I saw a really good talk by shame and vulnerability psychologist Brene Brown.
[video=youtube;8-JXOnFOXQk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-JXOnFOXQk[/video]
She talks about about our critics. She says some of us are gladiators sticking our necks out, trying new things, getting the crap beat out of us in the arena. Then there are the critics in the stands, telling us what we should and shouldn't be doing, critiquing us. She says "if they're not in the arena themselves, sticking their necks out, I don't care what they have to say." It's easy to criticize a show when you've never made one, or a pitch when you've never stood on the mound, or a performance when you've never been on stage. The amount of time and energy that these guys put into this can't even be fathomed. I think we assume that since they're getting paid for it, we can expect an award-winning script, performance, and videography. They're just guys that like to go wheeling that got into this (albeit with some fantastic camera and editing skills), and stuck their neck out, entering the arena to try and chase their dreams.
It's like those guys on YouTube who go around criticizing everyone's videos, yet they have zero video uploads themselves.
I haven't even done 1% of what these guys are doing, and I'm exhausted, between planning the route, getting rigs ready, setting up the schedule and the locations and the timeframe, then actually trying to film it while being the actor/subject yourself. Then there's the scripting, the keeping track of all your gear, making sure you're backing everything up, syncing 4+ cameras worth of footage for each day, the hundreds of hours of editing for each episode, all while trying to stay safe and enjoy yourself in these countries. It sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime, but an exhausting one at that.
