I've been a runner for a post production company for just over two months now, and it's thrown up so many challenges and raised so many questions for me that I'm going to split my thoughts into a few posts. Obviously this is a public blog so I have to be careful what I write about. This is my job - something that I'm really keen to progress in, and with yet to be released projects being worked on and some high profile clients running about, I can't just start reeling off everything that happens in specific detail, but that doesn't stop me being open and honest about myself and where that leaves me in my faith. So, here goes.
I am not a natural born runner. I mean, I don't it's think anyone's ultimate goal in life, but some people are just better at it. As much as it's considered an entry level position in the industry, it actually requires many skills that not everyone has full stop, and certainly not that you would naturally attribute to post production - or for that matter, myself. Knocking on doors and asking people if they want anything requires a lot of confidence when you're someone like me, carrying trays full of hot drinks requires a certain amount of strength and balance that I (discovered I) have a severe lack of, and asking people if you can shadow/sit in with them is not something I'm naturally attuned to doing - doing stuff for people is a lot nicer than asking something of them (or in Bible speak - 'It is more blessed to give than to receive') It never feels like an appropriate moment either. It's not that I'm not interested - in fact the total opposite applies, but when someone's running around like mad trying to do eighteen things at once, I never think 'would you mind if I sat in with you for a bit' is the most appropriate thing to say to them. There's so much about my job and the way you progress in it that is far from my natural skill set.
I can look at an Avid project and know exactly how to tidy it up- sort those bins, rename those sub-clips, transcode that media to codec x etc, but give me a messy kitchen at 8pm on a Friday evening, and I still have to carefully check the list of final tasks for the evening before going home. I think my first month as a runner could quite easily form its own sitcom, I made that many stupid, laughable mistakes. I hate it when I'm not good at what I do (yes, hate is a strong word, but I use it deliberately), because when I'm not good at what I do, I'm letting people down, I'm drawing attention to myself for all the wrong reasons, and as far as I'm concerned, I'm not earning my keep. I remember some guest speakers at uni saying they used to hate being a runner when they did it but for me I just hate my lack of ability at it, and I really don't enjoy walking into rooms all day and seeing people do a job I know I'd be better at (no, not better then the person doing it, better at it than I am at running). I'm not going to pretend that I know it all by any stretch of the imagination, but edit assisting (and hopefully one day editing) is the one job I truly believe I can do, and do well. Of course God calls us to be out of our comfort zone, but I am a massive believer that a job well done is honoring to God, so it really, really gets to be when I don't do my job properly. It's caused tears more than once because I've been so frustrated at myself. It's a daily, sometimes hourly struggle facing the fact that, even if I've done my very best, the job could have been done better. I like comfort zones not for an easy life but so I can be at my best, and I haven't felt at my best for a long time.
That said, at the very least I really do work at trying to be good at my job because it doesn't matter if you're cleaning a coffee machine or editing the next big feature, doing your absolute best at something must be always be a complete given. Just look at Colossians 3:23 - 'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord'. Obviously that's a lot easier when it's something you're passionate about (at Ravensbourne 12-16 hour days were normal and I felt more than comfortable with that, whereas a nine hour day at work wipes me out), but the Bible teaches us to work hard at everything we do, not just when we're doing something we love or even are good at. I mean, I'm not passionate about tea and coffee, I don't even drink it, but I should strive to make every latte I make the best latte I can produce! I won't pretend to find this easy, and I certainly won't pretend that when my alarm goes off in the mornings my first thoughts are anywhere close to 'well, in Colossions 3 it says...' but when I'm struggling through the day (which is nearly always), or I'm feeling a bit disgruntled about traipsing round Soho looking for a certain type of olive or something, it's a really important verse to remember.
Plenty of characters in the Bible weren't naturally good where God called them to be, but God wanted them there so God used them. I don't sit comfortably with this in my own life, and actually it took someone a lot wiser than me to point this out to me, but maybe one day it will sink in. For now I can at least look at it this way - I may struggle to get passionate about tea and coffee in itself but ultimately, it's going to a person. It's much easier to get passionate about making people happy than just seeing it as 'making the tea'.
The last few months have been a real, real struggle and I've certainly had better points in my life, but however keen I am to be using Avid as part of my day job (which is unbelievably keen), right here and right now I am a runner, so whether I'm in the right place or not, or whether I have any natural ability at it, God's calling me to be my best at it. Obviously that doesn't stop me looking forward and trying to progress wherever possible, but the fact that this isn't 'the dream job' doesn't give me any leave not to be the best I can at it (even if my best isn't as good as I'd like it to be).
I hope I remember this come Monday morning.
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