More than just a set of competencies, professionalism defines my attitude, a moral values system that governs my actions.
As a professional, I care deeply for my art, my clients, my industry and the public.
Most of the time, I run lean teams or solo. I do not hide behind a wall of corporate impersonality and non-accountability. I engage my personal integrity, conscience and self-respect to deliver the best in quality and in collaboration, all the time.
I prefer an open, direct and honest approach to doing business. I consider flattery a disservice to the client. Solutions start with a straight look in the eyes of the problem.
I expect my client to be as honest and as conscientious as I am. However, I constantly check for the all too human misunderstandings and errors.
I like new, challenging assignments. I feel comfortable with change, ambiguity and the unknown. I believe in achieving expert results in any activity and prefer high risk / high reward opportunities. That said, I choose calculated risk over gambling.
My friends have nicknamed me “bulldozer” — 27 years spent pushing through setbacks and complications of real-life projects. Especially in film, where the default response is a “no”. So what? I persist until the objective is achieved. 🚜
I tend to over-deliver and over-achieve. I shoot 15 great pictures instead of required 5. I design grid systems with future needs of the client in mind. I build easy-to-maintain products with a generous margin to failure, verified through FEA and actual overload testing.
Business is business. I avoid artistic blur, spoken arrangements, ambiguous pricing, goal misunderstanding, scope creep and missed deadlines.
My years in business school and 27 years of professional experience contribute to a solid and accurate system of business and legal procedures. A precise workflow – from estimate to first presentation, to delivery memo, to invoice – streamlines and regulates the sometimes-chaotic creative process. Detailed Terms and Conditions signed for each project spell out every agreement. Read more about my work methods.
I learn a lot from people who share their knowledge and experience. I owe my family, mentors, teachers and friends, as well as artists and authors I do not know personally.
I have amassed a lot of thoughts and experiences. I relish the opportunities to share what I know with people who are interested, people who want to learn and improve.
Since 2013, I have been participating in Q&A sessions following my feature films screenings at festivals, moderated by top media specialists and industry researchers. I also prioritize speaking at film schools, connecting with emerging filmmakers.
My prose is an other way to give back to the community, to give answers I could not find when I was looking for them myself. Read some of my essays.
While my programming code often isn’t suited for open-source, I contribute some of my bits and pieces in areas that enhance user and dev experience, as well as through bug reports and feature suggestions to other projects on GitHub.
Read through my collection of tweets about professionalism.
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