Blog #9-Freak Factor

http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/45.02.FreakFactor

What's your biggest weakness is question, that is bound to pop up in any job interview. The question is how to improve this-a) focus on your strengths, or b) try to fix your weakness. The majority of people try to fix their weaknesses, instead of focusing on their strengths. If they try to do both it usually doesn't work out. According to David Randall there are eight different things you can do to change this-1) what's my problem is, 2) believe you are flawless 3) Don't try to fix your weakness 4) Build on your strength, 5) Focus on what you want to do most, 6) Find the spot 7),  The power of uniqueness, 8) Putting your quirk to works.

One of Randall's suggestions for overcoming weakness "Believe You are Flawless" is perhaps his worst suggestion. Nobody is flawless. We have to admit there are some things we are not good at to do so would be a blatant lie. For example having an habit not showing up to class, or work on time on a regular basis is a definite flaw, that could be improved or there is a very good chance you could find yourself with a low GPA, or in the unemployment line. Each of has one negative trait about ourself-bad temper, or maybe a proud attitude. As much as we all loathe criticism, we must admit there are times it can be useful-such as if someone shows us how to use a hammer the right way, or how to parallel park with bumping into the other cars. If we are foolish enough to believe this then there is a good chance, that are egos will be over inflated. Point in case Orson Welles. Every one he's responsible for what is considered the greatest film ever made-Citizen Kane. What other major films did Welles direct after Kane none. Welles developed a reputation for being impossible to work with, and unreliable when it came to schedules, and budgets. The rest of his career was reduced to making cameo acting bits to raise money for his low budget independent features. Although these cameos include show-stealing appearances in films such as Carol Reed's the Third Man, John Huston's Moby Dick, and Fred Zinemann's A Man for All Seasons, he never regained the hype he did after Kane (and even that lost money with it's first release).

Among Randall's other suggestion's "Build Your Strength" is a very good idea. Each of us has a certain knack-organization skills, mathematics, communication skills, or artistic talent. Why shouldn't we hone on these knacks, they could prove to our advantage. For example why would some one is good at art, but not at public speaking decide for some reason to become a lawyer? There is no satisfying answer at all. It would be foolish to ignore your special knacks, and gifts in life. The best thing to do is find a career that not only satisfies you, but can also make use of your special talents. But in order to take full advantage of those talents you need to learn how to home them, and improve them properly. If you have a knack at wood working, and carpentering you'd be better off going to a vocational school to learn how to apply those talents in the workplace, then you would here at Ohio University which doesn't offer you much opportunity to take advantage of such gifts. If you're good at taking care of people, you'd be better off in medical school, than business school. Walt Disney tried to make a living first as a commercial artist, and then as animator. But he simply couldn't work fast enough to meet the demands that both of those professions required. He found his knack instead as a film producer hiring the best people to do the best work to on the films he wanted to make.

Randall's most helpful suggestion is "Putting your quirks to work". Every one of us have special traits, and knacks that makes us each stand out from each other. Some of us may not be very good at art, but we have a knack for technical stuff, that other people couldn't hope to understand, so instead of going in for screenwriting, we go into setting up the lights maybe in a TV studio, or a Broadway theatre. Some of us might be terrible at biology, but good at art, and physics so why not go into architecture. Take the Fleischer Brothers the creators of Betty Boop, Out of the Inkwell, and Popeye for example what their cartoons might have lacked in artistically, they made up for technically. They invented the rotoscope, which allowed animators to trace over live-action frame by frame to achieve stunning realism in their cartoons. They also engineered early attempts, of blending sound, and animation before Disney's Steamboat Willie. Would-be Fleischer animator Jack Mercer, had a very good knack at doing the Popeye voice, so when the Fleischers fired the original, he got the role that he would play (amongst others) for the rest of his life. Disney animator Ub Iwerks, found himself a knack at the studio after he retired from animation in the special effects department, because he had a talent to look at a problem through technical eyes. Even Alfred Hitchcock employed him for his feature the Birds. Each of these people had special knacks that made them stand out, to enjoy very successful, and unique careers, something we could all achieve.

When it comes to my strengths, and weakness in the "creative process" there are several. One of my strengths is being to come up with wonder ideas. A weakness being is having difficultly translating those ideas into reality. I once tried to write a play based on the legend of King Arthur from the point of view of Merlin just for the fun of it, but I struggled with the dialogue so I eventually gave up on the project. Another weakness would be frustration at times when some unexpected difficulty comes along, and it takes me a while to think of a way to resolve that issue, before I get back on track. During the various projects this quarter is my strength for using the limited resources I have to in a sense "make something out of nothing" as the old phrase goes" such with the soundscape we had to make based on our screenplay. When I begin a project a weakness I have discovered is that sometimes I have a habit of being less diligent if I'm not entirely dedicated, or if I chafe under ceratin petty restrictions like having to use a poorly desinged  program like Pencil which is the most frustrating thing to use if you aspire to be a professional animator one day. But, amongst my strengths is when I'm truly dedicated is to remain focused when I need to be, such as when I worked as colorist last year on the pilot for Camelittle. Other of my strengths is when if something goes wrong on a project to salavge what I can and polish it off like I did with the animation project. I have some strengths, but also weakness that I need to improve to be a better artist.