I am a couple of years or so in, producing more shoots and hanging with my crew. Working seven days a week. Sometimes shooting at night. I can’t get enough of it. The energy, the vibe.
A new addiction. But did I take regular breaks and recharge?
Like hell I did. I ate Deliverance take-aways, smoked 40 fags a day and drank whisky shots in the mornings, while eating cold pizza from the night before.
I took very few days off, had hardly any holidays where I wasn’t working too and very rarely saw family and friends.
After finishing up on night shoots you would often find me asleep on a sofa in a post house waiting for the colourist to turn up so we could get the rushes graded.
I would then jump into an Addison Lee cab home (my other addiction), during which I would be on my Blackberry planning the next shoot happening in a week’s time, with a cast and crew of one hundred or so, while wrapping the one I did last week.
Work became all-consuming, but I loved it.
As any freelancer knows it can sometimes be difficult to say no, especially when you don’t know when the next job will be coming in. But I also said yes, as I loved producing. I loved the shoots. I loved talking ideas and learning about what everyone else did.
Also not knowing how things should be done meant I had to figure things out and create my own systems, which I love doing.
Yes, I am a producer now, but here comes the crash and burn.
It started a few days before, at the Coffee House pub on Beak Street. I couldn’t make up my mind on anything. I usually make quick decisions, so this threw me. A few days later, one morning, my body gave up on me and I found myself unable to move from the bed. I had to crawl on the floor to get about.
I decided there and then it was time to create a new lifestyle that worked for me.
And for the first time I started saying no to things, which became very liberating. Making all future decisions based on how it will affect my mental health and whether it will give me a chance to grow.
Going for walks on Hackney Mashes, I saw a new London for the first time and wondered why I hadn’t done this before.
Lived an outside creative lifestyle.
Now I have this and would highly recommend it.
Best wishes,
Sherry Collins
