Author Archives: thevsstudioblog

Audible (American football) : a substitute offensive or defensive play called at the line of scrimmage Much like a quarterback who steps to the line of scrimmage and calls an audible based on the defense, there are times when you as a producer must do the same thing. No matter how much you prepare, somethingContinue reading “Call An Audible”

…You Make It Happen. This excellent Vanity Fair article describes in detail the making of RAGING BULL. At the center of it is Robert DeNiro’s desire, make that obsession, to bring Jake LaMotta’s life story to the big screen. It’s a miracle the film was made as Scorsese’s originally wasn’t interested. It was only DeNiro’sContinue reading “It Doesn’t Happen Unless…”

“They (the whole-hearted) were willing to let go of who they thought they should be in order to be who they were…They believed that what made them vulnerable, made them beautiful.” -Brene Brown One of the hardest challenges for any artist, for anyone trying to lead, make change, attempt something that might not work, isContinue reading “V is for Vulnerable”

“Make movies. Not meetings.” -Mark Duplass Less time consuming and critiquing other people’s work. More time making and critiquing your own work.

“Don’t take it personally” is great to remember when someone we trust gives us advice or feedback. It’s not about us. It’s about the work. Helping us get better. Go further. Make the change we want to make. We should be grateful that someone took time to notice, to care, and was brave enough toContinue reading “Take It Personally”

First level: As artists, we must tell the truth. Next level: Tell the truth in an interesting way.

Marshall McLuhan famously declared the medium is the message. Expanding on this concept…As artists we need to fully understand the medium we’re operating in and what’s required by it. Specifically, we need to know how much or how little collaboration is necessary to make our art. Painting and novel writing for example, are more solitaryContinue reading “What’s The Medium?”

No, I don’t mean it this way. I mean, taking a break before you decide. Before you respond. Before you comment or post or tweet. My wife tells how as a teenager, she’d go shopping with her mom. Inevitably, she’d want something and ask her mom to buy it. Her mom would wisely counter withContinue reading “Sit On It”

Negativity bias basically states that we remember bad things much more than good things. Evolutionary psychologists believe we’re hard wired this way so as to avoid being eaten by Saber-tooth Tigers. (The media unfortunately weaponizes this trait to grab our attention. “If it bleeds, it leads.”) You know what else we remember? Compliments. Especially unexpectedContinue reading “Unexpected Compliments”

It’s the simplest concept, but one we always forget or neglect to do: “If you want something, then you have to ask for it.“ Let’s break the above “If/Then” statement down into two parts. First, what do you WANT? What do you truly want? So much so, that you’re willing to do the second partContinue reading “You Gotta Ask”