#i might feel a little more like things will be okay? i have group mtg tomorrow and first therapy appt on tues

[swankpalanquin]

i need to take some time off sooner than october

[allisonperryart]

The Business of Art w/ Jeremy Cranford (Blizzard Entertainment) @ The Art Institute of California Inland Empire (7/29/17)

Special thanks to Jeremy Cranford and Thomas Brilliante for making this event possible. For more updates on future events like this in the southern California area, please consider following Inland Arts on FaceBook. (Text-only version of this document available on FaceBook)

James Cranford’s life

Humble beginnings: migrant parents, food stamps, etc.

Attending college was difficult because of finances, but he ended up studying graphic design because he got a scholarship

After doing graphic design for years, he got an art directing job with "Magic the Gathering” and working in games/illustration since 1996

Worked on “Metal World” style guide for “Mirrodin” set (2002)

What would environments look like on a metal planet? Rust, things hovering with magnetism, rolling silver plane, big metal spikes, mercury seas, retina green forests

Environments help you solve what the humanoids/creatures will look like in the environment

The humanoids/creatures? Enamel/scabs is replaced with metal, big metal bracers on humanoids

Also worked on "Spirit World” style guide for "Kamigawa” set (2003)

Started with the desire to help MtG sell better in Japan, which was a challenge because traditionally MtG is based on Arthurian lore/visuals

Unsure about just having American/Western artists riff on Japanese imagery, so he hired some Japanese artists to create more authentic content, which resulted in a very different feel

Example of a brief he didn’t like that he turned around into an engaging project

Also worked on “Ravnica” style guide

Brief: “overdeveloped urban fantasy setting”

Mountains = smelting buildings

Lead was very against having buildings on land cards, but this is an example of Jeremy challenging convention… why could land cards have buildings!?

Risked his job on this point because he really believed in it, and it ended up being a great decision

The creative solution may be an uphill battle, but it will always win out

Plains = created by the tops of buildings, inspired from looking out at the city from the World Trade Center

Swamps = city sewers, obviously

Forest = where they grew their food

First set when they started mixing colors (which are like “cultures” in MtG lore), which was an awesome opportunity to expand and develop new ideas

Blue/green = technology elves

Black/green = voodoo elves (inspired by New Orleans)

Black/red = fire demons, obviously

White/black = basically Catholicism

Red/white = military

Blue/red = mage + technology

First set to have a promo video (inspired by game cinematic trailers, intended to introduce the world)

Began working on World of Warcraft at Blizzard when they released a trading card game

Style was a bit of a learning curve (less realistic, more stylized)

Soon after, started working on miniatures game, which taught him a lot about manufacturing and allowed him to travel to China, etc.

He took a risk and left Blizzard to start a start-up with his friends called Solforge

It was fun for about 6 months, but he never regretted the experience because he learned a lot 

Goal was to push things more sic-fi (nuclear winter world) 

His philosophy over the years has been to take risks, embrace junctures in life, and have faith in the direction you’re going

Every time he took a risk, the pay off ended up being worth it 

The universe has a way of showing you the path that’s most right for you 

He says most of what he’s tried never works out, and he just ends up doing the next best thing - which turns out to be his career 

Doesn’t always know what he wants to do, but definitely knows what he doesn’t want to do 

Always wants to challenge convention 

“Don’t try to make the art you do what you think it should do, rather let the art take you where it wants to go.” - Ben Thompson 

“Leap, and build your wings while you’re falling.” - Ray Bradbury Finds inspiration from Borge Ousland (first human to go from Russia to Alaska)

Saw people’s discouragement as feedback/critique 

Constant failures for 10 years, but learned a little every step of the way that led to his eventual success 

Stick with it

Also finds inspiration from Richard MacDonald (inspirational sculptor, experienced a lot of misfortune, embodies the blind faith Jeremy talks about)

Advice for mastering your craft, building a portfolio, and being a professional

Being an art director is like being a coach - if the product isn’t performing well, the company looks to replace the art director 

It may take you longer to master your craft than 4 years in college (DaVinci took 7 years)… be patient with yourself! 

When he looks for an artist, he looks for a professional

Master your skills

Master drawing, anatomy, and rendering light onto form

Go to life drawing regularly… even if you’re not in school 

He oftentimes looks at the hands

Master design, not just drawing realistically

Creaturebox is a great example 

Large, medium, small shapes 

High density detail (busy) vs. low density detail (rest)

Master painting and color theory

Nathan Fowkes is a great example 

The best color is not always the most “realistic” colour

Master composition, eye flow, value groups, and negative shapes

Wayne Reynolds and Frazetta are great examples 

If you’re struggling, check out Edgar Payne’s book on composition 

Have a plan before you paint and add all your detail 

Jomaro adds “working in threes” is a good idea - working in twos becomes “equal” and too “balanced”

Master story, emphasis, mood, and point of view

Ian McQue's work in the “John Carpenter” art book is a great example 

Just because your rendering is perfect doesn’t mean people will care about what you’re drawing 

What are you trying to communicate? Write that down and make sure you execute it! 

Creating without a clear objective is a waste of time

Don’t cheat yourself - if you’re trying to hide your flaws… fix them!

Don’t use effects/tricks to hide your shortcomings

After you master your skills, target a market and advertise yourself (ArtStation, DeviantArt contests, etc.)

Send out cold-emails 

See if you can get current employees to refer you to art directors 

If you get rejected, evaluate your work and actually assign yourself tasks to improve on it

Pro life tips!!

Don’t be a drunk (why party when you can improve your skill?) 

Dedicate yourself to your career/something higher/something you love 

Have some range (in your portfolio) - never say “that’s not my style!”

Consider: reality vs. fantasy (in content), realism vs, abstraction (in style)

“I’m on it!” Never be an emotional tax on your team/leads - art directors will always go back to the artists that make things easy

This doesn’t mean be a pushover

"Show me the Money!” Think about how much you’re being paid and how many hours you’re putting in… are you even getting paid minimum wage?

If you’re being paid less than you’re worth/less than minimum wage, it’s not worth it… and you’re hurting the whole industry! 

You’re better off investing in yourself - work at Starbucks and build a strong portfolio at night/on the weekends

As your skills go up, the money goes up (you need to go from good to great if you’re going to make it) 

Do you know why you do what you do?

If it’s for the money… maybe you should just go into banking, because this isn’t really a path to make money 

Jeremy does it because he simply enjoys it, which takes the pressure off

"You’re okay, I’m okay”

Growing up, Jeremy had a lot of depression because he was seeking external approval 

If you get your approval from within, you aren’t giving the power to others to put you down 

You’re the final authority on how you fell about yourself, how you treat others, and what you love and want to do

There’s beauty in diversity - just be good to each other and celebrate your differences

Question time!

Where should I go to school?

Depends on what you want and how your learn best - really successful people have not gone anywhere and really unsuccessful people have gone to great schools 

Maybe consider non-traditional schooling like GumRoad and New Masters Academy 

At the end of the day, you need the skills, and however you get them doesn’t really matter

How do you manage your time to develop range and show that range in a portfolio?

When you email an AD/recruiter, consider attaching 3 images that highlight what that contact is looking for in the email… and then lead them to the rest of your work if they’re interested

That’s all you need for “portfolio geared to a company” - you don’t need a full portfolio geared to a portfolio if you have 3-5 images you can attach to an email

Keep your portfolio updated! Don’t leave up bad work from a long time ago! 

Even when you’re not asked to, following up on feedback from ADs/recruiters with new work is a great way to stay in contact and establish your worth 

If you gear your portfolio towards one company and you can’t get into that company, you might have trouble getting into other companies 

However, if you have a very rangey portfolio, sometimes all you need is an art test to prove you can execute the style 

Know your stylistic limitations, too - if you know you can’t do something, don’t waste your time and the AD/recruiter’s 

Having trouble focusing? Set an explicit goal for yourself/make an assignment for yourself… and set a deadline for it (or else you’ll never finish it)!

How do you connect with an AD without being annoying but also not getting ignored?

ADs are busy people, at the end of the day 

Consider joining a forum/contest… sometimes your peers are better critics for you than an AD 

Develop a circle of trust (people you trust to give you good feedback) 

When you do meet an AD, remember “everyone is people…” don’t be weird about it! 

Don’t be embarrassed/ashamed of negative feedback… own it and be fearless! 

Remember: it’s normal to ask ADs/recruiters to look at your work… just ask for permission, give them an opportunity to say “no,” and if they do say “no,” offer to follow-up or leave your email/card 

Also remember to maintain relationships with professionals, because they might be keeping an eye on you and hire you in the future… address their feedback, explain how you improved, etc.

How do you form a good narrative in a painting?

“Create a picture that has a gap for the viewer to fill in”/“Don’t answer/render everything” (Jomaro adds - “like a trailer!”) - Frazetta is a great example of this 

Engage the viewers curiosity and get them to want to know what’s happening 

Maybe look at storyboard artists/sequential artists 

Also maybe identify a feeling/single word/etc. that embodies your piece… and strive to communicate it fully! 

You can execute a complex idea in a very simple way

Do ADs judge you on your backlog/old work?

Always be producing work, or else you’re stagnant! 

Always update your work with your newest stuff 

ADs love seeing jumps in quality! 

ADs aren’t gonna judge you for old work they find in a deep-dive, but be sure to put your best foot forward and have that easiest to find

What can you do to stay in touch while you’re waiting for a response on an art test?

Once you submit the test, it’s out of your hands 

If it’s been a week, try following up with HR asking if there’s anything else you can do 

If you get radio silence, it’s not the end of the world - be positive about your experience and open to future opportunities

Do you need to master digital/PhotoShop/ZBrush/etc. just like you master anatomy/colour/etc.?

If you’re skills and design are good, they’ll show through in any medium, but at the same time, not knowing PhotoShop at all can get you dinged when working in-house

What was your favourite project to work on and what did you learn from it?

“Ravnica,” because he struggled with self-doubt and had to put his job on the line for something he believes in 

HearthStone has also been a blast

Is there anything outside of art that helps you as an artist?

Everything he’s told you not to do, he did himself, which is why he’s trying to help you avoid it 

Letting go of the idea that his self-worth was determined by how other people saw him… compete only against yourself 

It helped to stop taking himself so seriously and just have fun… eliminated the pressure and lets the creativity flow

Stop trying to get everyone to like you and your work! 

Don’t just be a theory expert… put things into practice! 

The biggest thing people are lacking is the mileage

Don’t get deflated by feedback… actually integrate it! 

Don’t get discouraged by people who are better than you that have been doing it for longer… that’s normal!

[pepperstrawberry]

Oh god...

So, took a break from drawing and worked a little on a fic I was playing with...

First thing: I actualy have a working Fan Theory on just how the head Sailor Pluto from Sailor Moon’s Gates of Time work, why they were made, and exactly how the timeline works in that whole series... and I came to a sort of horror realization about it all.

In order to understand what I thought up (and maybe I wasn’t the first one on this, but still), the first thing you have to understand is about the theoretical (hypothetical? how far deep is science in on this concept? my brain is mash and everything I’m about to type is crap I have been repeating for all sorts of story hooks, but also ruining a lot of my thoughts on stories with time travel bs) concept of dimentions of the universe.

(Before I go on, I have to go and watch @flavoracle‘s video post reacently. He tagged me on thoughts of exsistential horror, and this therory thing hits right in where I think he was going with his vid... which Is why I probably haven’t watched it yet... I should watch it just to make sure... probably after sleeping and after I finish the commission mini)

idea, plot bunny and then what I ended up spending several hours on because my freaking muse decided it was time for me to cry... like a fracking lot. Like a baby, are all under the cut

Okay, so the first thing we need to cover is: Do you know about sailor moon?

Well, if you don’t and google will be too much work (amusingly it can be when you don’t want to get distracted, so this isn’t judgement XD ): Sailor Moon is a magic girl anime. Hearts, magic, evil, romance, the works. I would be surprised if any of my followers hadn’t at least heard of it.

(sidenote: knowing of Ranma 1/2 is helpful, but the thing I wrote linked at the end of this has the character there, but nothing touching on what that character means to the story beyond what you can just read, so it’s extra, but unimportant... google it if you want. fun series, important to me as a person, moving on...)

NOW, each senshi (save moon) is named after a planet. So naturally there is a Sailor Pluto (the jokes where already done years ago, no time for pedantry right now, moving on). She is the Senshi of Time and Guardian of the ‘Gates of Time’

They are basically the series ‘time machine’. sorta. There is more, but bleh, so much to get through to get to my point.

Okay, so, during the second season/arc of Sailor Moon, a group called the Black Moon clan come back in time to wreck stuff (google for synopsis. they don’t matter to this post save for the detail i’m going to mention) They fully loose. And really, it makes sense. They are lack info, and more importantly, they are trying to change the past.

Paradox is a nono. So they auto fail. (i don’t know how much of that is canon explanation, but it’s basically what happened if you boil it down. They were doomed to fail cause they had already failed)

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Thing is, in reality, there is this concept in things like Quantum Physics known as the Multi-worlds theory. Short version: Not one time line, but infiitte of them, branching from every choice, every change, that has ever been and will ever be.

It goes further then that. There is figuring that the entire of existence (that is, even beyond our universe, like way beyond) is composed of about 9 dimensions, kinda 10 ish...

Okay, lets get the easy part of this out of the way, cause depending on your familiarity with the rest, things get bonkers fast.

You know the first 4 dimensions actually rather intimately. Height, Width, Depth, Time (duration).

So we have the base 3 dimensions we all know, and time (spacetime), which is how things move, change, the works. Now its easier to consider ‘Duration’ instead of time, because we aren’t just taking forward, but a line that goes start to finish. That is the 4 dimension.

Okay, so 5th dimension, what is it? Actually not too hard to explain: It’s all the branches that the Multi-worlds concept dips into.Did you chose to make eggs and coffee this morning? Or had some Rice Crispies instead?

Trick question: You did both. Not you you, but You (the one you are currently experiencing) AND the other you that is not you. They exist, but not in any real way that matters to the you that is YOU.

6th dimension? it’s kinda the past through of all the branches. Okay, so Back To the Future? You watched it? Especially the second one? Okay, Marty and Doc Go to the future. Old biff takes a thing, goes back, changes time. In order to fix it they had to go back to when biff was in high school in like the 50s (not caring about details, just follow the plot line here)... BUT before that, they went back to their normal time... but it wasn’t. It was a changed 198-whatever.

Thing is, as much as people laud the series for it’s solid take on time travel... this actually doesn’t work. They should have traveled back to their own time, since they were still in the fiture of -their- time line. What did they do?  They pasted through the sixth dimension, bridging the gap between time lines. Normally, like a stream, you would have to go back to where the change could have occured and then travel back up along that branch to get to the new future. But the freaking Delorian is more OP then folks realize.

What are dimensions 7-9. Weeeel to this thing I wrote, they don’t matter as much and are a bit harder to wrap your mind around.

I mean, the 7th is just ‘Our Universe’. Like the whole thing. Every time line, all the rules. Everything that has, can, and will make every iteration of us.

The 8th is like the 5ht, in that, they are different universes with different rules. Like, one might have less gravity or something.

The 9th is simply put as the ‘bridge’ between the multiverse. (wait, we are mtg fans mostly here? Planeswalking! XD ... sorta)

and the potiential 10th is just that. POTENTIAL.The ‘everything’ a drop of everything becomes a something that is anything. A blank slate that given definition is no longer a part of the blank slate.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK

Assuming that: 1) i didn’t ramble too incoherently and  2) you all wrapped your heads around Dimensions 4-6, then we are ready to tackle things

Okay, onward: THE GATES OF TIME

This is an artifact in the Sailor Moon universe that is Guarded by Sailor Pluto, Senshi of Time. (yes, senshi can mean guardian, so redundant, but screw you, i like the term ‘senshi’ XD )

The show, the manga, nothing that I know of really goes into what this thing is about. To be honest, I feel like this is one of those things like the Time turner (harry potter) that open more plot holes and issues then they fix any...

UNLESS!

Okay, here is where that dimensional guff comes into play.

Remember when I mentioned the Black Moon clan’s inevitable failure? It implies there is NO 5TH DIMENSION IN THE SAILOR MOON UNIVERSE.

How so? Well, what if someone could see the future. All those timelines, all those choices. Sure Sailor Moon defates Beryl in one timeline, but in another she looses. So what is the point?

Someone had that much existential dread and access to incredible magic and artificery that they slapped this baby together.

So what are the Gates of Time then, and why am I using plural instead of singular when there is clearly the one?

It’s a 6th dimensional device that locks all timelines instead of one. Being a multi dimensional object, we can’t see all sides with our 4 dimensional senses, but in reality, there are infinate gates, all but this one locked, sealed, and forever hidden from view.

What does this mean for the Sailor Moon timeline?

It means that every choice sticks. Thats it. You chose coffee and eggs today. Yep. That’s it. it’s locked in. there is no other timeline or possibility.

This means that the Black Moons Clan’s defeat was as inevitable as them going back in the first place. Because it happened, it will always happen.

And the gates are one of the only ways to potentially by pass that. Maybe (the other thing I can think of is a thing called the Galaxy Cauldron... but don worry ‘bout it)

---------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, so we got most of this together.. You read this far? Whoa. Okay, so This fic my muse gave me after I was just thinking on the concept of the Gate for another fic idea (because my fracking muse hates me right now and it’s hard to concentrate on my comic for the moment. will be working more on that during the weekend)

So, I love crosses. It’s me, Pepper, so base is Ranma, with the common cross of Sailor Moon (obviously), and I do love cannibalizing a third cross to make the adversary if I can’t think one up myself (most plot bunnies are Kamen Rider crosses for the Tertiary.). For this one, I used a sort of Hild (and the norms, but evil) from Ah My Goddess.

It’s not clear from the first few scenes of this (really the real meat of what I’m posting is a page an a half down from the start), so let me give you the quick breakdown of that this story is about:

Start: Norms and Hild are wrecking the Senshi’s day. Pluto is hiding at the gates to protect the artifact. With out a (literal) Special key, only she can usually enter it. Hild’s goal is to change something fundamental about the universe, but in her quest to do so, she has gotten pretty mad and taken a few minor goddess down with her. Hild finally gets tired, and figures, she just need to change history. She would perfer the Gates, but she is a freaking Deity (fallen of a fashion, I know how silly that sounds given the character, but I’m not going into all that right now, I’m just using it as short hand, k?). So HIld goes, ‘Girl’s, you keep doing good, me? I’m going to make the laws of physics my chew toy”

So she forces herself back in the past.

Chosen target? Sailor Pluto at the fall of their magic kingdom (again, don’t know, google, I’m hip deep right now). She intends to right the dying senshi’s power to the Gates back then (which would be a mess of things on so many levels) Accept, Pluto of the past returns the favor. Hild had forced herself through time, so she is already messed up and pretty near death. Could have recovered, but a magic girl blast through the chest kinda stops that from being an option.

STILL, Hild succeeded in the first part of her plan at least. Og Timeline, Pluto excaped and hung out at the Gates guarding them for a -very- long time.. This pluto?

She ded.

And she is reborn... as Ranma.

Thing is, there is a cascade that wreaks havoc on a timeline not meant to move or change. Three things stay anchored, one of which cases backwards ripples. 1) That key that was mentioned before. Sailor moon had it, inactivated for safety. Sailor moon is not anchored, but the key is... it ends up somehow in the hands of Ranma, cause destiny, single timeline, reborn Pluto, you get the idea)

2) Pharaoh 90 (third season/arc) was locked way by the Gates. That moment -can’t- change, but since it can’t, timeline figures easiest path is that dude didn’t even exsist (lots of effects from that that I would explore in story proper) 3) The norns (the goddess with hild) get ‘washed ashore’ at the point in time just when Chibi Usa (moons future dautgher, sent back as a part of that whole Black Moon clan thing) would have shown up (because of shift in time, future is currently being rewriten as Ranma lives it... Fixed point idea thing)

OOOOOkay, last thing you need to know before I actually drop this stupid thing on any one with the insanity to read it: OG Pluto still lives at the Gates (outside normal time so effectively untouched by cascade... but it means she can never leave to go to any point after her death, and she can’t chance going back before that moment)

Are you really still with me? Did you make any sense of that? All that so that you might understand what I wrote. Context is everything.

Oh yeah, I was listening to this on repeat while writing, and part of why i was crying (yes it’s kingdom heart. honest I give not two figs about the game, but the music is beautiful.)

I give you the end of a fic that my bonkers muse gave me the idea for that may or may not ever see a posting and thus, I want someone to take some joy in what I wrote rather then hiding it. (warning, I’m a hack of a writer. Better then most Fanfic writers. Would Put myself in the top 10%.... but then again, that is not saying anything good. XD or maybe I’m more garbage then I think. But hey, 1) rough draft writen low on energy and 2) if it gets the emotions right and is clear with what i’m going for, then victory, right?) 

(this post is long enough, so this is a dropbox link that I hope works) (and yes, the title has some plays on words that hopefully make more sense when you put all the themes and especially the ending together) (remember, actual stuff that matters the most is after the page and a half mark. the other stuff is rough chapter one stuff)

And now, without further adieu, “Once Upon a Time https://www.dropbox.com/s/bytc8x9xcw01w81/Once%20Upon%20a%20Time.docx?dl=0

[gregwhite]

GRATITUDE IN WRITING

Please pardon me for being the millionth person to bring up gratitude in LA this year. Gratitude is having something of a moment you might say. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but by the 10th time you see it used to sell green juice in Venice you start to get a little white person wary. But it makes me think about something crucial to sustaining a career in this or any industry.

Last night I was delighted to do a talk with a class of BU students* who are here doing a semester in various entertainment industry jobs while learning about how this town works and etc etc and I brought something up to them that I’d like to share here.

I finished college in 2006 and decided, being from Jersey, that I would get my start in New York before riding triumphant to LA. I had always been told, “if you want to work in TV, move to LA,” but that was too frightening to contemplate and so HA I thought. HA IN YOUR FACE. So NYC it was**. I got a job as a page at Letterman, and when that ended I was a temp at HBO, and when that ended (after a day) I got a job as a prep cook/PA on a PBS cooking show (which was pretty outstanding) and when that ended I got a job in my friend’s wine store in Tappan, NY, the Grape d’Vine (currently relocated to Sparkill, NY). Also I was unemployed a lot. 

And when you’re ambitious and also uncertain about the path forward, the only boot in the ass you need is the one that comes with being unemployed a year out of college, living in your childhood bedroom (it’s a great bedroom actually), while your little sister finishes college up in Boston and your other friends move into the city. (It also compels you to write a lot.) So it was with that in mind that I moved here in January of 2008. 

So back to gratitude. I won’t go into the whole thing now, but basically, during the year and change I was living at home in NJ before I moved here, my rule was (I like rules) that I had to email 10 BU alumni every day asking them if I could buy them a coffee (if they were in NY) to talk to them about how they got their start and if they were in LA, if I could just give them a call and talk to them. So people are generally really nice and open and happy to share their experiences (aka talk about themselves) and by the time I made the very scary move to LA, I had actually amassed a nice little group of contacts who said that if I ever moved to LA, they would be happy to meet with me. 

And in this way, I ended up meeting with fancy writers, and network execs, and studio heads and all kinds of people. And one of them was a BU alum named Debbie Liebling, and she was very encouraging and sweet (and even let me pitch a feature to her, which was a DISASTER because I figured I could just wing it in the room...it still makes me nauseous to think of that) and at the end of our meeting, she mentioned another friend of hers from her time at Comedy Central named Zoe Friedman. I met up with Zoe at her office at Comedy Central and we had a memorably enjoyable conversation about what I hoped to do, and our time on the east coast (she was a New Yorker), and before long a friendship developed, one that I was and still am very grateful for in its openness and kindness. 

At the same time I was doing a bunch of random jobs as one does in their early days of LA. I was a PA on a Comedy Central show called Lil Bush, run by a very nice man (and BU alum) named Donick Cary, and I was, most depressingly, a temp at Sony filing legal affairs paperwork, which meant that I would spend by mornings writing scripts I wasn’t sure anyone would ever read, go to work filing PILOT DEAL PAPERWORK FROM FANCY WRITERS, and then go home and continue writing. It was frustrating in one sense, but also highly motivating, and I think in that first year in LA, I must have written 10 pilots.

Anyway, this is getting long, which was not my intention. 

Long story short, I end up working for Zoe’s dad Budd, legendary founder of the Improv, and thank god for that job because I needed one (again, thank you Zoe). The job was basically helping Budd book acts for the Improv’s casino sites, and while booking comics wasn’t my goal in moving to LA, it was fun, put me in touch with some very lively characters, and also allowed me time to write during quiet spells throughout the day. It was during my time working for Budd that I received an email from someone at Comedy Central informing me that a showrunner for a new show had read something of mine and wanted to meet and would I like to set up a time?

I had to read the email a few times, because (a) the words seemed Nigerian Prince levels of too good to be true, and (b) because these kinds of emails often have a weird subject format which looks like MTG TO SET: GREG WHITE WITH _____ and I assumed it was a spambot trying to get me to sign up for a credit card. I emailed back informing them that yes I would love to meet with the showrunner but um, let me just check my sched--okay, checked it, yeah anytime is fine. But I also asked how this guy had even gotten a script of mine, and the response was that Zoe had submitted a script on my behalf. One of those scripts I was writing at home in NJ after college.

So very long story short, I met with the showrunner, a fellow named David M Stern, and within a week I was writing on my first show as a real life TV writer. (Thanks, David.)

But the point of this is gratitude. Nobody anywhere is self-made. Sure, you work hard and you hope to get a shot, but like Obama said during the debates in 2012, “you didn’t build that.” If you have a trucking company, guess what, you benefit from the public works programs that built the highways that allow you to run your company. And if you’re a writer, there are a million gatekeepers and the walls are way too high to jump over on your own. You need help. That isn’t to say this isn’t a meritocratic town, because to an extent it is, and so if you keep working and writing and trying to get your stuff in front of people, eventually something will fall your way because you refuse to stop until that something does, but...you’re not self-made. And realizing this is the key to sustaining a happy and healthy and productive career (and life) in the arts. You are a product of everyone who has ever said something encouraging, or given you an idea, or played you a song, or made a phone call on your behalf. Your career is a balance sheet on the amount of kindness you’ve received, whether it was deserved or not. And the way you can try and deserve that kindness, is by not being a dick about it. Acknowledge that, and you’ll be very glad you did.  

Let’s just consider this for a second. David had gotten a show to series, itself a small miracle. And he had read probably hundreds of scripts and certainly wasn’t asking for Zoe to send him one from some random guy from New Jersey. And it’s not like Zoe needed to submit me. And it wasn’t like David needed to even bother reading me. And that he liked it? And wanted to meet with me? And hire me? Consider all of the things that had to happen for me to get my first job, a foot in the door. Such tiny odds. Now, if you’re an insane person you go, YES THE ODDS WERE SMALL AND I VANQUISHED THEM! But if you’re a normal functioning human, you go, Jesus God, that almost didn’t happen, and hug the things you’re grateful for a little tighter and whisper THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU (just don’t do this on a bus or in public). Seriously, consider that. The good things in your life almost didn’t happen, and it is basically just weird luck that it did. Be grateful for the random accounting error that is your life. In fact, consider anything you love in life...and now consider that thing removed from your life. Kinda sucks, right? Exactly. You fall into a routine and you complain about something dumb and you forget about the fact that your entire life is pretty much full of glorious things that, taken on their own in a vacuum, appear to be miracles. But taken collectively they become the things most people don’t even look at. (Not to get all Pete Holmes-meets-Eliza here, but seriously. Don’t forget how lucky you are to be alive right now.)

I called Zoe to thank her the day I got that email, and I called her to thank her when I met with David, and I called her to thank her when I got the job, and I called her to thank her when I got my second job, and to this day, I still email her when something goes my way. Sold a pilot? Thank Zoe. Wrapped season 2 on a show? Thank Zoe. And not only Zoe, but my high school film teacher for showing me this was a thing I could do and was good at. And my mom and dad. And the friend who invited me to join the writers workshop when I first moved out here. And so on. And more than just this being the right way to live, it also feels really good. Your gratitude connects you to these people and reminds you that you’re never alone, that you carry in your body all the good things that ever happened to you and the more you acknowledge those good things, the more they stay alive. And of course, if ever you see yourself ten years ago in a newly-arrived LA human, you do what you can do show them kindness because in the end, nobody wins unless everybody wins.

So I guess my point is, whether you’re just starting out or many years into a career, you’ve got someone to be grateful for, and I hope you let them know it. It’ll make you a better person, and that will make you a better writer. 

*I also went to BU, class of 06, but did not do this LA program as (a) it seemed insane to pay a semester of college tuition to come intern and (b) I REALLY love Boston and (b) I REALLY liked being in college and taking classes. They told me I couldn’t take more than 5 per semester, so I just started showing up to classes I wasn’t enrolled in and waited for someone to kick me out. They never did. Goddamn, I loved being a full-time student. I always say that if I ever become grossly wealthy I’m going to grad school to get a masters degree in something useless. Basically for me college was going to lectures and talks and film screenings and making our late night talk show with my friends. Actually, it’s not very different from my life now, only I own more kettlebells. 

**It was not glamorous per se. I would take the bus from Harrington Park NJ to the Port Authority daily and then back. Gross. But NYC is lovely in the fall and spring and a nightmare in the winter and summer and I loved working there, even if it was as a page for $270 a week.