Day one of The Shape of Kindness is officially in the books, and it was the kind of start every indie DP hopes for: steady pace, clear communication, solid teamwork… with one small test from the filmmaking gods.
Mid-take, the camera glitched. Froze. Lagged. Did the exact thing you pray won’t happen on a tightly scheduled first day. And for a moment, I felt that old solo-filmmaker panic spike. The one where you assume every problem is yours to shoulder alone.
But here’s the difference now:
I wasn’t alone.
Our team stayed calm.
We troubleshot together.
We fixed it and kept moving.
A few years ago, that moment would’ve derailed me. I was used to being the one-woman department, doing everything myself and absorbing every hit. Letting go of that mindset has been one of the hardest parts of this transition. But yesterday proved something I needed to feel in real time:
Shared vision means shared pressure, not just shared creativity.
The day ran smoothly because everyone understood their lane, trusted each other, and stayed flexible. I didn’t have to micromanage. I didn’t have to hold all the weight. I just had to show up, communicate, and let the team do what the team was built to do.
And honestly? That’s growth I’m proud of.
If Part 4 was about surviving the night before, Part 5 is about experiencing the difference a true team makes once the camera finally rolls.
Question for the lounge:
What’s one thing you learned about yourself after your first day on a new production?
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Congratulations to you and the team on wrapping day one, Lindsay Thompson!
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Love this. That “shared vision = shared pressure” line needs to be printed and gaffer-taped to a few camera carts.
On my first real day as “the cinematographer,” I got thrown into shooting kicking and screaming, surrounded by crates of kit I barely knew how to turn on. Lots of useless footage, lots of smiling and nodding, and a full-on improv performance of “person who totally knows what they’re doing, please don’t look too closely.”
What saved me was exactly what you’re talking about: breathe, stop pretending you’re a one-person department, and lean into the team. A bit of Into the Magic Shop-style visualization, a deep dive into phone-book-sized manuals, plus a lot of advice from this very lounge… and slowly, things started to click. I learned I don’t have to be fearless, I just have to stay honest, keep communicating, and keep learning in public.
Really enjoying these instalments. Keep Part 5 (and 6, 7, etc.) coming.