Let Go and Haul: just trying to set some pom poms on fire
Week 11, 2018 – Brooklyn
Journey: Where we’re at
This week brought a Very Exciting Visit from our advisor Geneviève (expert in computer vision, deep learning and excellent human being), who was in town from Boston. Anton made some pretty cool progress on determining where “interesting” moments are, and I got super sick but still managed to do some kick ass investor meetings even though my brain felt like a giant cotton ball. I think this means I’m getting better at pitching, which is a nice feeling. I’m a bit out of it, but my brain feels more like a bag of craft sized pom poms now (improvement!) so that’s basically what you’re gonna get this week, a few small fuzzy thought-lets:
Journal: What I learned
📚I finally got round to reading In the Blink of An Eye, a classic on film editing. In talking about the logistical challenges of long takes (essentially, why edit), Murch says “The longer the take, of course, the greater the chances of a mistake”. Reminds me a lot of why we force ourselves to do short iterations (sprints) in tech when making products, and test early and often. It’s a totally different animal, but I like the metaphor of how all these edits make up a story, which is what I’m always trying to get to with a product, a complete thought.
I came across this quotation by the author/humorist Arnold Glasgow: “Success isn’t a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.” I don’t love the word ‘success’ without context, but this is still funny and true when it comes to risk taking. All week I’ve been thinking about this while I do something – am I just doing this thing or am I fucking setting it on fire? 🔥🔥🔥
I’ve been doing a lot of much-needed work on my “story” for pitch meetings, and thinking a lot about where I come from, and how to own it in a way that is interesting and relevant to what we’re working on. When I scrolled past this quotation in an email it stuck with me…
“Style” is another word I dislike without context, but in all this story work I’ve been doing, I can’t deny there is a similarity of ideas/aesthetic and maybe digging into my background is what ties it all together... maybe more on that in a future newsletter.
Jams: what I’m into
Finally watched Tangerine! It’s intense, and I think I love it. I can’t believe it was all shot on an iPhone 5S.
Always and forever, The Heat. As Katheryn aptly pointed out to me the other night (as we were killing ourselves laughing) there’s a good chance we’ve all been both detective Ashburn and Mullins from time to time at work. (Or if not out loud, definitely in our heads).
For the design nerds in the house, this playlist by Annie & Simon is hilarious (and also quite good). Of course, even the album art is dead on.