How To Learn Anything

If you can see something and break it down into understandable parts, you’ve unlocked the ability to learn anything. The ability to categorize things into groups based on similarity opens up a world of free education. Observation is the key to this world.

The internet gives us virtually unlimited access to see anything. But just because you can see something doesn’t mean you can automatically learn how to do it. Take a commercial set, for example. You may like a commercial because it looks “cool,” but have no idea how to emulate that “cool” look. Or you may think a song sounds “hype,” but have no clue how to make your own “hype” song. A few lighting and coloring tutorials could unlock a new understanding when it comes to film sets. Maybe the look you think is “cool” is simply colored gels in the background with soft yellow light on one side of the model’s face. Piece of cake. A few beat-making tutorials could unlock a second layer of your love for music. Maybe the “hype” feel is just a 160 BPM with 16th note hi-hats. That’s simple enough.

The next level of this observational understanding is not only knowing what’s going on, but realizing what each part is doing for the creative piece. The colored gels make the commercial feel more premium, and the yellow light makes it feel more dramatic. The 16th note hi-hats make the song feel like it’s racing along. 

The fascinating thing is that if you can understand how specific techniques affect creatives, you can have a creative career. I’ve never been paid to touch a camera or lights. But I build out storyboards, direct gaffers on set, and brief DPs on the kind of lenses and movement we want. Because I see a lot of small parts in big creatives, and I train myself to ask what each of those small parts does for the creative. 

You can do the same.