Once more, thank you for being so candid and sharing with us, Christian. The perspective that you fall into "Failure Spirals" too is refreshing and comforting, but also amazing because of course from the outside, you look like an enviable, smashing success in every way. So, I would add - practicing gratitude. Yes, I know - a horse beaten to death many times over, but I think the reason why is the power this has if you practice it consistently. It is the antidote to the failure spiral. Another antidote to that, contrary a bit to the concept of "you time", is community and giving. Finding your community, spending time in it and most importantly, giving to it, is a way to quickly improve your mental state while also doing positive work outside of just making entertainment for mass consumption. Speaking of mental states, learning to recognize and read your emotional landscapes, and then **exercising** control, is vital. I emphasize "exercising" because it's just that - you have to build and maintain emotional control just like muscle, or an athletic skill. One place to start is in knowing and recognizing cognitive distortions. How often do we "catastrophize" our situation, or focus only on negatives (I'm not as far in my career as I "should" be), make things about us (personalization - they hate me, the universe is against me), fall into control fallacies (we don't have a choice or control when we do), or jump to conclusions? I'd say, just about every time you open a new email from a director with notes on a cue, or a reply regarding some gig you'd hoped to land. It takes time to build the "muscle" of emotional control, but it makes a world of difference. I recently made the error of checking email while in the line up at the grocers, and read an unfavorable response to some work I'd done. I read it too quickly, and made many assumptions. Then I started to spiral into catastrophe thinking, focusing on the negative, and making assumptions (they hate me, I'm going to lose this job, it's proof I'm actually a terrible composer and my career is over). However, I was also standing back a bit and watching this happen in my mind. With the knowledge of how these distortions work, and that (based on past experience) things work out if I give it time and approach it with positive mindset focused on solutions, I was able to decide not to follow that path down into the abyss and pulled myself back. This took less than 20 minutes, whereas in the past this could have sidelined my happiness for days or weeks, sabotaging my sense of confidence and thus my creativity - which of course is the one thing that could actually bring about the terrible results I so feared. Most of what we fear and dread is purely imagined and not an inevitable result, and so working on seeing these and correcting them consistently leads to an overall improvement in mental health, happiness, and confidence.
I don’t have any children of my own, but every Friday afternoon at 3pm...I become Uncle Richie. I pick up my 8yr. Old nephew from school and we walk right across town to our favourite coffee shop, where I drink coffee-he eats ice cream-and we play chess. Through the course of the game he asks me questions about life, why did this happen?, etc. This is such a valuable time for both me and for him...the only time I’m not obsessed with what’s happening back in the studio...and a wonderful mental break.
Hi Christian, everything you say, absolutely resonates with my life, not as a composer but as an animator. The similarities are stricking, working for hours on end in darkened rooms, often on ones own, always under stupid deadlines, having to deal with directors and producers, throwing everything into it, never refusing work because you are frightened to stop working etc. I've worked in the animation industry for the last 30 years and had my own company for the last 10. All the ten points you refer to would apply immediately to myself. (And now I will pass this video on to my daughter who is starting her own creative career, studying illustration.) The one event that has made me stop and think and begin to reevaluate is having to take time off last year to look after my wife who was going through treatment for breast cancer. A sobering experience and one which makes the points you refer to even more important to try and apply to how one conducts oneself. The one thing that has reignited my creativity again after this horrible past year and indeed allowed me to escape into my own occasional 'me time' was discovering your vlog on TH-cam and then the fantastically inspiring work that Spitfire does. Thank you and do be good to yourself.
I finally hit my wall & ended up in the ER on Friday... I kept on moving the goalpost as to what my "new normal" was & ignored my health for far too long. This one really hits home for me, I fought back tears as I watched...It's time for me to be a better version of myself. Thank you Mr. Henson.
Christian, there's a calling here, another string to add to your bow so to speak. More than a media composer, you're becoming a wise sage. Thanks so much for the vulnerability of your sharing. In sharing your humanness, you elevate yourself and those around you. More power to you sir!
I suffer with similar issues, so I know first hand how terribly important it is to create an open dialogue about our health! THANK YOU for helping to do so! Think it's time I took a nice long nature walk...
No worries. Not many people get my surname right ;) thanks for mentioning the article and for being inspired to create this video! Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres
This was a fantastic Vlog. Not enough people are talking openly about this and it is a huge deal in the entertainment industry, and audio (whatever form/medium that may involve) in particular! Thank you for this Christian. Please keep up the great work and the honesty and take care!
Thanks so much for the honesty! My coping mechanism is Sundays! I unplug, bake, go for longer walks ( I do walk every day), and watch movies that are in my cue. No email, no phone calls, and no contact with work of any kind. It took a while, but clients know that I NEED Sundays!
You are so spot on and every point here is hitting a bit too close to home. This has been my life for 20 years now here in Southern California. You are the best therapist I've ever had. Cheers Christian!
John Irving often says, “ We write about what scares us the most.” You on taking care of yourself, me on having a minimalist approach to gear. “Ok John, thanks for pointing that out.”
This was an amazing and honest look. I've been narrowing down my choices in relation to music and composition was my choice. Having gone through addiction, and different mental health issues myself this was relatable. Took 10 years but 30 and back in school so on my way! Thank you for your clarity and honesty in all your videos.
I love these more philosophical vlogs! Having done music full-time for many years now, the thing that I struggle with the most is the crazy amount of time you spend alone, often in a dark room. I find myself really missing having co-workers, and a place to go where you are a part of a bigger group. It´s a really solitary profession, and whilst I love waking up to write music every day, there is a undeniable sacrifice you make (I think) in pursuing this with a passion. Thank you as always for these brilliant insights into your life - I always save them for my scheduled procrastination time in the studio :)
Thank you so much for this vlog and for being honest with us and with yourself! Every word you say resonates in my soul. I've been through sleepless nights, burnout, anxiety and panic attacks. Still managed to grow and not to lose myself in this mess. Thank you for gathering the community all over the world. Stay strong!
Maintain personal hygiene. Even if you're alone for the whole day, shower, shave, brush your teeth, and put on fresh clothes! Couldn't agree more about sleep. Once in a while, I'll take a day where I sleep as much as my body/brain desires. My record is about 14hrs...
Excellent topic, thanks Christian -- your videos have really helped with my education in music. I'm just starting out in media composition but have a background working with people who have special needs and mental health issues, the experience of which I will be forever thankful for having because there's a lot to be learned from others' struggles. It puts things into perspective and has made me realize the huge importance of self-care and helped me learn to better ignore the impulses by which society and/or my own paranoia/anxiety about finances push me to over-work myself.
This is brilliant and perfectly encapsulates working as a creative freelancer on the perils that can grip you - fear of failure, no personal time, no rest, clients who don’t realise what they have requested of you and expect immediate results. I love being a creative freelancer but it’s not for the faint hearted or the ones looking for an easy ride. Thank you Christian for making me reflect on my health and wellbeing.
Thank you for this refreshingly candid vlog post, Christian. Each person has to work out her/his own way to manage one's health, but many of your suggestions could be used by anybody.
Couldn’t agree more. I found myself getting into a burnout if I don’t give myself a bit of time every week to just do nothing and do anything that isn’t related to work that I enjoy to do. Last thing any media composer wants is to feel burned out in the middle of a massive project with deadline being in just a few hours, we’re all in it for the long run so treat yourselves well.
Wise words Christian, so true and pertinent! Fairly new as a self employed composer and thanks for reminding me to take time to take care of myself. There is always this pressure that you always need to work none stop otherwise you're "lazy". I mean this is how i see it and i try to get away from this unhealthy behavior. Creativity won't come if you keep pushing for it. Anyways, thank you!
Excellent advice Christian. Your videos have helped me through a very stressful few months of work. Getting out for a walk early in the morning has been a particularly effective new habit. Thank you.
This was a great reminder! I think #2 has helped me the most. Not spending all that much time scrolling through Facebook and Instagram has given me a clearer mind. My theory is that our brains think linearly and process information in an organized fashion. When we are scrolling through social media our brains are bouncing from topic to topic without giving itself time to process that topic. This causes our brain to get overloaded and drains our energy.
Here is my personal top10 that I decided to write upon watching this video. They are in no particular order. I consider all of them important: 1 - Have a 2nd job - Whenever I don’t have a project, I work on another job. Most music composers have a 2nd job (I know triple A game composers and composers who won Grammys or Emmys who have it), only a minority are able to do it full-time. It’s not only how much you work, it’s that PLUS realising that luck is needed to end up working with the person or company who will produce something that will raise your opportunities for success. There’s no self-made success, everything works together (action and re-action). A maestro is in charge of the music but he cannot succeed without a good orchestra. 2 - Exercise - Do you know how your body starts getting stressed and your back aches after hours and hours in the chair? If you exercise, that pain will stop and you will be able to work so much more and won’t go to bed with an aching body and you will actually sleep better. 3 - Sleep - Just do it. Sleep a healthy amount and you will be able to last much longer in the long run of a project. Reserve the extra hours to when you’re getting closer to the deadline. You will then be prepared to handle the stress better. 4 - Learn the film making process, video game, ad, etc. - This will help you to understand your client, this is specially important in moments of stress near the deadline. Understanding that you’re not the source of their stress makes it easier to handle situations. 5 - Learn to distinguish between constructive criticism and destructive criticism - only be open to the former, disregard the latter. 6 - Invest your time on directors who appreciate you (emotionally and financially) - don’t take a paying and easy going director for granted. They are the ones you need to invest and not slack on your professionalism. These are the ones that you want to work with again and again. 7 - Don’t follow studio trends - I see lots of people on facebook with loads of equipment and yet produce things that lack so much in quality. It’s not what you have but how you use them. Manage your money well, it’s already a tough life in this business. 8 - Take your time - As long as you keep deadlines in mind, feel free to say to the director that you will send him something tomorrow or next week (as opposed of the next few hours). I find that my works also gets better with the extra time and less rush. Just don't miss the deadlines. I find that John Cleese's youtube video on creativity is super useful and true. Specially the part he talks about time. 9 - Eat healthy - Seriously, fast food doesn’t nourish the body. I do have my share of take aways because I find that cooking something takes time away from my work and I am usually hungry when I’m not prepared take a break. But do eat something and make it healthy. 10 - Breaks - Being in the flow is important but that doesn’t mean that the flow stops if you stay away from the computer. Take off the headphones and do something else (walk, play one level in a video game, sleep) and then go back. It’s impressive that, when you give yourself time to *just* thinking can do.
You're absolutely right about social media, I avoided it completely until a year ago and now find myself checking it way too often. I think if you're unknown it's a real buzz when you get a like or comment back from someone with a lot of followers, deleting it from your phone is a very smart move.
Absolutely love this video, thanks for sharing! I can echo the social media bit; it's been almost six months since I deleted my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. I can say it has been hugely impactful in a number of ways. The constant comparison as you eluded to was starting to really do me in, among many other things. Also since deleting my accounts I've had much more success with composing; we're often tricked into thinking social media is a necessity for this career path. It definitely isn't. Thanks again for your content and all that you do! Just got another bespoke drive in the mail with 6 new libraries haha - can't wait to really dig in!
It's always good to see that others are troubled with the same thoughts. I have some success - I think you have more :) - but the doubt and fear always creep in. One thing I did a few years ago, in order to get a job, was to have to supply a full CV. I found that writing it out made me realise what I really had done. And yes - it is HARD work to both keep it going and to keep your head above water.
Hey Christian, thank you for your disarmingly blunt and honest vlog. I'm just starting out on this path, after getting a whole load of Spitfire samples. In fact, I sent one of my resultant pieces to your PA by way of a thank you. I think everybody creative suffers from these same anxieties, but not everyone is as altruistic as you, so thanks for sharing.
I changed my setup and started using a standing desk. Makes an incredible difference for the body and the mind! Walking around whilst I'm making music keeps the ideas flowing
You are so amazing and such an inspiration! You make a real difference in my life and so many other musicians, and without music we're all lost. Thank you for bringing light into the darkness
Quoting a previous video... "Procrastinating into a camera..." procrastinating into a camera is good procrastination. Don't apologise for self care advice, it doesn't get mentioned enough (not by you, everyone). Thanks again for the insight Christian.
It’s so easy to stay glued to your chair in your studio working without a break. I make myself get up for a walk around the block periodically. And on top of being good for you it also helps solve certain musical problems and gives you perspective when you resume the work. Also remembering to eat is important! Haha
'Me' time. Something I have employed at least once a month since forever. A day off to simply remind myself who I am. I truly believe it keeps me sane. I watch my son carefully crafting his game and feel very proud that he manages his time brilliantly. Working all week and then total down time at the weekend. I hope he got that from observing me throughout my life. Fine words, Christian. I hope,very much you take your own advice, it really does recharge the productive juices.
This was a bit of an eye opener to be honest. I have never heard a composer talk like this about the reality of composing for a living. Great video and a lot of food for thought.
Thanks Christian... Love the sincerity of these types of videos. It always resonates with me when you touch on self care and mental health... One thing that I absolutely agree with is just how harmful social media and the internet is for our health and productivity. I am trying hard to regulate this in my life after realising how much time and money has been wasted as a result of having everything at my fingertips 24/7, and how this feeds addiction and pulls us further and further away from reality. We lose focus, slowly become numb to the real world around us and take so much in our lives for granted.
I have a series called #BeABetterArtist where I talk about this stuff. It's mostly about mindsets and perspectives to not only help you see success in the music industry, but to do it in a healthy way that allows you to do this for years to come and hopefully prevent you from joining the 27 club or something similar. Some of my self-care tips would have to be: 1) Know why you're doing what you're doing; you must know what success holistically means to you. Everything maps out to this and if you're not working towards that self-defined goal, you'll find yourself in a bad spot. The necessary ingredient here is HONESTY. You can't fool yourself or lie to yourself about your feelings, even when you try and justify your actions with logic and reasoning. 2) You can't care too much about what others think. Listening to and learning from others is important but you must be the one who makes sense of it all for YOU. PERSPECTIVE gives you CONTEXT. Once you understand the basics of human psychology, combined with empathy and understanding yourself, it's really easy to press the 'fuck it' button because most things in life are beyond your control or don't matter at all. Everyone thinks they have it figured out, that they're right. Most of the time they're not and are projecting their own insecurities on others to validate their poor life choices. Use honesty to know who you are and why you're doing what you're doing. All else is bullshit. 3) Find the right work-life balance for you. Not what your parents do, not what your friends do, not what society tells you to do. You do you. Figure out that with yourself or your partner and execute on that. 4) Over-working is a real thing. I'm still trying to come to terms with this but finally I know it's an actual thing. I love music. I could do this 24/7 if my body would allow it. But it won't. I'm flesh and blood and the human body needs other things Markus. 5) GET OUT OF THE STUDIO consistently. I'm a super introvert hermit, and even I need to see people. Not all that much, but still. No man is an island. I don't care how much of a loner you are, you need to go and see your friends and have a laugh or spend some time with your partner. Go for a walk in the park, be among people. Breathe the fresh air. Grab a beer with a friend on a terrace on a beautiful day. 6) Sleep. Drink WATER. Eat properly. Exercise. You don't have to go crazy. Just do a bit better each month, tiny steps at a time consistently. Circadian rhythms are a real and powerful thing. Food provides the building blocks for your body. It's like Christian said, you need this shit to function properly. You can't believe how much of different person you'll feel like once you lock these in place. It will change your life. Not just your work. 7) Get your addictions under control. Of any kind. Not just substances or the likes, but any addictive pattern you have in your life that's dysfunctional. If you have an addictive personality, try and play that to your advantage by focusing that energy on a positive function like work, eating, or exercising. Of course don't take these too far either, addictive behaviour must always be kept in check. But it might be easier to manifest it in constructive ways if you have the right outlets. 8) Be humble. Be honest with yourself. But be PATIENT with yourself. You must learn to give yourself the same love and understanding you'd give to a good friend, your partner, or someone you care deeply about. Know that building things takes time. Don't always just look ahead and see the things that are out of your reach. Take some time to look backwards and appreciate the work and achievements you've already done, the distance you've gone. GRATITUDE is a major ingredient for happiness.
Michael Giacchino did a Q/A not long ago at the Barbican and we asked him about working time and social time. He said he treated music like a job (time wise), as in he would work 9-5 and then after that he would spend the rest with family. I'll always try to keep that in my mind when I get older and have a family of my own.
Thank you, I really needed to hear all this. Not for the first time, but just as a confirmation, as I look forward to starting a career in media composition. Nice to see what is essentially my backyard in those shots as well!
Perhaps this is a part of #1 (You) or #10 (Take Care of Yourself) but I take 30-40 mins to read a book outdoors (weather permitting) each day. This not only provides relief from the pressures of work, the work environment, and life, but it can often be a spark of creative inspiration.
Excellent points Christian! The one particularly about social media breeding depression is particularly apt for me recently. Truly appreciate the time you take to make these!
Nothing wrong with a happy ending every now and again. Brilliant vlog. It’s very comforting to know that other people have the same feelings and go through the same thought patterns. We are never alone. Cheers mate
When I worked in the corporate world as a programmer they sent everyone to Time Management class. They said the same thing as you, to make time for yourself. They said in our calendar software find holes in your schedule and create event time to do whatever you want. They said don't list it as time for yourself because people will trying and talk you out of it so make up a meeting name or something that looks legit' so they don't harass you. Excellent video as usual.
Thanks for your honesty ... and it still feels like struggling every single day. Sharing is a way of not ‚feeling‘ alone ... which is an important point. We are all in the same boat. And understanding that what other people do, say or don’t do doesn’t say anything about you. Try to learn to draw a line. Don’t let others get to you ... because you need to watch/ protect the stuff you love the most. ( beside your kids ) Creating music. Don’t let ‚politics‘ run the show. Try learning to be straight. Trust your guts. And ... in the end it’s ONLY a film or project or whatever. Your life doesn’t depend on it. Life continues with OR without it.
I discovered your vlog about a month ago and so I knew where to turn when having a bad day like today. And this is exactly what I needed (my only wish is that I was dealing with too much work rather than trying to get some!)
Laurence Voyager thanks for your message and sorry you’re having a bad day. It struck me recently that there are more wrong ways to do things than right and the harder the thing is the less right ways there are to do it. Therefore in order to do a difficult thing you will inevitably try and fail more times than succeed, but when you succeed it will be as a result of those failures not despite them. Every time you fail you’re learning how to achieve, that you have had the chance to fail places you one failure closer to your ambition than the next man or woman. My thoughts are with you Lawrence.
@@TheCrowHillCo How kind of you to reply - I've only just seen the notification. Wise and encouraging words - as you said there's no such thing as overnight success, and successful musicians have all had their fair share of failure because it is hard. I've just started trying to break in to library music, and like everything in music it's hard. But it's very early days yet, so I know it'll be hard for a while. Many thanks for all the videos which are all fantastic and really helpful to us all trying to earn a living out of music.
Great stuff Christian. As I've got older, I've found mornings top be my most productive time. Night time was always a good time for reflection...and still is... the trouble is now, I'm often too knackered to stay up that late! Incidentally, my initial thought @4:10 was "Homes Under The Hammer" and not, as you put it 'that' :-)
Sorry you're having a shitty week Christian. I've also had a miserable, unproductive time recently and watching this first thing in the morning is honestly a nice shot in the arm that I needed.
Great vblog and comments thanks to all! It was sort of said, but I’ve found being involved in different things makes it a lot harder to fall into a mental spiral. Ex: maybe that day the writing didn’t go well, but you had a great workout, you spent some time with your family, you helped someone out, practiced an instrument etc. practicing signaling to yourself that you are more than just a composing machine.
Indeed Christian we are people first, composers/writers second. Push ups and long accelerated walks are not only inspirational but stress relieving as well. You are a gifted man but I do appreciate these blogs that are real about breathing in and being grateful.
Well, at least I got the "drinking lots of water" part together (and "Silo"-ing, to some extent). And 9:26 Hope you're doing okay, man. Your body of work is BADASS... and I really enjoyed that super recent vlog, where your "project specific" samples were created, and you detailed the vast array of films you'd done... and played excerpts. Not that "wallowing in the mire" is a great thing, but that is a substantial body of work to be proud of, which hopefully helps beat back certain "skull" things. Beyond that... fookin' L!!!!! Hit by lightening TWICE?!?!?! That is beyond broodle! What a wicked week! Thanks, as always, for the perspective!
It’s tough to start with the conflicting ideas of “you’re unknown as of yet so you have to work a lot to get more gigs” and “take care of yourself, don’t overcommit.” You do have to be in it for the long haul and realize you have more time than you think to start earning a living in music, that it’s not a race to the finish. Doing something several times a week even that’s not music-related is key for me. Or would be, if I walked my talk....really gotta stop overcommitting....
Very true, HOWEVER by overcommitting you do run the risk of diluting the quality of what you're doing and your brand. It is the most common mistake and one I made on a grand old scale! If I'd worked hard to get on one good gig, then worked hard to make that gig the most extraordinary score that gets me nominations the net result would be way ahead of taking 19 crap jobs doing them badly and doing the one good job badly too. Its very difficult to do the math but since doing less I have earned more from a bottom line POV.
Great episode Christian. Its a really, really important aspect of working as a freelancer in any creative industry. I've found forcing myself to create situations where I collaborate with people and get out of the cave makes a big difference to my wellbeing and happiness, as well as to the music itself. Things can get very insular, very quickly and having a sense of community and camaraderie is essential. The honesty and vulnerability of your vlog never goes unappreciated either. I think it really is helping to push the mindset for the next generation of composers into a much healthier and sustainable place for the future. Just an idea for a future episode... I would love to see an episode on how you approach recording legato samples with musicians? For example, I would love to create my own personal solo cello library that has great legato transitions, so seeing how you would execute this would be amazing. Keep up the good work! Thanks
Really important message and it applies to any profession that transforms brainpower to profit. For me composition is the “mee-time” and work looks pretty similar to what Christian does while vlogging (potentially with less fun people around me, but a lot less narcissists as well). I survived my last week, well... just, but I finished it off by asking for help, asking for time and relying on family and friends, and it made things 1000% better. Thumbs up!
An audio engineer friend of mine had a complete breakdown a few years ago from working too much. He's an extremely passive person and good at what he does, so the company he worked for depended on him so much that he lost all his testosterone and went basically mental for a while. I know everyone's on crazy deadlines but shit, take a second and think about yourself, especially when working on multiple back to back projects. Thanks for these vids Christian.
I deleted my faceache account about a year ago, it was great and still is (the deletion). I do spend too much time watching detritus on TH-cam (present company excluded). I went to Uni as a mature student to study music BA and an MMus, haven’t composed anything for two years now! Been suffering from an extended spell of self doubt. I really enjoy your vlogs (which are inspiring). I really really need to give myself a proverbial Bishop Brennan. Life can really get in the way and it’s hard to fight your way out of the darkness. If any of you other composers are suffering - your not alone. X
Awesome video; honesty is the best policy (mostly). I found Twitter and Facebook to be 'Time Thieves', so I have dropped them both completely and now get much more done.
What works for me: gym 3 times per week (a week of weight-lifting then a week of interval training), going to nature and finding beauty in the big and little things there. Gym brings back physical action to our pretty much desk job, pumps the blood though the body, generates all our good inner chemistry, and nature helps to unplug from computers and gives your brain a proper ventilation :)
I'd add: charge what you are worth or, at the very least, as much as you can that still makes the job worthwhile. I'm aware of the caveats here but, in an industry that can make us feel very insecure, one of the rare benchmarks of our worth is the money we earn. Reasonable pay does make us feel better about ourselves. I was a long time learning that. On a side note, it does sound like you have maybe a small touch of low grade depression. Maybe a quick chat with your doc might help you be your better self too? Just a thought! Thanks for the vid, as always...
Thanks Christian. I was stressing watching you hold your iPhone over the balcony. 😱Socials are a mare, i hate them and i love them, knowing full well for the most part they're only handy for networking/marketing and little else. Trawling through insta or even worse, farcebook is enough to drive even the most confident person batty, eventually.
Excellent as ever! Could you give us a lesson on how to actually have a holiday as a musician? I go on holiday, and the first thing I do is open my laptop and start writing - because that's what I want to do! Is there a different mindset?
Yeah, I really struggle, I've made two websites, one operations manual, and about 12 vlogs on the last 4 holidays I took. I really really don't think its good for us to never switch off. I can be totally there for my wife and kids, even have spa treatments and stuff but its that 4am to 8am naughty slot that gets me into trouble.
@@TheCrowHillCoMaybe there is no cure! We don't want one anyway, just some sort of treatment for a bit I guess! As I piper, my fingers go all the time. I settle down to a pint on the beach, and my fingers are writing tunes on the pint glass! Haha.
I don’t work full time in music any more. I do what I can when I can because I enjoy it so much. I detest my day job. I work long hours and shifts so my body clock is constantly changing and I always feel tired. Working 4 on 4 off shifts means there are long periods of time where I don’t see my family for any meaningful length of time. This leaves me feeling very down. However, it pays the bills!! I am trying to increase the amount of music work I do with a view to changing my ‘day’ job to something that allows me more ‘me & family’ time. This way I hope to get some of my sanity back. What I’m trying to say is it’s not just the music business. It’s down to how you manage your time doing whatever you do. Sometimes an impossible task when fatigue is such a major factor.
Kudos on continuing filming in that weather, I'd have just packed it in the first time it fell over hahaha. Extra kudos for keeping it together enough to make all 10 points and make it all make sense too... I guess it isn't your first rodeo!
Can't believe you got struck by lightening twice in a row! Go buy a lottery ticket... I find my secret to being being healthy is just doing stuff you enjoy. May sound painfully ironic but it's important we get kicks of hapiness, and regularly too. Fire up a video game, go to the gym, practice an instrument etc. Helps break the day up and gets the all important endorphins racing around the body! Inspiring vlog as always!
Great vlog Christian. However FFS can you please not wave your iPhone around over the long drop abyss at the airport or anywhere else for that matter... I was freaking out waiting for you to drop it! 8O/ ? 8Oo ! XO( ! LOL 8O)
If you sometimes feel a failure (as a successful media composer, company founder and TH-cam vlogger), spare a thought for the rest of us! ;) In reality it's your passion that makes you what you are - and passionate people (in my experience) always have times of doubt on the way to achieving things that most people never get further than talking about.
Sheep. I moved to the middle of the Dales and started keeping sheep. Sheep don't care much about my gear addiction and they certainly don't worry about impostor syndrome, who owns the publishing, how much the next PRS distribution will be, whether I will run out of ideas, notes, getting hired or fired, why you're not being asked to do this or that and so forth. They just don't give a shit. And this is very grounding. Seriously. They get stuck in hedges, try to escape or find new ways to die (if they can combine the last two, even better), but when I'm dealing with them, I am almost never thinking about other stuff and this is very healthy. I have one tip and that is find your "sheep" - the thing that gives you perspective and space from all the crap which crowds your head and distracts you from making music.
Left this comment in VI forum also... You asked what we do to take care of ourselves. I knew I needed to get out of that chair every so often and MOVE, but that’s a problem, exercise is not gonna happen, right? Then the answer came, for the price of a good string library...actually can’t wait to get up and move everyday, and I’m definitely feeling better. Problem solved (in orange of course): www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/mountain-bikes/cross-country-mountain-bikes/marlin/marlin-7/p/23120/
I can’t believe you feel like a failure sometimes! I figured that specific feeling was for us lower mortals. I really struggle with self care and media composition. I barely exercise and I’ve spent nearly 10 years sat in a room on my own, getting to a point where I wasn’t terrible at the music production and composition. Last year I burnt out working on a project, where I put everything into it. Worked every day and often nights too, for around 4 months. I’m really proud of the result. It’s my best work by far, but it came at a cost mentally and physically. Friends and family are always saying I’m over working; but it never feels like that to me. I want to be working all the time! ...I think. This year, I’m making an effort to go for walks everyday (not entirely successfully), but it is progress. I try to speak to someone outside of the business at least once a day; just so I remember how to human, without a musical framework; and I’m hoping to spend a weekend away visiting friends etc, once a month from next month. Taking care of your brain and body are so important!! Wish I had those habits sooner. Your video about media composers dying young woke me up to it. So thanks for sharing this Christian; another really important topic you’ve raised here!
Health is the key to internal wealth. Being a music creator, I find that I hear my essence provide in-depth musical detail much easier when I took out the alcohol, drugs, processed sugar, wheat and grains. I'm about 10 years into my internal transformation. All the points that Alexandra Ayers provides are crucial. I also like how you passively talk about getting struck by lightning twice. Reminded me of the Dr. Tony Cicoria story who turned into an accidental pianist after being struck by lightning: th-cam.com/video/LYZ-rw9rJ90/w-d-xo.html
![เปิดใจ "อาจารย์เบียร์ คนตื่นธรรม" อดีตเคยสุดทุกทาง ถ้าใช้หนี้หมดไปบวชแน่ l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IxeE0xVhy08/mqdefault.jpg)
Once more, thank you for being so candid and sharing with us, Christian. The perspective that you fall into "Failure Spirals" too is refreshing and comforting, but also amazing because of course from the outside, you look like an enviable, smashing success in every way.
So, I would add - practicing gratitude. Yes, I know - a horse beaten to death many times over, but I think the reason why is the power this has if you practice it consistently. It is the antidote to the failure spiral.
Another antidote to that, contrary a bit to the concept of "you time", is community and giving. Finding your community, spending time in it and most importantly, giving to it, is a way to quickly improve your mental state while also doing positive work outside of just making entertainment for mass consumption.
Speaking of mental states, learning to recognize and read your emotional landscapes, and then **exercising** control, is vital. I emphasize "exercising" because it's just that - you have to build and maintain emotional control just like muscle, or an athletic skill. One place to start is in knowing and recognizing cognitive distortions. How often do we "catastrophize" our situation, or focus only on negatives (I'm not as far in my career as I "should" be), make things about us (personalization - they hate me, the universe is against me), fall into control fallacies (we don't have a choice or control when we do), or jump to conclusions? I'd say, just about every time you open a new email from a director with notes on a cue, or a reply regarding some gig you'd hoped to land. It takes time to build the "muscle" of emotional control, but it makes a world of difference. I recently made the error of checking email while in the line up at the grocers, and read an unfavorable response to some work I'd done. I read it too quickly, and made many assumptions. Then I started to spiral into catastrophe thinking, focusing on the negative, and making assumptions (they hate me, I'm going to lose this job, it's proof I'm actually a terrible composer and my career is over). However, I was also standing back a bit and watching this happen in my mind. With the knowledge of how these distortions work, and that (based on past experience) things work out if I give it time and approach it with positive mindset focused on solutions, I was able to decide not to follow that path down into the abyss and pulled myself back. This took less than 20 minutes, whereas in the past this could have sidelined my happiness for days or weeks, sabotaging my sense of confidence and thus my creativity - which of course is the one thing that could actually bring about the terrible results I so feared.
Most of what we fear and dread is purely imagined and not an inevitable result, and so working on seeing these and correcting them consistently leads to an overall improvement in mental health, happiness, and confidence.
This is excellent
I don’t have any children of my own, but every Friday afternoon at 3pm...I become Uncle Richie. I pick up my 8yr. Old nephew from school and we walk right across town to our favourite coffee shop, where I drink coffee-he eats ice cream-and we play chess. Through the course of the game he asks me questions about life, why did this happen?, etc. This is such a valuable time for both me and for him...the only time I’m not obsessed with what’s happening back in the studio...and a wonderful mental break.
sounds like the dream!
@@BrianHeart I almost lost my life to cancer 10 years ago, I'm lucky to be doing anything at all really.
@@richdewhittaker1746 I am also a survivor. Was not near death, pretty treatable type. Just about 16 months ago. Terrifying. Glad you are well.
@@BrianHeart Cheers dude, and likewise!
The severe anxiety, watching you wave your phone over that handrail.
The Mountain Howl glad I’m not the only one who felt that! :)
Came to the comment section to find this comment :S
I know right?
Hi Christian, everything you say, absolutely resonates with my life, not as a composer but as an animator. The similarities are stricking, working for hours on end in darkened rooms, often on ones own, always under stupid deadlines, having to deal with directors and producers, throwing everything into it, never refusing work because you are frightened to stop working etc. I've worked in the animation industry for the last 30 years and had my own company for the last 10. All the ten points you refer to would apply immediately to myself. (And now I will pass this video on to my daughter who is starting her own creative career, studying illustration.) The one event that has made me stop and think and begin to reevaluate is having to take time off last year to look after my wife who was going through treatment for breast cancer. A sobering experience and one which makes the points you refer to even more important to try and apply to how one conducts oneself. The one thing that has reignited my creativity again after this horrible past year and indeed allowed me to escape into my own occasional 'me time' was discovering your vlog on TH-cam and then the fantastically inspiring work that Spitfire does. Thank you and do be good to yourself.
I finally hit my wall & ended up in the ER on Friday... I kept on moving the goalpost as to what my "new normal" was & ignored my health for far too long. This one really hits home for me, I fought back tears as I watched...It's time for me to be a better version of myself. Thank you Mr. Henson.
Christian, there's a calling here, another string to add to your bow so to speak. More than a media composer, you're becoming a wise sage. Thanks so much for the vulnerability of your sharing. In sharing your humanness, you elevate yourself and those around you. More power to you sir!
I suffer with similar issues, so I know first hand how terribly important it is to create an open dialogue about our health! THANK YOU for helping to do so!
Think it's time I took a nice long nature walk...
No worries. Not many people get my surname right ;) thanks for mentioning the article and for being inspired to create this video!
Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres
This was a fantastic Vlog. Not enough people are talking openly about this and it is a huge deal in the entertainment industry, and audio (whatever form/medium that may involve) in particular!
Thank you for this Christian. Please keep up the great work and the honesty and take care!
Thanks so much for the honesty! My coping mechanism is Sundays! I unplug, bake, go for longer walks ( I do walk every day), and watch movies that are in my cue. No email, no phone calls, and no contact with work of any kind. It took a while, but clients know that I NEED Sundays!
You are so spot on and every point here is hitting a bit too close to home. This has been my life for 20 years now here in Southern California. You are the best therapist I've ever had. Cheers Christian!
John Irving often says, “ We write about what scares us the most.”
You on taking care of yourself, me on having a minimalist approach to gear.
“Ok John, thanks for pointing that out.”
This was an amazing and honest look. I've been narrowing down my choices in relation to music and composition was my choice. Having gone through addiction, and different mental health issues myself this was relatable. Took 10 years but 30 and back in school so on my way! Thank you for your clarity and honesty in all your videos.
I love these more philosophical vlogs! Having done music full-time for many years now, the thing that I struggle with the most is the crazy amount of time you spend alone, often in a dark room. I find myself really missing having co-workers, and a place to go where you are a part of a bigger group. It´s a really solitary profession, and whilst I love waking up to write music every day, there is a undeniable sacrifice you make (I think) in pursuing this with a passion. Thank you as always for these brilliant insights into your life - I always save them for my scheduled procrastination time in the studio :)
Exactly what I needed to hear at this point in my life. Thank you!
Thank you so much for this vlog and for being honest with us and with yourself! Every word you say resonates in my soul. I've been through sleepless nights, burnout, anxiety and panic attacks. Still managed to grow and not to lose myself in this mess. Thank you for gathering the community all over the world. Stay strong!
Maintain personal hygiene. Even if you're alone for the whole day, shower, shave, brush your teeth, and put on fresh clothes!
Couldn't agree more about sleep. Once in a while, I'll take a day where I sleep as much as my body/brain desires. My record is about 14hrs...
Excellent topic, thanks Christian -- your videos have really helped with my education in music. I'm just starting out in media composition but have a background working with people who have special needs and mental health issues, the experience of which I will be forever thankful for having because there's a lot to be learned from others' struggles. It puts things into perspective and has made me realize the huge importance of self-care and helped me learn to better ignore the impulses by which society and/or my own paranoia/anxiety about finances push me to over-work myself.
This is brilliant and perfectly encapsulates working as a creative freelancer on the perils that can grip you - fear of failure, no personal time, no rest, clients who don’t realise what they have requested of you and expect immediate results.
I love being a creative freelancer but it’s not for the faint hearted or the ones looking for an easy ride.
Thank you Christian for making me reflect on my health and wellbeing.
Thank you for this refreshingly candid vlog post, Christian. Each person has to work out her/his own way to manage one's health, but many of your suggestions could be used by anybody.
Couldn’t agree more. I found myself getting into a burnout if I don’t give myself a bit of time every week to just do nothing and do anything that isn’t related to work that I enjoy to do. Last thing any media composer wants is to feel burned out in the middle of a massive project with deadline being in just a few hours, we’re all in it for the long run so treat yourselves well.
Wise words Christian, so true and pertinent! Fairly new as a self employed composer and thanks for reminding me to take time to take care of myself. There is always this pressure that you always need to work none stop otherwise you're "lazy". I mean this is how i see it and i try to get away from this unhealthy behavior. Creativity won't come if you keep pushing for it.
Anyways, thank you!
summary: don’t be a rattling shell of a person. take care of yourself. that’s the only way to succeed happily.
Excellent advice Christian. Your videos have helped me through a very stressful few months of work. Getting out for a walk early in the morning has been a particularly effective new habit. Thank you.
This was a great reminder! I think #2 has helped me the most. Not spending all that much time scrolling through Facebook and Instagram has given me a clearer mind. My theory is that our brains think linearly and process information in an organized fashion. When we are scrolling through social media our brains are bouncing from topic to topic without giving itself time to process that topic. This causes our brain to get overloaded and drains our energy.
Here is my personal top10 that I decided to write upon watching this video. They are in no particular order. I consider all of them important:
1 - Have a 2nd job - Whenever I don’t have a project, I work on another job. Most music composers have a 2nd job (I know triple A game composers and composers who won Grammys or Emmys who have it), only a minority are able to do it full-time. It’s not only how much you work, it’s that PLUS realising that luck is needed to end up working with the person or company who will produce something that will raise your opportunities for success. There’s no self-made success, everything works together (action and re-action). A maestro is in charge of the music but he cannot succeed without a good orchestra.
2 - Exercise - Do you know how your body starts getting stressed and your back aches after hours and hours in the chair? If you exercise, that pain will stop and you will be able to work so much more and won’t go to bed with an aching body and you will actually sleep better.
3 - Sleep - Just do it. Sleep a healthy amount and you will be able to last much longer in the long run of a project. Reserve the extra hours to when you’re getting closer to the deadline. You will then be prepared to handle the stress better.
4 - Learn the film making process, video game, ad, etc. - This will help you to understand your client, this is specially important in moments of stress near the deadline. Understanding that you’re not the source of their stress makes it easier to handle situations.
5 - Learn to distinguish between constructive criticism and destructive criticism - only be open to the former, disregard the latter.
6 - Invest your time on directors who appreciate you (emotionally and financially) - don’t take a paying and easy going director for granted. They are the ones you need to invest and not slack on your professionalism. These are the ones that you want to work with again and again.
7 - Don’t follow studio trends - I see lots of people on facebook with loads of equipment and yet produce things that lack so much in quality. It’s not what you have but how you use them. Manage your money well, it’s already a tough life in this business.
8 - Take your time - As long as you keep deadlines in mind, feel free to say to the director that you will send him something tomorrow or next week (as opposed of the next few hours). I find that my works also gets better with the extra time and less rush. Just don't miss the deadlines. I find that John Cleese's youtube video on creativity is super useful and true. Specially the part he talks about time.
9 - Eat healthy - Seriously, fast food doesn’t nourish the body. I do have my share of take aways because I find that cooking something takes time away from my work and I am usually hungry when I’m not prepared take a break. But do eat something and make it healthy.
10 - Breaks - Being in the flow is important but that doesn’t mean that the flow stops if you stay away from the computer. Take off the headphones and do something else (walk, play one level in a video game, sleep) and then go back. It’s impressive that, when you give yourself time to *just* thinking can do.
You're absolutely right about social media, I avoided it completely until a year ago and now find myself checking it way too often. I think if you're unknown it's a real buzz when you get a like or comment back from someone with a lot of followers, deleting it from your phone is a very smart move.
Absolutely love this video, thanks for sharing! I can echo the social media bit; it's been almost six months since I deleted my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. I can say it has been hugely impactful in a number of ways. The constant comparison as you eluded to was starting to really do me in, among many other things. Also since deleting my accounts I've had much more success with composing; we're often tricked into thinking social media is a necessity for this career path. It definitely isn't.
Thanks again for your content and all that you do! Just got another bespoke drive in the mail with 6 new libraries haha - can't wait to really dig in!
It's always good to see that others are troubled with the same thoughts. I have some success - I think you have more :) - but the doubt and fear always creep in. One thing I did a few years ago, in order to get a job, was to have to supply a full CV. I found that writing it out made me realise what I really had done. And yes - it is HARD work to both keep it going and to keep your head above water.
Hey Christian, thank you for your disarmingly blunt and honest vlog. I'm just starting out on this path, after getting a whole load of Spitfire samples. In fact, I sent one of my resultant pieces to your PA by way of a thank you. I think everybody creative suffers from these same anxieties, but not everyone is as altruistic as you, so thanks for sharing.
I changed my setup and started using a standing desk. Makes an incredible difference for the body and the mind! Walking around whilst I'm making music keeps the ideas flowing
La Frog yes I’m planning on getting something like that for my modular.
You are so amazing and such an inspiration! You make a real difference in my life and so many other musicians, and without music we're all lost. Thank you for bringing light into the darkness
Quoting a previous video... "Procrastinating into a camera..." procrastinating into a camera is good procrastination. Don't apologise for self care advice, it doesn't get mentioned enough (not by you, everyone). Thanks again for the insight Christian.
It’s so easy to stay glued to your chair in your studio working without a break. I make myself get up for a walk around the block periodically. And on top of being good for you it also helps solve certain musical problems and gives you perspective when you resume the work. Also remembering to eat is important! Haha
'Me' time. Something I have employed at least once a month since forever. A day off to simply remind myself who I am. I truly believe it keeps me sane. I watch my son carefully crafting his game and feel very proud that he manages his time brilliantly. Working all week and then total down time at the weekend. I hope he got that from observing me throughout my life. Fine words, Christian. I hope,very much you take your own advice, it really does recharge the productive juices.
This was a bit of an eye opener to be honest. I have never heard a composer talk like this about the reality of composing for a living. Great video and a lot of food for thought.
Thanks Christian... Love the sincerity of these types of videos.
It always resonates with me when you touch on self care and mental health... One thing that I absolutely agree with is just how harmful social media and the internet is for our health and productivity. I am trying hard to regulate this in my life after realising how much time and money has been wasted as a result of having everything at my fingertips 24/7, and how this feeds addiction and pulls us further and further away from reality. We lose focus, slowly become numb to the real world around us and take so much in our lives for granted.
I have a series called #BeABetterArtist where I talk about this stuff.
It's mostly about mindsets and perspectives to not only help you see success in the music industry, but to do it in a healthy way that allows you to do this for years to come and hopefully prevent you from joining the 27 club or something similar.
Some of my self-care tips would have to be:
1) Know why you're doing what you're doing; you must know what success holistically means to you. Everything maps out to this and if you're not working towards that self-defined goal, you'll find yourself in a bad spot. The necessary ingredient here is HONESTY. You can't fool yourself or lie to yourself about your feelings, even when you try and justify your actions with logic and reasoning.
2) You can't care too much about what others think. Listening to and learning from others is important but you must be the one who makes sense of it all for YOU. PERSPECTIVE gives you CONTEXT. Once you understand the basics of human psychology, combined with empathy and understanding yourself, it's really easy to press the 'fuck it' button because most things in life are beyond your control or don't matter at all. Everyone thinks they have it figured out, that they're right. Most of the time they're not and are projecting their own insecurities on others to validate their poor life choices. Use honesty to know who you are and why you're doing what you're doing. All else is bullshit.
3) Find the right work-life balance for you. Not what your parents do, not what your friends do, not what society tells you to do. You do you. Figure out that with yourself or your partner and execute on that.
4) Over-working is a real thing. I'm still trying to come to terms with this but finally I know it's an actual thing. I love music. I could do this 24/7 if my body would allow it. But it won't. I'm flesh and blood and the human body needs other things Markus.
5) GET OUT OF THE STUDIO consistently. I'm a super introvert hermit, and even I need to see people. Not all that much, but still. No man is an island. I don't care how much of a loner you are, you need to go and see your friends and have a laugh or spend some time with your partner. Go for a walk in the park, be among people. Breathe the fresh air. Grab a beer with a friend on a terrace on a beautiful day.
6) Sleep. Drink WATER. Eat properly. Exercise. You don't have to go crazy. Just do a bit better each month, tiny steps at a time consistently. Circadian rhythms are a real and powerful thing. Food provides the building blocks for your body. It's like Christian said, you need this shit to function properly. You can't believe how much of different person you'll feel like once you lock these in place. It will change your life. Not just your work.
7) Get your addictions under control. Of any kind. Not just substances or the likes, but any addictive pattern you have in your life that's dysfunctional. If you have an addictive personality, try and play that to your advantage by focusing that energy on a positive function like work, eating, or exercising. Of course don't take these too far either, addictive behaviour must always be kept in check. But it might be easier to manifest it in constructive ways if you have the right outlets.
8) Be humble. Be honest with yourself. But be PATIENT with yourself. You must learn to give yourself the same love and understanding you'd give to a good friend, your partner, or someone you care deeply about. Know that building things takes time. Don't always just look ahead and see the things that are out of your reach. Take some time to look backwards and appreciate the work and achievements you've already done, the distance you've gone. GRATITUDE is a major ingredient for happiness.
Michael Giacchino did a Q/A not long ago at the Barbican and we asked him about working time and social time. He said he treated music like a job (time wise), as in he would work 9-5 and then after that he would spend the rest with family. I'll always try to keep that in my mind when I get older and have a family of my own.
Thank you, I really needed to hear all this. Not for the first time, but just as a confirmation, as I look forward to starting a career in media composition.
Nice to see what is essentially my backyard in those shots as well!
Perhaps this is a part of #1 (You) or #10 (Take Care of Yourself) but I take 30-40 mins to read a book outdoors (weather permitting) each day. This not only provides relief from the pressures of work, the work environment, and life, but it can often be a spark of creative inspiration.
Excellent points Christian! The one particularly about social media breeding depression is particularly apt for me recently. Truly appreciate the time you take to make these!
Nothing wrong with a happy ending every now and again. Brilliant vlog. It’s very comforting to know that other people have the same feelings and go through the same thought patterns. We are never alone. Cheers mate
My favourite vlog of yours so far! Thank you for being so generous and honest.
When I worked in the corporate world as a programmer they sent everyone to Time Management class. They said the same thing as you, to make time for yourself. They said in our calendar software find holes in your schedule and create event time to do whatever you want. They said don't list it as time for yourself because people will trying and talk you out of it so make up a meeting name or something that looks legit' so they don't harass you. Excellent video as usual.
Thanks for your honesty ... and it still feels like struggling every single day. Sharing is a way of not ‚feeling‘ alone ... which is an important point. We are all in the same boat.
And understanding that what other people do, say or don’t do doesn’t say anything about you. Try to learn to draw a line. Don’t let others get to you ... because you need to watch/ protect the stuff you love the most. ( beside your kids ) Creating music.
Don’t let ‚politics‘ run the show.
Try learning to be straight.
Trust your guts.
And ... in the end it’s ONLY a film or project or whatever. Your life doesn’t depend on it.
Life continues with OR without it.
I discovered your vlog about a month ago and so I knew where to turn when having a bad day like today. And this is exactly what I needed (my only wish is that I was dealing with too much work rather than trying to get some!)
Laurence Voyager thanks for your message and sorry you’re having a bad day. It struck me recently that there are more wrong ways to do things than right and the harder the thing is the less right ways there are to do it. Therefore in order to do a difficult thing you will inevitably try and fail more times than succeed, but when you succeed it will be as a result of those failures not despite them. Every time you fail you’re learning how to achieve, that you have had the chance to fail places you one failure closer to your ambition than the next man or woman. My thoughts are with you Lawrence.
@@TheCrowHillCo How kind of you to reply - I've only just seen the notification. Wise and encouraging words - as you said there's no such thing as overnight success, and successful musicians have all had their fair share of failure because it is hard. I've just started trying to break in to library music, and like everything in music it's hard. But it's very early days yet, so I know it'll be hard for a while. Many thanks for all the videos which are all fantastic and really helpful to us all trying to earn a living out of music.
..and love the 'rattling shell of a person' - vivid imagery!
Great stuff Christian. As I've got older, I've found mornings top be my most productive time. Night time was always a good time for reflection...and still is... the trouble is now, I'm often too knackered to stay up that late!
Incidentally, my initial thought @4:10 was "Homes Under The Hammer" and not, as you put it 'that' :-)
Sorry you're having a shitty week Christian. I've also had a miserable, unproductive time recently and watching this first thing in the morning is honestly a nice shot in the arm that I needed.
This is genuinely moving stuff. I think I might've needed to hear this. Thanks, Christian.
Great vblog and comments thanks to all! It was sort of said, but I’ve found being involved in different things makes it a lot harder to fall into a mental spiral. Ex: maybe that day the writing didn’t go well, but you had a great workout, you spent some time with your family, you helped someone out, practiced an instrument etc. practicing signaling to yourself that you are more than just a composing machine.
Indeed Christian we are people first, composers/writers second. Push ups and long accelerated walks are not only inspirational but stress relieving as well. You are a gifted man but I do appreciate these blogs that are real about breathing in and being grateful.
Well, at least I got the "drinking lots of water" part together (and "Silo"-ing, to some extent). And 9:26 Hope you're doing okay, man. Your body of work is BADASS... and I really enjoyed that super recent vlog, where your "project specific" samples were created, and you detailed the vast array of films you'd done... and played excerpts. Not that "wallowing in the mire" is a great thing, but that is a substantial body of work to be proud of, which hopefully helps beat back certain "skull" things. Beyond that... fookin' L!!!!! Hit by lightening TWICE?!?!?! That is beyond broodle! What a wicked week! Thanks, as always, for the perspective!
Thanks for this CH. I always appreciate your candor and insight. I hope that one day we will cross paths professionally. Cheers!
It’s tough to start with the conflicting ideas of “you’re unknown as of yet so you have to work a lot to get more gigs” and “take care of yourself, don’t overcommit.” You do have to be in it for the long haul and realize you have more time than you think to start earning a living in music, that it’s not a race to the finish. Doing something several times a week even that’s not music-related is key for me.
Or would be, if I walked my talk....really gotta stop overcommitting....
Very true, HOWEVER by overcommitting you do run the risk of diluting the quality of what you're doing and your brand. It is the most common mistake and one I made on a grand old scale! If I'd worked hard to get on one good gig, then worked hard to make that gig the most extraordinary score that gets me nominations the net result would be way ahead of taking 19 crap jobs doing them badly and doing the one good job badly too. Its very difficult to do the math but since doing less I have earned more from a bottom line POV.
I love your vlogs, you are a top bloke, man.
Rafinci Studio That’s a very kind comment thank you (I’ll have you know I’m an absolute dickhead in real life).
@@TheCrowHillCo :) :) :) Naaah
Great episode Christian. Its a really, really important aspect of working as a freelancer in any creative industry. I've found forcing myself to create situations where I collaborate with people and get out of the cave makes a big difference to my wellbeing and happiness, as well as to the music itself. Things can get very insular, very quickly and having a sense of community and camaraderie is essential.
The honesty and vulnerability of your vlog never goes unappreciated either. I think it really is helping to push the mindset for the next generation of composers into a much healthier and sustainable place for the future.
Just an idea for a future episode... I would love to see an episode on how you approach recording legato samples with musicians? For example, I would love to create my own personal solo cello library that has great legato transitions, so seeing how you would execute this would be amazing.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks
Really important message and it applies to any profession that transforms brainpower to profit. For me composition is the “mee-time” and work looks pretty similar to what Christian does while vlogging (potentially with less fun people around me, but a lot less narcissists as well). I survived my last week, well... just, but I finished it off by asking for help, asking for time and relying on family and friends, and it made things 1000% better. Thumbs up!
Great video!! Thanks so much for this! Really appreciate you being soo open about everything!
Brilliant. Really really helpful. Thank you very much!
An audio engineer friend of mine had a complete breakdown a few years ago from working too much. He's an extremely passive person and good at what he does, so the company he worked for depended on him so much that he lost all his testosterone and went basically mental for a while. I know everyone's on crazy deadlines but shit, take a second and think about yourself, especially when working on multiple back to back projects.
Thanks for these vids Christian.
Thanks for opening up to us. I needed this, I’m certain many others did too.
I deleted my faceache account about a year ago, it was great and still is (the deletion). I do spend too much time watching detritus on TH-cam (present company excluded). I went to Uni as a mature student to study music BA and an MMus, haven’t composed anything for two years now! Been suffering from an extended spell of self doubt. I really enjoy your vlogs (which are inspiring). I really really need to give myself a proverbial Bishop Brennan. Life can really get in the way and it’s hard to fight your way out of the darkness. If any of you other composers are suffering - your not alone. X
It’s from a ‘Father Ted’ episode. Bishop Brennan gets kicked up the ass.
Thanks for your candor mate. Meditating helps, drinking helps, exercising (I'll get back to you).
Thank you for sharing!
Awesome video; honesty is the best policy (mostly). I found Twitter and Facebook to be 'Time Thieves', so I have dropped them both completely and now get much more done.
Great work Christian
great tips. thank you for this.
Great advice. Deleting Instagram etc from smartphone so much better
What works for me: gym 3 times per week (a week of weight-lifting then a week of interval training), going to nature and finding beauty in the big and little things there. Gym brings back physical action to our pretty much desk job, pumps the blood though the body, generates all our good inner chemistry, and nature helps to unplug from computers and gives your brain a proper ventilation :)
this is medicine right here! grateful for CH
I decided to quit drinking alcohol about 4 years ago to be better in my career as a live events technician. Not to preach, but it's helping a lot.
I'd add: charge what you are worth or, at the very least, as much as you can that still makes the job worthwhile. I'm aware of the caveats here but, in an industry that can make us feel very insecure, one of the rare benchmarks of our worth is the money we earn. Reasonable pay does make us feel better about ourselves. I was a long time learning that. On a side note, it does sound like you have maybe a small touch of low grade depression. Maybe a quick chat with your doc might help you be your better self too? Just a thought! Thanks for the vid, as always...
Always love your vids Christian:)
Thanks Christian. I was stressing watching you hold your iPhone over the balcony. 😱Socials are a mare, i hate them and i love them, knowing full well for the most part they're only handy for networking/marketing and little else. Trawling through insta or even worse, farcebook is enough to drive even the most confident person batty, eventually.
Excellent as ever! Could you give us a lesson on how to actually have a holiday as a musician? I go on holiday, and the first thing I do is open my laptop and start writing - because that's what I want to do! Is there a different mindset?
Yeah, I really struggle, I've made two websites, one operations manual, and about 12 vlogs on the last 4 holidays I took. I really really don't think its good for us to never switch off. I can be totally there for my wife and kids, even have spa treatments and stuff but its that 4am to 8am naughty slot that gets me into trouble.
@@TheCrowHillCoMaybe there is no cure! We don't want one anyway, just some sort of treatment for a bit I guess! As I piper, my fingers go all the time. I settle down to a pint on the beach, and my fingers are writing tunes on the pint glass! Haha.
I don’t work full time in music any more. I do what I can when I can because I enjoy it so much. I detest my day job. I work long hours and shifts so my body clock is constantly changing and I always feel tired. Working 4 on 4 off shifts means there are long periods of time where I don’t see my family for any meaningful length of time. This leaves me feeling very down. However, it pays the bills!!
I am trying to increase the amount of music work I do with a view to changing my ‘day’ job to something that allows me more ‘me & family’ time. This way I hope to get some of my sanity back.
What I’m trying to say is it’s not just the music business. It’s down to how you manage your time doing whatever you do. Sometimes an impossible task when fatigue is such a major factor.
Love ya man, stay well.
Kudos on continuing filming in that weather, I'd have just packed it in the first time it fell over hahaha.
Extra kudos for keeping it together enough to make all 10 points and make it all make sense too... I guess it isn't your first rodeo!
hello from across the pond enjoy this summer
Good morning! Thank you for such invaluable insights!
Can't believe you got struck by lightening twice in a row! Go buy a lottery ticket... I find my secret to being being healthy is just doing stuff you enjoy. May sound painfully ironic but it's important we get kicks of hapiness, and regularly too. Fire up a video game, go to the gym, practice an instrument etc. Helps break the day up and gets the all important endorphins racing around the body! Inspiring vlog as always!
Bravo Christian! All so true.
inside No.9 was awesome. nice job fella
Thank you ❤️
Thanks for that
Invaluable
Yep, this is it... your best video
@9:10+ i couldn't hear a thing, I was worried you'd drop the phone over...
Love you Christian! Your content is so true to the heart.
Great vlog Christian. However FFS can you please not wave your iPhone around over the long drop abyss at the airport or anywhere else for that matter... I was freaking out waiting for you to drop it! 8O/ ? 8Oo ! XO( ! LOL 8O)
If you sometimes feel a failure (as a successful media composer, company founder and TH-cam vlogger), spare a thought for the rest of us! ;) In reality it's your passion that makes you what you are - and passionate people (in my experience) always have times of doubt on the way to achieving things that most people never get further than talking about.
4:18... GOLDEN.
Sheep. I moved to the middle of the Dales and started keeping sheep.
Sheep don't care much about my gear addiction and they certainly don't worry about impostor syndrome, who owns the publishing, how much the next PRS distribution will be, whether I will run out of ideas, notes, getting hired or fired, why you're not being asked to do this or that and so forth. They just don't give a shit.
And this is very grounding. Seriously.
They get stuck in hedges, try to escape or find new ways to die (if they can combine the last two, even better), but when I'm dealing with them, I am almost never thinking about other stuff and this is very healthy.
I have one tip and that is find your "sheep" - the thing that gives you perspective and space from all the crap which crowds your head and distracts you from making music.
Couldn't agree more with Christian! Omg he's so right!
Thaaanks!
@@TheCrowHillCo you are the man! So much respect!
Left this comment in VI forum also... You asked what we do to take care of ourselves. I knew I needed to get out of that chair every so often and MOVE, but that’s a problem, exercise is not gonna happen, right? Then the answer came, for the price of a good string library...actually can’t wait to get up and move everyday, and I’m definitely feeling better. Problem solved (in orange of course): www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/mountain-bikes/cross-country-mountain-bikes/marlin/marlin-7/p/23120/
Brilliant
Take care!
I can’t believe you feel like a failure sometimes! I figured that specific feeling was for us lower mortals. I really struggle with self care and media composition. I barely exercise and I’ve spent nearly 10 years sat in a room on my own, getting to a point where I wasn’t terrible at the music production and composition. Last year I burnt out working on a project, where I put everything into it. Worked every day and often nights too, for around 4 months. I’m really proud of the result. It’s my best work by far, but it came at a cost mentally and physically. Friends and family are always saying I’m over working; but it never feels like that to me. I want to be working all the time! ...I think. This year, I’m making an effort to go for walks everyday (not entirely successfully), but it is progress. I try to speak to someone outside of the business at least once a day; just so I remember how to human, without a musical framework; and I’m hoping to spend a weekend away visiting friends etc, once a month from next month. Taking care of your brain and body are so important!! Wish I had those habits sooner. Your video about media composers dying young woke me up to it. So thanks for sharing this Christian; another really important topic you’ve raised here!
Health is the key to internal wealth. Being a music creator, I find that I hear my essence provide in-depth musical detail much easier when I took out the alcohol, drugs, processed sugar, wheat and grains. I'm about 10 years into my internal transformation. All the points that Alexandra Ayers provides are crucial. I also like how you passively talk about getting struck by lightning twice. Reminded me of the Dr. Tony Cicoria story who turned into an accidental pianist after being struck by lightning: th-cam.com/video/LYZ-rw9rJ90/w-d-xo.html