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Improvise: Think outside of the box
In this video, I reference one of my least favorite sayings (you can pinch me if I say it around you), “think outside the box.” This post is NOT about thinking outside the box – it’s about improvising…
One of the biggest things that you can do to help reduce the need for improvising is to have thorough checklists. These should be reviewed a week before the wedding, the day before the wedding, and the day of the wedding.
When you find yourself needing to improvise, here are some resources that have proved very useful to us:
1. Twitter/Facebook: When you need immediate answers, there are quite a few people that use these social media tools to help others. Tweeting something like, “Hey Detroit filmmakers – I’m in need of a Steadicam today… where is the best place to find one last minute?” should get you some responses if you’re following the right people – and the right people are following you.
2. Be active in online forums: Depending on how much time you have before you need a solution to your situation, you may be able to hit up a forum and do a search for “Canon 7d overheating” to figure out anything you can do with your oven-roasted DSLR.
3. Involve yourself with other local video professionals: This is one of the MOST important ones. If you have access to phone numbers, being able to make a quick phone call to say, “Hey – we left our wireless mic at our studio that’s an hour away and the ceremony is starting in 20 minutes – and you live 10 minutes away from this church… can we meet up with you and borrow yours?” I mean – if a situation like this ever happened – a local filmmaker-friend might save your tail… not saying that this has ever happened to us… errrr…
Tips on how to Improve Your Improvising Skills
Tip #1 – Shut your mouth: Only let those who can help with the problem know that there is a problem. DO NOT even hint at this in front of the bride and groom – unless they are the best resource to helping find the solution. People love drama, but as a professional, it is not professional to get others riled up with whatever situation that has been encountered.
Tip #2 – Find your happy place: Take a deep breath and try to clear your mind for a few seconds. You need to make the best of whatever obstacle is in front of you, so instead of immediately reacting, let your mind do a quick brainstorm.
Bonus Tip – Eat, drink and be merry: Make sure that you’re eating and drinking (non-alcoholic) enough the day of the event. The last thing you need is a self induced headache on top of a wedding-day-snafu-headache.
