Amatuer

24/08/2010 | blog, Photos, Videos

At Soul Survivor this year I went to a seminar about video making. Given the event is aimed at teenagers I was expecting a very basic introduction to the art, so I went thinking it’ll be helpful to hear again all the things I’ve already learned.

Instead I learned an awful lot I didn’t know, but the one thing that has radically changed my way of thinking was when the guy defined ‘amatuer’ for us.

I know I’m not the only one guilty of applying this term to someone who is not great at something and isn’t paid for it. How wrong could we be.

Amateur is a French word that comes from the Latin ‘amatorem’ meaning lover. It describes someone who is passionate about their field & does it purely for the love of it, regardless of remuneration. So the kid in his attic with a mobile phone camera & a box of Lego is an amatuer, but as long as the passion and attitude remain – so are Robert Zemeckis, James Cameron & Steven Spielberg. They are all amateurs in my opinion.

I am an amateur and I hope I always am.

  • http://www.stuartcarter.co.uk Stuart

    That’s quite interesting, actually. So, if you love your job you can be an amateur (lover) and professional (by profession) at the same time?

    • http://robpannell.com/ Rob Pannell

      Yep, that’s what I hoped to insinuate with the film director examples – you can bet your bum they get paid!

  • http://www.stuartcarter.co.uk Stuart

    That's quite interesting, actually. So, if you love your job you can be an amateur (lover) and professional (by profession) at the same time?

  • http://robpannell.com/ Rob Pannell

    Yep, that's what I hoped to insinuate with the film director examples – you can bet your bum they get paid!