Yellow!

It’s 8 PM and I’m sweating my balls off in my garage.

This was a couple weeks ago, back when Atlanta was sitting at 95 degrees every single day.

I’m building my first picture frame. It’s going to hold some photos I printed from the trips we took while I was fight coordinating Ballerina (the John Wick one). It’s a little side quest I’ll tell you more about soon.

I’m a complete beginner at woodworking, so the plan was to document the whole process, hiccups and all.

Silly me for thinking I’d make it five minutes without one.

I pull out my phone and start dialing… drum roll please… my dad.

“Yellow!”

(That’s how my dad answers the phone.)

“How in the heck do you get this router bit off the router? I need to swap it for a different one.”

My dad starts cackling.

Well, I’m glad one of us is having fun. I bet he’s sitting in the AC, too. Jerk.

He walks me through getting the router to release the bit, and I get the new one in. Then we end up on the phone for 30 minutes about what I’m building, how to set the router, and the best way to hold the wood steady so the groove comes out consistent.

As always, a masterclass in all things craft.

Before he hangs up, he leaves me with one last tip: “Don’t cut your fingers off.”

“I’ll try not to.”

That wasn’t the last time I called him during this build. But it reminded me of all the things my dad has helped me through over the years, like the time our 1985 tour bus broke down, which I wrote about here.

It also reminded me how much of a difference it makes to have an expert you can text or call. Most of the time it’s the difference between actually doing the thing you set out to do, or… not.

My dad is the ultimate guide. He can’t help but teach people what he knows.

I think I inherited that.

It’s the reason I started sharing lessons and tips here and on social. And it’s the reason I started my 1:1 VIP coaching program. I wanted to be that resource for you, whether it’s filmmaking, content creation, or finally going full time as a creative, the same way my dad has always been a resource for me.

I can be your….film daddy.

(Okay, I’ll stop.)

Seriously though. I spent years trapped in a job I hated, then grinded my way up through the film industry for over a decade. This is the kind of help I wish I’d had when I started.

Have a good week,

Caleb

If you want to know more about working with me one on one, you can apply here.