A Phil Svitek Podcast - A Series From Your 360 Creative Coach

Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way, introduced the creative world to Morning Pages. As the name implies, they are pages of writing you do in the morning. And this technique doesn't apply to just writers. It applies to musicians, painters, sculptures, etc. Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do...

This weekend I filmed the proof of concept for what will hopefully be my 2nd feature called In Search of Sunrise. I recap the events of the weekend and how it made me realize I was tapping into the full vitality of life by undertaking this project. That sounds awesome, but part of doing so is exposing yourself to become your most vulnerable, which I certainly was. But I'm a firm believer that all...

Anything in life that can be considered evil is really an otherwise good value taken to an extreme. One such ideal that I worry is headed this way is "self care" or "self help". The reason I think about this is because I've seen signs where people use self care as a license to stop caring about others. The true goal of self care is to make us better so we can help others. If 2020 has taught me not...

Derren Brown, author of books such as Happy and Happier, has a notion that says you should consider nouns as verbs ( https://simonsinek.com/discover/episode-23-happying-with-derren-brown/ ). Why does this matter? Because nouns are stagnant. Think relationship, friendship and happiness. As nouns, they are ideals to strive for. But you don't magically just attain these like a fountain pen and call i...

One grave mistake I see is people aspiring to be hosts, actors or the like make it hard to contact themselves. Why? You should have a website with an easy to connect with page. Additionally, you should have a press kit. Two great resources/examples are Gary Vee ( https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/press-kit/ ) and Sophia Amoruso ( https://www.sophiaamoruso.com/get-started/ ). If you emulate them, you...

Mark Rodriguez (@ MarkRodriguezTV ) joins me for a wide ranging interview about creative strategies as well as mindset. The topics range from his hosting days at AfterBuzz TV, to "accidentally" starting his marketing company Master Mynd Media ( http://mastermyndmedia.com ), how Gary Vee's lessons helped Mark, getting projects off the ground and how the Clubhouse app is an incredible new tool/platf...

There's a major difference between positivity and optimism that most don't realize. I didn't until Simen Sinek pointed it out ( https://simonsinek.com/discover/episode-25-a-tension-deficit-with-james-harding/ towards the end of the episode). So in this episode I take the time to unpack what the difference is and why it matters beyond semantics. After listening, please feel free to ask questions or...

Because you asked, in this episode I shed light on thought process whenever I schedule my film shoots. I discuss it from the macro down to the micro of how long a shot should take. My method is not for everyone and combines my experience as an editor along with my preference of filming fast to create a sense of urgency. Feel free to utilize what you think will work for you and scrap the rest. That...

I open this vlog by sharing some thoughts about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the state of the world today. Throughout, I mention my friend Eboni K. Williams' podcast series called Holding Court which you can check out here: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-holding-court-with-eboni-72590940/ . After talking about the serious subject of social justice, I transition to talk about my creative jou...

The language learning app likes to remind me it's about progress, not perfection whenever I get a series of prompts wrong. These three simple words are powerful when you consider them and more importantly apply them. It is about progress. There is no such thing as perfection, especially in art. The thought of perfection often stifles people with fear, thus inaction. Just keep progressing. You'll b...

There's an adage most writers have heard that says those who can't read can't write (or some variation therein). This applies to screenwriters too. If you want to write scripts, you have to read them. But garbage in, garbage out. You need to read scripts of produced movies that are universally viewed as great works of art to truly learn. How? Go to http://simplyscripts.com and browse through their...

One of my friends was doing everything from her bed: work, sleep, eating, watching TV, laying out outfits, etc. Then she started slipping into depression. Why? The answer is simple. There was no separation, no boundaries anywhere. Her body and mind were confused. "When do I sleep? When do I work?" Etc. Jay Shetty points out that we must have intention with time and space. Don't make the lines blur...

Cinematographer Roger Deakins (1917, Blade Runner 2049, Shawshank Redemption, Sicario, No Country For Old Men) is regarded as one of best directors of photography around. Why? People say it's his visual aesthetic. And they're not wrong, but why they think that goes deeper. Roger shared his thoughts on this on an episode of Team Deakins where he said, "Actors are the key of what you're going for ot...

There was a lot going on last week and in an effort to focus on something else, in this vlog I highlight rounding out casting for my upcoming proof of concept. I discuss lessons from the process and then I talk about editing a friend's project. Even though I didn't give my thoughts on the events of last week, I aim to do so in the future. For now, please listen to Arnold Schwarzenegger's message:...

Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist, has a notion that in today's culture we signal our intelligence by tearing down other's ideas but that in reality it doesn't take much intelligence to do this at all. You're actually way more intelligent if you help build up an idea. It is this notion that I explore in the episode and why it's significant especially as artists who aim to have abundant cr...

If networking is as important as people make it out to be, it begs the question of how do you do it in a way that actually works and makes you stand out. Thanks to Marie Forleo's teachings, I have the answer and it's very simple. Upon introducing yourself, state 3 things: I work as X, I'm interested in Y and learning about Z. That gives you and the other person more things to talk about (thus crea...

Whether you're shooting a film (short or full length), online content or anything else, I have two tips that will help you achieve better visuals. I learned them a while ago and they have helped me tremendously with the things I make. After listening, please feel free to ask questions or offer opinions of your own, whether down in the comment section or by hitting me up on social media @PhilSvitek...

Flobo Boyce (@flobito on IG & @floboboyce on Twitter) and James Lott Jr. (@JameLottJr) join me for three way mind-meld as I jokingly put it. Both have appeared on my shows in the past but never together. Together we have a wide ranging conversation around various strategies and ideologies as content creators. There's so many take-aways, from citing our "best tools" to our "best failures". Plus...

Are you one of those people who has tons of tabs open all the time? Is it at the point where you can't even discern which tab is which? Tab groups is a useful thing that will help you. It only works on Google Chrome but if you use this browser it will make you online life so much easier. Join me for this tutorial as I show you how. After listening, please feel free to ask questions or offer opinio...

Happy new year! With this episode of my vlog, I fill you in on my 2021 agenda. I also discuss details of my proof of concept shoot for In Search of Sunrise and the importance of watching yourself on video in order to evolve. So listen and afterwards, please feel free to ask questions or offer opinions of your own, whether down in the comment section or by hitting me up on social media @PhilSvitek....

Flobo Boyce (@flobito on IG & @floboboyce on Twitter) joins me for a sit down interview where we discuss his creative journey, his approach to life, how he infuses meaning into his projects and so much more. It's truly a wide ranging conversation that goes deep at every level with many take-aways, nuggets of inspiration and even humor. So listen and afterwards, please feel free to ask question...

Last Thursday my dog Sparky passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. It sucks but there's lessons to learn from this. And in an attempt to honor his memory and life, I share these via this edition of my vlog. I discuss how we can have more impact in our lives like Sparky did, I share the idea that any pain is confirmation that something has meaning for you and more. So listen and afterwards, please...

If you're a screenwriter that's starting off, it may be expensive to purchase script software. Good news is there's a solution. Celtx ( http://celtx.com ) allows you to have three scripts for free! That's great. But what if you're prolific and able to turn out screenplay after screenplay? Well, I've got some tips for you in this episode. Listen and afterwards, please feel free to ask questions or...

When it comes down to it, complaining solves nothing. Worse, it prevents you from coming up with fixes to those complaints. Repeated enough times and eventually you feel helpless and lose any sense of agency to control things or have an impact. This is terrible because of course you have agency. Doesn't mean the action you try will work, but it certainly stands a better shot than not doing anythin...

To convey your vision as a filmmaker, you need to create storyboards. And sure you can draw on pieces of paper but if you want to make copies or send it to people, it becomes cumbersome. Or what if you want to make a change? Perhaps you're someone like me who is a terrible drawer. Well, here's good news: there's a solution to there problems and then some. It's called Wonder Unit's Storyboarder ( h...