You know, when I first got into filmmaking, I was one of those guys who just has to read loads. I had to get my hands on everything, and just read and read everything! And I did.

Or watch DVD courses. Or audio courses.

As you probably know, this isn’t a great use of our time.

So Why Do We Read So Much And Amass So Much Information?

I think consuming filmmaking material is comforting. We think that if we’re reading something we’re engrossed in the goal and we’re actively moving towards our outcome.

This is true to an extent, but we’re fooling ourselves if we think it’s anywhere near as powerful as getting out in the field and practising this stuff!

Maybe it’s because we’re trained by school and academics in general that if we read loads, then we’ll get good at something.

Yes, this is true in a field like History or English Literature. But in the field of filmmaking, the field of life, we need to get out and take action – try the techniques, the new processes, learn from our failures and grow.

So there’s a lot of new people who come in and they must have the perfect approach already planned and calculated before they make their first attempts at practice. They have to have read everything and know every contingency.

This is no way to play the game.

So What’s The Solution?

You’ve got to get out there and make the mistakes…then make sure you learn from them.

There’s a big risk that if you go out trying to amass everything you can about a subject that you’ll just hit Information Overload. Information Overload is a situation where you’ve consumed so much information that you just don’t know what your next (or even first!) move is.

Sometimes you are just buried under so much information that you don’t even get started. This can lead to other difficulties like Paralysis By Analysis.

So don’t get stuck in the Consuming Everything myth.

I did for a long time.

   

Wrapping Up

You can get immersed in theory and still be no better than the next person…especially if that person’s out there practising in the field week in and week out!

It’s a myth of false comfort and it won’t benefit you in the long run.

Get out there, take your hits in the field. Then come back, read and learn what you need to in order to progress.

I know this post was a little short, but I hope this was beneficial. Thanks for reading!