (or narratives) and analyze
them in a way that makes them much easier to understand. I often analyse films
I’ve watched and review the aspects that worked and the ones I believe did not.
By doing this, it allows me to gain a greater understanding of why successful (or
popular) films work and why others don’t. Which also helps to hone in on what
would work for my own projects.
