Every major movie you've admired went through the same two-phase process.
First, months of structured pre-production: schedules, storyboards, call sheets, budgets.
Then, the chaos of production: problem-solving on the fly, adapting to the unexpected, keeping the energy up while the clock runs down.
Hollywood understands that these two phases require completely different modes of working. But as a creator, you’re a one-person production and you need to wear all the hats.
So what do you do?
Well, creators tend to be free-flowing by nature. We follow inspiration. We chase ideas when they hit.
That spontaneity is what makes our content feel alive, but it's also what makes consistency so hard. We treat every part of the process like it requires the same energy, the same headspace, the same approach. But it doesn't.
I run a photography and videography studio, and honestly… a lot of what I teach came naturally to me because I stumbled into understanding it through my client work.
It's why my Instagram grew as fast as it did.
Here's what I learned: there are two modes every creator needs.
First there’s the chef, who cooks plate by plate. One order comes in, they cook it start to finish. Plating. Garnish. Out the door. Then the next order.
The creator equivalent means finishing one video completely before starting the next. Record. Edit. Post. Then set up again for the next one. Same lighting. Same audio check. Same export settings. The work gets done, but the setup work gets repeated every time.
Then you have the baker; who bakes in batches. They make all the dough at once. All the icing. All the decorating in one go. Then they package and store. When an order comes in, they pull from what is already made.
As a creator, this means grouping similar tasks together. Film all your b-roll in one session. Write every caption for the week in a single hour. Set up the lighting once, shoot everything that needs that lighting, then pack up. The inefficiency happens once. Everything after that is just pulling from what you already built.
I’m naturally a baker, and it allows me to be a lot more productively than if I was winging it. I’d get burned out from filming daily.
But here’s the thing…
One approach isn’t necessarily better than the other
The Chef approach feels productive because each session ends with a finished plate. The Baker approach feels slower in the moment. But it starts paying out after the first batch is done.
Most people lean one way naturally. The goal is to know which way you lean and know that the other style of working exists.
If you’re a “baker” but you feel like your footage is stiff and lifeless, maybe it’s worth leaving some more room to improvise. If you find your “chef” ways stopping you from making as much content as you know you should be making, then it might be worth pulling some tricks out of Hollywood’s book and planning more thoroughly.
I put together a short clip on Instagram with twenty b-roll shots you can film in one weekend.
Full “baker” mode. Once you have them, you can switch into chef mode anytime you need to post something specific.
Till next time. 💥
—Kien
