Most recent letters
035 / A Low Dishonest Decade
Reflections on the anniversary of the declaration of war in Europe
• 1 minute read
034 / The Ever Moving Mountain
Why artists can never settle on a single idea - creativity wants expansion!
• 2 minute read
033 / As The Electromagnetic Pulse Ripped Through The City, He Saw It Was All For Nothing
When I’m not scared of losing my life’s work, I think about destroying it.
• 3 minute read
032 / Hobbies
How I have denied myself a hobby for most of my life - until this summer.
• 4 minute read
031 / All Sorts of Things Become Possible
Some lessons in filmmaking from the set of my latest video project.
• 2 minute read
030 / A New Film I'm Proud Of
A behind-the-scenes look at a new film I’ve made for The New York Times - plus some exciting news about a film I directed last year!
• 4 minute read
029 / The Time Orson Welles Met Hitler
Some must-watch interviews from a golden age of television.
• 4 minute read
028 / On The Thermodynamics of Creativity
An important message for artists - your work will not exist by itself!
• 3 minute read
027 / I Don't Know How To Be Older Than This
How I lost my way and some advice for creative folk in their 30s.
• 4 minute read
026 / Your Questions, Answered
A Q&A session with Third Something Readers - I answer questions about filmmaking and my creative process.
• 8 minute read
025 / The Threshold Of Awareness
This diagram helps me tell visual stories that make the audience both think and feel. Here’s how to use it.
• 2 minute read
024 / The Sacred Stage
Are you feeling creatively blocked? You might be thinking about your ideas all wrong.
• 4 minute read
023 / A Vague Haze of Malaise
I’ve been feeling depressed lately and I wonder if it’s connected to how much time I make for myself to create.
• 2 minute read
022 / Looking and Seeing
Here’s a useful exercise in using drawing as a form of meditation and awareness. Try it out!
• 3 minute read