The Director Needs to be Confident

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Clients look for a confident vendor who can get the job done. Crews look for a leader to provide the artistic vision. While you may be “inside your head” mulling the creative vision or finding the shot… that won’t work in many video situations. You need to be assertive and confident… otherwise your shoot will spin away from you quickly. Video may be a team sport, but the team needs a captain.

I can’t tell you how many times I am faced with new challenges. Nearly every project brings up new technical and creative challenges that I’ve never faced. This is the truly exciting part about working in video. Rarely do I have every answer (but I do know where to look and how to solve the problem). No client wants to hear ‘I don’t know.’ What they are looking for is ‘I will figure it out.’

When presented with a challenge in a project, I exude confidence (but not arrogance). I know that showing confidence to my team as well as my clients is inspirational. A clear study of the challenge ahead will lead to solutions. Then I’ll leverage my networks. I have a collection of peers I trust to ask questions of. I can turn to online forums like Creative COW. I can ping my social network through Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. All of these play a part in finding answers.

Everything I learned in college about video is technologically obsolete. What I learned was how to tell stories and how to solve problems. Every tape format has changed; every software application has upgraded ten or more times. Heck, web browsers didn’t even exist. But I know that I can learn. And because of that I am confident that I can solve any challenge I face and devise a solution that is an effective compromise between the budget-in-hand and the schedule I have. With a little practice, you can see the world this way too.

You can download the free eBook "From Still to Motion – The Business Manifesto" to get practical advice for professionals working in video and new media