Update: From tweezers to a chainsaw!

Hi all, isn't it great to see Steem springing back to life after 2 years of bear market misery? I simply can't believe it's been this long!

I wanted to continue my haphazard series on content creation, in particular, what I'm learning and practicing. In review, it's about efficiency (being able to create consistently without burnout) and standing out (melding a popular topic with your own ideas).

Unfortunately, in the early/mid stages of my career, I got poisoned by perfectionism. Uptight art directors and instructors meant well, but steered me further into thinking that high details, complexity and photo-realism (3d) was the ONLY way to go. I already had the tendency to get lost in my creative work and burn hours with abandon... This toxic mindset has plagued me for a long time.




I taught myself After Effects back in 2012, when I was firmly in the grasp of perfectionism. It's definitely a great program, but it's best suited for highly-detailed visuals — which have their place — but it's like playing with fire. There are SO many ways to fine-tune even basic text or image animations, that there's almost always a risk of diving in too deeply and losing precious time that could be used for foundational milestones such as writing or voice over. In the world of content creation, consistency reigns over obsessive perfection.

_{After Effects can often be like using a tweezer to get things done}

The real problem...

In the past two weeks, I've taken a chainsaw approach with creation. I've been learning Premiere, which is video editing. I hacked a one-hour+ movie into around nine minutes, added a GREAT narration track with side-splitting wisecracks — along with fun images, texts and sound effects.

It was refreshing to zip through my project. I created a good sized video in days (as opposed to weeks ^{and weeks} ). One could object by saying that I used finished footage from a public domain site, so the work was far lighter. That's true, HOWEVER, the experience shows me that I have a tendency to get caught in details. When I added text and images in After Effects, it was like downshifting to a low gear while driving at a highway speed. I noticed my bad habits resurfacing. I have a strong need to work on shortcuts and cut as many corners as I can without being blatantly messy.



The problem isn't the software so much as me! But now I'm very aware of my time and the pitfalls I must avoid to produce good content on a regular basis.

Anyway...

I think I've done it. I believe I've cracked the content creation code (at least for myself and my skill sets). I want to mainly use chainsaw software and a chainsaw mindset with just a dusting of fine-details from that annoying and time-consuming tweezer. Things are quite clear for me, I just need to apply what I know and stay with it.

I'll have my new video out soon! I'd like your opinion.