Remember to Recharge those batteries
Remember to charge your batteries.
Happy new year Hivemind. So as this new year begins, like many others before it, I post this PSA, as a timely reminder to charge those batteries! For those experienced in both the industry & many of my simple-simon thoughts on our craft, you can possibly skip the rest as you may know where this is going.
& now to the long winded mental ramble (that the less battle-worn of us may find as useful sage for their stuffing).
Traditionally, for many of us sync-sound recordists, January-February are predictably incredibly quiet times in the industry (& commerce as a whole, as the country takes a sober deep breath from letting loose during the Christmas season). So it’s in these 4-12 weeks of echo-laden professional hiatus (what I like to refer to as “the warp zone”) that we routinely find ourselves forcibly subscribed too, something that can often be let slip, is the charging of batteries. A devil used to joke with me of the old cliche that a recordist can never truly relax after a days shoot, until the batteries are proactively (& correctly son-son) installed into the charger, to be replenished for the immediate wars to come, as no matter what chaos production has in store for us, if the batteries are charging, we’ll be at least powered for that upcoming battle, & as that devil humorously observed, a full charging station, is the recordists place of quiet zen.
Which lands me back to the literal point of the post, don’t forget those batteries to discharge without use or replenishment for the entire duration of the warp zone, break em out, & give them a mid-break workout. Heck I’d even go as far as to recommend plugging them into your various kit & take them for a small half-hour workout, just to get they’re juices flowing, & prime them for a new recharge cycle. If batteries are left unused, then they will become accustomed to being unused & will retire themselves prematurely, without being honourably discharged from many well fought wars, & the last thing you need when that first last-minute call comes in to break the doom-filled peace of the warp zone, are batteries that let you down when you need them most. Take care of your batteries (& kit in general), & they will take care of you.
& now for the figurative part of the PSA. Once again the message is the same, “don’t forget to recharge those batteries”, with the expansion of this sage advice transposing yourself, in place of the battery. With these early months of the year being quiet, it can be triggering to our “feast or famine” experience in this industry, especially following the objective failure of 2024. So while you find yourself staring down what can feel like an unending tunnel of nothingness, take a moment to mentally stay off that feeling of dread at the sight of an empty diary, first by reassuring yourself that this empty part of the year, happens every year, year in, & year out. So when you start to see posts on our various social media communities complaining about the phone not ringing, or lack of email enquiries, understand that this is entirely normal. So stay calm, & charge your batteries, with YOU being the battery.
Instead of allowing yourself to dwell negatively in this period, I recommend to alter your view, & look at this slower period as a chance to take care of yourself a little better, take a well overdue holiday, revel in your hobbies & interests (for me its making music) that the riggers of the industry busy us away from, take the opportunity to devote a little time to personal fitness & wellbeing (for me that’s Jiujitsu), possibly most importantly, use this time out & give some attention to friends & family, use the time productively, not just in a professional sense, but also personally, enrich yourself with your favourite experiences, so you are distracted from the warp zone, & actively avoid negative thoughts that can spring from it, & with that, emerge from it actually recharged & fulfilled, READY for new battles & victories!
You can also use this break as a chance to refresh & renew your technical skillset & approach to your kit, take a moment to address the niggling issues within your workflow that linger due to lack of time to properly fix, & with that make long-planned upgrades!
In short, this warp zone happens every year, instead of dreading it & allowing the negatives to overwhelm you, use the time to recharge those batteries!
Heres to hoping all our diaries are filled in 2025,
& that the year is lit up with the productive glow of red buttons!
One of many Simons.
