Paul Steven Forrest is the president & founder of Forrest Film, a creative services company in Southern California, which produces and directs digital assignments for a wide range of clients. Over the past thirty years, Paul has directed a variety of live studio shows, stadium events and music specials. Paul is currently writing Your Creative Drive, a book designed to help readers discover the passion and enthusiasm to do their best creative work. His creative drive has established him as a visual storyteller who brings ideas to life.
It all started when I was interviewing veteran actor, Amick Byrum, for my book Your Creative Drive. We began the interview talking about his passion and enthusiasm – and the role curiosity played in his own creative drive. About twenty minutes into our conversation I asked him to describe the experience of working with a legendary actress like, Glen Close, on Broadway. Amick’s response grabbed my full attention.
He said, “I’ve done a lot of theater and voice-over work. When I go into the recording studio, after being called by a producer or a composer, and sing something for them, I have to go in and be the absolute very best that I know to be. And if not, my career is likely over if I have two of those, where I am not the best that I can be, because this business if full of a lot of very good people.”
Imagine facing the possibility of damaging - or even losing - your career over a couple bad days!
Amick went on to explain that, “A film composer has something they are looking for, and they’re relying on you to bring something to the table that is very special that surpasses what they may have in their mind. They’re depending on you for that, they don’t want you to be an “auto-matronic” coming in, singing the notes, and interpreting them in a pedantic way. They’re expecting you as the artist to come in and bring something to life. And unless that happens, there are a lot of other people they’re willing to give a shot. Work breeds work. Good work breeds a lot of work. And so you have to be really great at what you do, so that the next time a composer has another project for you to sing on, there’s no question, “Get me, Amick!” That’s the position that you really want to be in, but you have to remember that you never arrive in this business. Never.
You have to bring your “A” game to every single thing you do, including the job that, in the scale of things, may not seem all that important, but every single thing you do has to be your “A game”. The composer who is writing the low profile job may be the next John Williams at some point. And so you’re creating a reputation every time you go in for everything you do. The longer you’re in this business you realize that this business get smaller and smaller and smaller. The person you’re singing next to one week could be the person who is writing hit songs a year later for major artists.
There are a certain number of people who stay in the business over a long period of time. Although their job descriptions may change slightly, you’ll find there are certain “core people” who bring their “A” game and their edge. Those are the people who stay in the business. I guess that’s the biggest thing…if you don’t bring your edge every single time, you career will be shorter than others. Bringing your “A” game is what creates longevity in the business.
I don’t know about you, but mingling with people I don’t know has always been hard for me, even though I know mingling is an important step in building a social and professional network. Here’s a helpful article on mingling from Success magazine…
“Not everyone’s a natural conversationalist. In fact, 93 percent of us self-identify as shy," says Susan RoAne, known as The Mingling Maven and best-selling author of How to Work a Room. Here are tips for entering a room of strangers and effectively working the room:
When entering a room, head for the dessert table. People who are contemplating calories will always talk to you.
Don’t approach two people in a conversation; opt for three or four people. It’s an easier number to approach and reduces the chance you’re interrupting a private or sensitive conversation.
Looking for an “in” to a conversation? Say, “Excuse me, may I join you?” It’s an elegant way of inserting yourself and no one’s ever said no.
Wear something people can connect with. Madeleine Albright always wore beautiful broaches, so people would start conversations about that.
Before a social gathering, catch up with what your friends are doing on Facebook. With this information, you can easily strike up a conversation about mutual interests or their latest vacation. Something easy like, “I saw your vacation photos on Facebook—where in Mexico was that?” is a great way to get them talking about their favorite topic—themselves.
As I’ve mentioned in my earlier blogs, I have made a commitment to stretch myself professionally. One of the ways I decided to do that is to take classes to learn how to become a voice actor. So, every Wednesday afternoon, I drive up to Los Angeles and spend time in the booth working on technique. My goal is not only to learn how to use my voice on my own projects, but to book other freelance jobs as well.
Recently, I ran across an article by producer Marc Cashman outlining the qualities he believes a voice actor needs to possess to be successful in the business. Due to length, I’ve condensed his article by focusing on the author’s key comments for each trait.
“Directors look for key indicators in an actor that tell them whether that actor can perform flawlessly in a session, particularly in a phone-patch session, where anywhere from one to ten or more clients will be hanging on every word. The actor who has all of these abilities will be working a lot.
The specific traits that make for an in-demand VO actor are:
Consistency. You must be dependable and able to deliver what everyone is looking for.
Taking Direction. Listen carefully to what the director and/or client are saying. And never argue with direction, even if you think it is wrong.
Professional Behavior. From the moment you enter the studio door to the moment you exit, comporting yourself as a professional is critical.
Readiness. Are you physically, mentally and emotionally prepared to give everyone involved a stellar performance in a sometimes stressful and compressed amount of time?
Talent. A standout talent makes the copy their own, [and] infuses it with an energy and interpretation, in a way that makes the producer say: “Yes! You nailed it.”
How many of these 5 traits do you possess?
If you’re not getting booked for jobs, it’s time for some serious self-evaluation to help you become a true creative professional!
I came across Dave Ramsey several years ago when I picked up his book, Total Money Makeover, at the bookstore. Because his no non-sense, old-school approach to money and life was both refreshing and extremely helpful, I soon became a Dave fan. Here’s an article he recently wrote for Success Magazine I wanted you to see. In it, Dave offers his advice on how to move from a dream to real success:
“Throughout the years, I’ve discovered that the people who win in life always have goals. I’ve met many millionaires, even billionaires, and I’ve seldom spoken with any who got to where they are without setting goals. Without goals, it’s hard to know what you’re aiming at.
All goals begin with a dream. Now it’s good to have a dream, but I meet a lot of people who have been praying about their dream for 20 years and have done nothing about it. Everybody has a great idea. But people who put their great ideas to work are the ones who end up being millionaires.
The next step for your dream is to take it from the dream stage, which is a generalized overall concept, down to a vision. Next, to determine where the finish line is, break your vision down into specific goals.
For your vision and goals to have long-term positive impact, they must include several areas of your life. You must have career goals, financial goals, spiritual goals, physical goals, intellectual goals, family goals and social goals. If you leave one of these areas out, you have what’s known as a flat tire. Your life will be out of balance and the ride won’t be as smooth.
In order for your goals to work, they must:
Be Specific. If you are going to win, your goals have to be specific. Do not have general concepts. Break everything down and get defined. It’s not specific enough if you can’t tell it occurred.
Be Measurable. It’s easy to set measurable and quantifiable goals in areas like sales. Things that are more cultural in your life, where you’re shifting philosophy in your career or family, are a little harder to measure, but there are ways. Create a baseline and develop a process to measure where you are now and where you are going from there.
Be Yours. We are forever, in our culture, letting someone else set our goals. You cannot let someone else set your goals for you. The goals have to be your goals— not your boss’s, not your spouse’s and not the person who came before you. They’re yours and you have to have ownership in them or you won’t execute them. There is no energy in other people’s goals. There is only energy in what is inside of you.
Have a Time Limit. How much time do you have to make it happen? If you don’t set a time limit, you will not push yourself. When you have a time limit you stay focused and on track.
Be in Writing. When you write these things down, they’re dangerous. A written goal is much more powerful than a goal you simply set in your head and don’t write down to hold yourself accountable. So, be careful what you write down because there is a good chance it will happen.”
Don’t get discouraged if your goals aren’t accomplished in the exact way and down to the second according to your original plan. Be sure to talk with those around you who have achieved great goals they set for themselves. Find out what they did to overcome their intimidating obstacles and what they learned throughout the process. Some flexibility is definitely needed, but as long as you are focused on the end goal and are taking proactive steps toward accomplishing it, you are an achiever and on your way to great things.
In April of 2007 I ran across an online article by my friend Phil Cooke that challenged me to think about my creative future. His article talked about the importance of a brand and taking everything to the next creative level.
To me it was the wakeup call I needed to move my career from digital to hi-definition. If I was to stay relevant over the next five to ten years, I needed to make important changes in my approach to this new creative world.
Here are four priorities from Phil’s article I turned into my action plan:
Take creative projects to a new level. Ten days later, I started learning Avid and editing my own projects. I also made a commitment to bring fresh new ideas to every media assignment, and never settle for mediocre.
Develop online possibilities. I began writing copy for my new webpage, and found a web designer to create a custom website. I couldn’t just talk about being creative if my website wasn’t creative. My business cards, letterhead, and email bug are extensions of my website…and brand.
Develop new publicity that gets people talking. My next step was logging on Twitter and Facebook, to read posts from friends in the arts – and share what I was learning on my own creative journey. Then I started writing this blog, and inviting my network to read it and share their comments.
Get you book(s) in process and think about a writing career. For years I had written copy for television, but never for publication. So I set up a meeting with Phil and shared my ideas about writing a book on creativity. With his encouragement, I began researching and writing, Your Creative Drive.
So, what are the results of taking these action steps?
Over the last three years I’ve done some of my best work…challenged myself to think differently…stretched my skills…and determined never to approach creativity the way I did before.
If your creative drive is on automatic pilot, and your creative approach has turned stale, this is your wakeup call! Time to move from digital to hi-definition.
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Paul Steven Forrest is the president & founder of Forrest Film, a creative services company in Southern California, which produces and directs digital assignments for a wide range of clients. Over the past thirty years, Paul has directed a variety of live studio shows, stadium events and music specials. 
