The Best Advice I Ever Received on a Movie Set: “Don’t Run”

Before I worked in a puppet shop and before I started Boopos Blanks, I spent about two decades working in the film and television industry.

I learned how to build things, solve problems under pressure, adapt when plans changed, and know when to stop being precious about a project.

But one of the best pieces of professional advice I ever received had nothing to do with my skills as a maker.

It was two words:

“Don’t run.”

And I learned it on my very first studio feature film.

My First Studio Feature: Flight

Early in my career, I had the opportunity to work in the set decoration department on Flight, starring Denzel Washington.

I was young. I was green. And I was very, very eager to prove that I belonged there. You know the feeling. You think fast is better. Always be busy. As the kids say these days, you turn into a ‘pick me’ real quick.

One morning, while we were opening up the set, my boss and mentor, Bob, sent me to the truck to grab a piece of gear.

I couldn't tell you today what he asked me to get, but I remember wanting to impress him.

So, I just started running.

I grabbed that thing and started running back to set as fast as I could.

In my mind, I was demonstrating what a great set dresser I was.

Look how hard I'm working.

Look how seriously I'm taking this.

Look how fast I can get this done.

And then I ran into my boss, Bob.

“Hey. Come Here. Don’t Run.”

Bob stopped me and said, “Hey, come here. Don't run. It makes it look like you don't know what you're doing.”

One sentence. And more than 20 years later, I still think about it. Bob wasn't really teaching me about running.

He was teaching me about confidence.

Calm Looks Like Competence

Think about any chaotic, high-pressure situation you've been in.

Who do you naturally trust?

The person who seems to understand that something can be urgent without becoming frantic.

That's what Bob was trying to teach a young film crew member who desperately wanted everyone to know how hard he was working.

I didn't need to look busy. I needed to be useful.

Move With Intention

That lesson stayed with me throughout my career in film and television, and I still use it today as a professional puppet maker and fabricator.

Creative work is full of moments when something goes wrong.

The glue that you researched doesn’t actually stick to the surface you need it to stick to.

The fabric you ordered is on back order and the project is due in two days.

The perfect piece of foam that you’ve been hoarding in the guest closet for 4 years waiting for this exact project was thrown out by your wife in an overstimulated ADHD cleaning frenzy.

When you’re at that part of the build where everything is getting into the other thing’s way and nothing is going right, the temptation is to panic.

Instead slow yourself down enough to understand the problem.

Then move with intention.

That doesn't mean working slowly. Some of the best film crews and craftspeople I've worked with were incredibly fast.

But there's a difference between fast and frantic.

The best professionals I've known can move quickly without making everyone around them feel like the building is on fire.

It Changed the Way I Make Things

I think about this in my workshop, too.

Whether I'm building a puppet, fabricating a prop, experimenting with a new mechanism, or figuring out how to make something I've never made before, there's always a point where the project pushes back.

And it's one of the things I want people to experience through Boopos Blanks.

When you're creating your own puppet character, you're going to make decisions that don't work.

The eyes look scary when you were going for sleepy.

The fur you want is super expensive, and you just can’t justify dropping that kind of dough on something so silly.

You might attach something, stare at it for five minutes and decide it is not the vibe you are going for.

Good. Take it off.

You don't need to panic because the first idea didn't work.

You certainly don't need to run.

More Than 20 Years Later, I Still Hear Bob

I learned an enormous amount during two decades working in the film industry. I've worked with incredible craftspeople and watched talented professionals solve problems under immense pressure.

But I still come back to something my boss told me when I was the inexperienced guy running back from a truck:

“Don't run. It makes it look like you don't know what you're doing.”

At the time, I thought he was teaching me how to behave on a movie set. It took me a while to understand that he was teaching me how to be a professional.

Know what you're doing.

And when you don't know?

Stop. Look at the problem. Figure it out. Then move with purpose.

— Sam Carter
Professional puppet maker, fabricator, film industry veteran, and creator of Boopos Blanks

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