At a recent speech, composer and orchestrator Luke Flynn shared some insights about the process of making music for movies. What I learned is that most of the composition is done in very short increments, called cues. Cues are often only a minute or two long and then are pieced together to complete the film. The short cues are easier to redo if there is an instrumental change and allow for more precision when editing them into the show.
People could benefit from adopting some of this process to their own lives. If you are looking to change a habit, think of it in one-minute increments instead of a whole day. If you are fighting negative self-talk, shake it off in micro-units and piece in positive thoughts for as many other segments as you can muster. If you’re working on a major project, tackle it in short pieces that can be assembled together instead of trying to address the project in its entirety.
We tend to forget that the whole of anything is comprised of many pieces. Take a lesson from music composers and orchestrate your success one cue at a time.
