Make a Hype Doc
If you’re an aspiring filmmaker or film student, I highly recommend you start your Filmmaker Hype Doc today.
What’s a Hype Doc you ask? It’s simply a document that tracks things you’re proud of: accomplishments, key learnings, compliments you’ve received and the reason behind those compliments, moments when you really helped your colleagues or peers, etc.
Basically, it hypes you up.
What makes you awesome as a filmmaker? It should be on your Hype Doc.
But why should you make one?
It builds confidence
This one’s easy! Having a running list of your major accomplishments that you can reread anytime offers a great confidence boost. Now, it’s not about bloating your ego, but there are so many times during film school when I doubted myself. I doubted my abilities. I doubted my instincts.
I felt like my peers trusted me more than I trusted myself.
Having a little self-confidence cheat sheet I could’ve referred to anytime I needed a pick-me-up would have really helped me perform better.
Being mindful of your history of successes helps you to stop worrying about whether or not you’re capable of something, and instead gives you the confidence you need to just get started.
It helps you better understand yourself
As you read through your Hype Doc and reflect on your wins as a filmmaker, you’ll start to notice patterns.
“Wow, it seems like I really excel when I’m given more responsibilities.”
“All the accomplishments I’m most proud of are ones when I’m working closest to the director.”
“I get a lot of compliments about my shot scheduling.”
These patterns will help you know yourself better as a filmmaker.
Back in film school, I was really torn about what I actually wanted to pursue in the film industry. Lots of stuff intrigued me on the surface and I felt like I wanted to learn it all.
I didn’t take the time to sit down, list out all my greatest accomplishments, and reflect on patterns between them.
Not identifying these patterns led to years of unfocused pursuits.
I sort of liked the art department, but I really wanted to write and make up stories, but working with actors was fun, oh and I liked the project management aspects of line producing. I was a mess. Ultimately, I decided to go back to grad school in Cinema Producing with the hopes that my career path within the film industry would become more clear.
Take the time to write, reflect, and know yourself.
Maybe it’s not even related to specific jobs performed in filmmaking. Maybe it’s more about style for you. What types of scripts energize you? What team environments do you thrive in?
A Hype Doc can help you uncover these nuggets of your filmmaker identity.
It improves how you communicate about yourself
Thinking about, writing down, and reading about your accomplishments and successes will help you talk about your accomplishments and successes with more clarity.
The process of generating a Hype Doc will ingrain these achievements in your mind and improve your memory of each victory you’ve listed.
Having these accomplishments top of mind will enable you to pitch yourself to others with confidence. When you speak with that kind of self-assuredness, people tend to gravitate towards you and want to hear more about you.
“What’s your next project?”
“I want to work with you at some point.”
Being able to effectively communicate your successes to others is an invaluable networking skill to have.
Furthermore, if you have a Hype Doc, you basically have a first draft of a resume. Of course, it’s probably more casual (and a lot more fun to read) than something you’d give to a prospective employer. But still, the key points from your Hype Doc can directly feed into your resume.
I also recommend reading through your entire Hype Doc before any interviews, pitches, or presentations. It will maximize your self-confidence and also bring to mind experiences you may be asked about.
Unfortunately, I didn’t know about Hype Docs until long after film school and years into working in the corporate tech world. But you do!
Use this super simple tool to build your confidence, better understand your identity as a filmmaker, and improve how you communicate your accomplishments to others.
Let me know how it goes.
