inspiration

The Long Game /  by Michael Durr

Being someone who is in his early thirties and someone who has been working in the creative field since college I feel I can offer up some valuable insights. In my opinion, creativity is 40% passion, 30% execution, and 30% failure. What does this mean? Let me explain. Passion is what drives us, it's why we get up in the morning. It's the itch that needs to be scratched. We all have it and it's our choice to pursue it. A passion that's not pursued is simply a dream.

That's where execution comes in. Execution is the act of pursuing your passion. Educating yourself, gaining experience, laughing in the faces of the people who doubt your abilities, facing the fear and societal pressure that hinder us from pursuing our passions. It's not easy. In fact, it's extremely difficult.

Failure is certainly a big part of this trifecta. When pursuing your passion, you will fail, and success comes when you fail time and time again and continue to push forward. With each failure you learn something and each time you learn something you improve upon yourself.

I found this video essay on the creative process extremely interesting and I feel that it does a good job in helping to illustrate my point.

Video content via Delve

COM WEEK 2014 /  by Michael Durr

I had the honor of presenting to Illinois State University students with two of my good friends Jesse and Jordan Arseneau. It was a full day of one-on-one discussions with students followed by a panel presentation to one of the COM classes. It was inspiring for me to be in the company of my friends and hear about their amazing work. The panel discussion we lead was titled Behind the Lens. We showcased some work and offered up our best words of wisdom. Since graduation from Illinois state in 2004 Jesse, Jordan and myself have remained close friends and have influenced and challenged each other professionally. Thank you to Laura Trendle-Polus and Bob Carroll for allowing us to take part in COM Week.

Jordan Arseneau Jordan currently shoots every frame of the program Chicago's Best and recently won an Emmy for his editing work.

Jesse Arseneau Jesse currently has his own video production company, Arseneau Media Productions, and works primarily out of the Kankakee area. He is also one of only a few videoographers certified to shoot surgical procedures for hospitals.

Michael Durr I was also on the panel and made sure to showcase my photography work, in addition to my video work. I discussed my unique career path and highlighted how all three of us have influenced each other professionally over the past ten years. It was a great day and I look forward to returning again.

comweek
comweek

I also had to make mention that since college the only project that all three of us worked on together was my wedding video. Jesse and Jordan shot throughout the day and I edit their footage. It was awesome to have my good friends capturing the day for me. It would not have been the same without them.