With all the latest research indicating that sedentary lifestyles are destroying our collective health, you might think film editors would be doomed. Then again, you haven't met Zack Arnold.
He's also the founder of Fitness in Post, a site that details everything he's learned while working to reclaim his health after dealing with total burnout and near suicidal depression. Needless to say, Zack knows firsthand the dangers of spending 14 sedentary hours in front of a computer for days, weeks, years on end.
He's cracked the code of living healthily and vibrantly and creatively despite being bound to a desk, which is something I'm guessing will be helpful for not just me, but quite a few of us.
So the following is my full interview with Zack. It's pretty lengthy, but jam-packed with the strategies and mindsets he used to completely transform his life. Enjoy.
Zack Arnold: I wanted to be an editor since I was nine years old. At the time I had no idea that editing was even a job, but I wanted to "put pieces of a movie together." One weekend my older brother showed up to my house with a brand new VHS camcorder and said we should shoot a movie. I begrudgingly accepted, and we ran around the house for the next twelve hours shooting Nintendo guns at each other.
Anything else you'd like to share with the PostLine audience?
I would like every filmmaker to think about the thousands of dollars they invest in equipment – cameras, lights, editing software, plug-in packages, etc. Then compare that to the money invested in their health.
Focus on optimizing the most powerful operating system you have – yourself.
For anyone interested, Zack's going to be holding a free webinar next week where he'll share all of his best tips and tricks for moving more throughout the workday. If you're hoping to boost your focus and creativity in the edit bay, this is definitely worth your time.
This article first appeared on Filmmaker's Process.