Sometimes it's really hard to keep motivated, the work is drying up & you just can't seem to get moving; we have all been there. Hopefully these tips will help to put that click back in your photo finger, that spin back in your record or the mojo back in your.....well ya know where I'm going with this......
1. Like J Lo said (was it her?!) go back to your roots. What do you really love doing, what subjects interest you most? Plan a personal project to increase your portfolio and get your brain ticking again.
2. All work no play makes for....well my life at the moment but seriously - remember to take some time out to do the things you really enjoy & to hang out with your mates etc. (Much more riveting conversation than your laptop as well!)
3. Set yourself realistic goals and targets as to when you should reach them and a path as to how you will get there.
4. Share your thoughts and creative juices with others. I am not talking kinky business here but go to networking groups, meet with others in your industry and just get yourself out there. This will also be a great self promotion tool and that positive feedback which we know you will receive will be yet another thing to inspire you.
5. Reward yourself, my favorite. I like to choose 3-kg of Cadbury's at the end of a long editing session but each to their own!
After reading the about the lonely and hard working lifestyle of the freelancer, I made it my duty to do something about it...well, add a few videos and provide about 10 minuets combined relief. I’m not really an internet fiend, I have on occasion logged onto you-tube and totally forgotten what I was there to see...oh yeah, that clip of Tinky Winky and Laa-Laa swearing off camera about howf'ed they got the night before their auditions.
Here are a few clips I hope will entertain you…
Semtex TV Who never thought they would see the day that all these greats would grace the same stage!! Well lets remember Dave Chapelle’s block party got their first, but whose keeping tabs, and if a one armed DJ can pull it off (and that really is him scratching and mixing in the background, using his nose) then there is a God, shame only Mos Def is freestyling though. U-Min You might recognise these guys from Missy Elliots ‘Chingasomethingorother’ video. I’ve known about these guys since 2006, so you’re late, very late. This is my favourite routine they did for a Uniqlo commercial. We put a monkey in front of a purple screen playing the drums to a Phil Collins backing track, to sell chocolate of all things, and the Japanese get the U Min. We’re just not cutting the mustard are we?
Hyun Joon I swear I couldn’t answer the last question in my Contracts exam because I was stupid enough to be on you-tube three hours before and found this…
Frank II Louise Ok, so they got a bit of a stupid name, and this is all they do, yep, this robotic costume thing, but you have to admit, its good init!
Ok so working as a freelancer you get bored right, well not bored but dare I say it lonely (yes cat liking, spinster looking lonely) sometimes! Your working alone a lot of the time and cabin fever starts to kick in; the walls of your office / bedroom are still the same white, the tree's outside are as they were yesterday and that bloody dog is still barking, and no matter how many internet searches you do your still losing the 'worlds grossest word' contest with your mate via MSN.
You also spend a lot of time in your car. I think in fact my car has become my best friend. We have lots of chats you know, damn she is a good listener. We share coffee, crisps and a little bit of D'Angelo (hands off he's mine!) and I think I may even spend more time with my car than I do my laptop - now that IS saying something. For all of you freelancers out there that talk to yourself, or like me stick pictures of your mates around the place and pretend their in the room with you (pass me that cuppa would you.....ooo a biscuit I wouldn't say no....) well I have one thing to say.....yes you are no longer alone!! Or is that no longer am I alone?! Whatever, i swear i cant be the only one - cabin fever is a given of the freelance world so prepare yourselves people, prepare yourselves.
Once when I was 16, I think, me and ‘da man dem’ (lol, I’m too old to use that in real life) were playing that game that young boys and girls in London play down Oxford Street. You know, the ‘how many numbers can you get’ and ‘you pick em, I chat em’. Ok, so remember this was years ago, and I’m going somewhere with this. Anyways, the point is, I never really played, actually, I bottled it almost every time, or made excuses about having to go into H&M for something when I knew they all knew I hated shopping. You see, I was a pretty shy one growing up. Always the one standing next to the guy chatting up the fitness. Don’t aww me!! I was happier than Gordon Brown when he heard the words “oh alright then, your turn”. I mean, chatting up a member of the opposite sex felt like sitting my GCSE’s and A Levels all at once, while going 60mph strapped to the roof of my mates £300 Ford Escort. I was happy, believe me.
Several years later and at university, me and a few friends are out after a long day studying and getting ready for exams, yeah right! That’s for my mom if she ever reads this (love ya). I had just finished a gig somewhere so I was relatively sober ( I don’t drink when I Dj, plays havoc with left hand action). So there I am in this club, sober and watching everyone else as they go about their mating rituals. It wasn’t till that moment it occurs to me that the last time I had tried to chat up a female went about as well as a Simon Cowell attempt at positive criticism. No time better than the present to get some much needed practice in I thought. So I scout out my most likeliest (is that a word?) victim…and by victim I mean I’m just doing it as an exercise, fire drill if you will…dry run lol (I thought that up myself).
One girl I never really met before, but knew all my mates knew her, if you know what I mean. She was blond (I don’t really feel blonds), about a 5 rating (I’m not being cruel, just honest, I’m sure your very beautiful and all the things they say about you and your eyes are true…). So basically she wasn’t my type and I just went for it cause I thought it was highly unlikely I’d get thrown back like a Primark reject (if such a thing exists). I make my approach, ‘hey how you doing, what’s your name? Pass me your number and I’ll bell you some time!’ She looks at me up and down, smiles and just shakes her head. Shakes her head?!!?
For a brief moment in my short but eventful life, I became ‘that dude’ in this video. Friday nights will never be the same again…
I absolutely love this video (pause it on the pic of the neighbours who get woken up, classic) and tune, not many UK females actually have a product I can’t falter. Very swish beat, couldn’t find out who produced it, but I’ll get on it. Envy has those kind of bars (if your in Devon, that’s lyrics) that are actually far better than the ones from those Mc’s who always have that one line “I’m the best mc” (or something to that effect, why is there always one idiot with that? Someone tell him please...). One person on youtube wrote “Anyone who manages to use the word Butter’s deserves a number one”. I concur.
FreeStyle
P.s Envy, if your reading this...Pass me your number? I like a girl who knows how to rock an Era
So the old geezer of strictly come dancing has quit and decided to rob us of the viewing pleasure of his stunning dance partner who actually does all the work. What a selfish guy. And why would any man want to give up spending the majority of their time with a foxy dancer lady? One question too many for my pretty little head.
On other celebrity news, I recently caught an old favourite running around on TV and decided to pull him up for a quick interview. Eddie Murphy was in his latest movie and I was on my couch.
Me: SO Eddie, what happened to all those classy and punchy jokes that made you a legend in my eyes Eddie/Klump/Norbit/Latest Fat Character:pharts Me: Uh, OK. I have a friend who refers to you as Sir Eddie. Do you think you still live up to such billing? Eddie/Klump/Norbit/Latest Fat Character:(SHOUTS) YES AHH CAAAAAN!!! Me: So Eddie any chance of you droping the fat jokes? Eddie/Klump/Norbit/Latest Fat Character:pharts Me: Uh, I guess not. Any chance of you doing some good material like the good old days? Eddie/Klump/Norbit/Latest Fat Character:makes armpit noises whilst biting into lamb chops
At this point I looked down and tried to supress the tears as I realised, Eddie isn’t just going through a little bit of a slump, Eddies gone. Gone for good. He might give us a little spark here and there with donkey from Shrek but alas my friends, Eddie lost his mojo a looong time ago.
Words:Future
Disclaimer: No one was hurt in this fictional interview.
Yes Fam, hope you’re doing well wherever in the world you’re dropping in from. Ok, so seeing as this is my first ever real blog (yes i’m a virgin) maybe it’s best to get the introductions and what not out the way, Oh yeah, and warnings.
Firstly, do not be surprised if you see a vast amount of questionable use of language, e.g TXT or shorthand (i.e. ssslllaaannngg) and some lol’s, a few lmao’s and always a swift sharp 'gtg'. This is obviously not for the benefit of you ‘the reader’ or for any potential writing jobs that may come my way, it’s just easier, considering I write more on messenger and in txt than I do in real life, and I think it creates a more interesting read, don’t you? And anyways, the last time I checked Shakespeare was inventing words left right and centre just to help himself sell.
So, my name is Chef, not my real name, obviously, but momsy rinsed out my government name and most people call me Chef anyways, I don’t know why honestly, it’s not like I asked them to.
Oh, that reminds me, another warning, I do tend to babble sometimes, forgive me, and pray that all my ex girlfriends manage to get their sanity back, I know some of them are still struggling.
So the point of my contribution? Well I’m going to be adding up all my music video reviews, bits and bobs on anything happening, or in most cases, happened, gig or ‘anything else that I find interesting’ wise. Also every now and again I’ll just pass through, have a rant or rave about whatever is on my mind. I did have an interesting conversation the other day about a game me and my mates like to play when travelling on the tube and why it’s so wrong (lol), remind me to write about that someday!
I guess I’ll leave it there for now, I got a terrible ache in my right hand (from one hand txting!!! tut lol), oo I will leave you with a small video recording from the ‘LateNightLive’ radio show I do on http://www.playvybz.com/. Check out the station, some really good shows...
Sometimes it's really hard to keep motivated, the work is drying up & you just can't seem to get moving; we have all been there. Hopefully these tips will help to put that click back in your photo finger, that spin back in your record or the mojo back in your.....well ya know where I'm going with this......
