I'm from sunny Scotland and have been thinking about making my stories (2 actually) for 4 years now.
Due to certain circumstances and locations (namely Hong Kong), I was not able to fully pursue my need to make what I needed, but now I am, I've used those years to plan a direction ahead. This is why I've started a course in Edinburgh collage.
I have 2 approaches to my learning, first through building my academic work, this, in and of itself, takes me on a set path through courses and allows me to learn through structured information, always a bonus when things are a little daunting. The second, is a learn-by-doing approach, finding equipment and people I wish to learn from & work with, and learn on the job, regardless if it's my own work or not. I'm both excited and motivated to get stuck in as I'm willing to grow through all aspects and am grateful to be able to walk this path.
Why I wish to learn through these two manners goes into my history, I was a chef. I learned skills from chefs who never uttered a word of explanation, also I've needed to read books crammed with descriptions and information, to gleam a fraction of what I needed. Both turned up results, and of course, have different communities surrounding them. The first "book" method, school, courses, and academia. The second would be a practical one, the "kitchen" method. These are how I seem to learn, but I by no means think it's best for all, it just seems to work for me. But I'm open-minded to new ways and will always give them a shot.
When you're working 12+ hrs in extremely fast-paced kitchens, it's literally "survival of the fittest", learning the fastest, easiest and most efficient way of completing a job, is the main focus for a lot of chefs, (especially when you have a demanding head chef) if you don't, you're simply left behind. This ties into my thoughts on learning this new industry, not that I wish to leave anyone behind, but that I wish to learn and grow in a positive manner while moving at a steady pace, as I'm not as young as I was and developing skills takes time. Growing with others is also a fantastic way of learning, along with building a community that I'd enjoy working with.
Let's simplify it, a potato peeler, one of the simplest yet easily overlooked tools in a kitchen. Some would say it's a "beginners tool". This is my point, I can't peel a potato in film, yet. But I'm looking forward to learning how.
I need to learn how to peel a potato, how to hold a pairing knife, how to use a filleting knife, a bain-marie, an induction cooker and a whole lot more, in the fantastic world of film.
I'm planning on trying to learn as much as I possibly can, with the tools provided/found, but people tend to gravitate towards a specific area. For example, the head chef of one of Gordon Ramsay's kitchens, he was in command of a restaurant focused on grills & meats, he did a fantastic job and got to move to other opportunities, but he disliked pork, fish, lamb, beef and could tolerate chicken, I jest not, whenever he checked the meats he would always taste them, and once he confirmed what flavour, texture, cookedness and any underlying issues were, he'd immediately spit them into the bin.
I guess what I'm trying to say in quite a roundabout and rather gross way, is that I'm going to work stringently to try to have a grasp of all areas of film, regardless if it seems enjoyable or not, for my own work and others in future. And to see where my motivation, skills...etc, naturally take me, I'm deeply enjoying the journey so far. Spit bucket excluded.
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