Here's one: Shakespeare, Robert Stack, and Jack London all walk into a classroom...

Just ignore that "D" on my report card.

I can’t pinpoint the exact moment when it happened, but at some point in my fledgling “career” as a goofy VHS slapstick director, a light bulb went off in my head.

Wait a minute! I can make short movies for school assignments!

So, what started as a fun hobby to do on a lazy Summer afternoon with neighborhood friends, soon morphed into a way for me to advance my academic career as well. Call it what you want…

• my first foray into the “business” side of video.

• my first realization that video can benefit me in more ways than creative fulfillment.

• my attempt to avoid real work in order to get an easy “A.”

But let’s not label it. Despite what you may be thinking, I didn’t do it to avoid writing reports and essays. I actually enjoyed writing (and still do; hence, this newsletter). I honestly just found movie making to be so enjoyable that I wanted to apply it to every aspect of my life, including school. All I needed was the right project.

I found it in my 8th grade debate class.

We were discussing the issue of capital punishment and our teacher required us to have a visual aide as part of our presentation. My mind immediately went to video. I was a big fan of Unsolved Mysteries at the time (Man, that show really spooked me out on a weekly basis) and so I wrote my own short episode about a murder and the subsequent trial. I recruited two classmates to be the victim and the perpetrator. Me? I played the part of Robert Stack, of course, relaying all the pertinent expository information.

From 8th grade on, I took every chance I could get to produce a video whenever teachers required an essay, book report, or presentation.

• A book report on The Call of the Wild became an incredibly awful parody of a National Geographic documentary on the Yukon Territory.

• A social studies report on the economics of Ireland became a James Bond mission set in… you guessed it, Ireland.

I also did my own movie versions of such literary classics as Julius Caesar and The Crucible. And to their credit, my teachers were all incredibly supportive and gave me permission.

First Lesson: Look for your cheerleaders. Sometimes it’s difficult for creators to find motivation on their own 100% of the time. Find people who will enable you and give you the space to do your best work.

My directorial streak of successes went on for two full academic years: just one hit after another. But in 10th grade my run came to a sudden end when I met the brick wall of a stone-faced, humorless biology teacher.

*Not my actual 10th grade biology teacher

The class loved the video; this one an absurd faux nature documentary on bats. In contrast, my teacher didn’t appreciate the comedy and quickly took a red pen to my report, giving me a “D.” As a teenager, I remember thinking, “He just doesn’t get it. Like any studio executive, he just doesn’t understand me as an auteur and what I was going for.” But I came face-to-face with two important lessons after staring down the barrel of that “D.”

Second Lesson: Not everyone will like your stuff.

Third Lesson: Know your audience.

You might think this third lesson contradicts a point I made in last week’s email about making films for you and not for anyone else. That’s true, but at some point the business side of the industry will come up and slap you right across the face, whether you make a career out of producing studio blockbusters or online marketing videos for a small brand. You have to keep the audience and the client in your mind as you create.

But don’t let that thought discourage you. Continue to create. Continue to show people the things you make, even if no one likes it.

After all, life isn’t always an easy “A.”