The Red Carpet Effect

Red Carpet Experience

The demands of a voracious media upon celebrities are significant. Attending the BFI London Film Festival is one of my now annual indulgences – being able to see some great new movies and enjoy the experience of the razzmatazz. It is interesting to observe the stars, the media and the public who all play their parts in the red carpet experience. The moment is fleeting and slightly surreal. I wonder how celebrities put up with the constant attention and deal with the inevitable experience at some point of not being the centre of attention. I have to say that all those that I bumped into (some literally) along the red carpet appeared to be comfortable with the attention and I was struck by how calm their demeanour – no small feat when hundreds of people are shouting and demanding your gaze.

Labor Day

Last night I saw yet another good Kate Winslet film. This time “Labor Day” (yes American). It is a moving story about a escaped convict that seeks shelter in the depressed home of divorcee Adele (Kate Winslet) who lives with her son Henry who does his best to help her struggle through the day. Both lack confidence and need a shot of inspiration which arrives in the unexpected form of Frank Chambers (Josh Brolin). I won’t divulge the story any further, but it is a reminder that in life there are often people that lift us and inspire us. I think that for me this is often the role that art, in its many forms often plays in my own life. That is not to say that inspiration always comes from a perfect or purist place, but rather, true inspiration is invariably grounded in the difficulty of real life.

A Passionate and Connected Life

For all the gloss of financial services, the reality is that great financial planning is grounded in real life, in your hopes and experiences. It is not a wish-making factory, though I can certainly see how this can appear to be the case. I work hard with clients to help them verbalise the life that they want. We might call this a lifestyle, which can sound like a glamorous term, in practice it invariably means a life where thought has been placed into how personal values are outworked. I cannot think of a single client for whom relationships, connection to others is not one of their driving motivations. It isn’t really about the toys, but a sense of being known. Money merely provides choices, it’s a resource, my clients reflect on how they wish to use it in order to reflect their own values. This is easier said than done in a world that honours and basks in the glitz, which can be a lot of fun, but can be a lonely place, where being oneself is increasingly difficult. What I find clients are really bothered by, is a very real, passionate and connected life, themes touched on in the film – hence the blog.

The BFI Film Festival continues until Sunday 20^th October.

Dominic Thomas: Solomons IFA

Focus – lessons from Sundance

I’m lucky enough to have fairly easy access to London and as a consequence, some really great stuff. At the weekend I managed to spend time at the Sundance London film festival (which I also attended last year). This is a showcase of independent films, largely brought over from Utah, where the Sundance organisation, set up by Robert Redford is based. The great thing is that you get to meet and hear from people that love making films. Their common trait, forgive the pun, is their focus. There is an unmistakeable sense of “doing the thing they love”. Not simply for those in front of the camera, or whose name you may know, but a real sense of drive and desire to make something that says something of value.

David Arnold, is a successful British composer, who has already built a considerable body of work within the film world. You might know him best for his work on the more recent James Bond movies. Now I enjoy music and listen to a lot of it, but to my shame, I’m not terribly much of an expert when it comes to classical music, despite my father’s operatic background, and my years in the school choir – I’m certainly no composer. So I am in some awe of those that can create music, but I had never seen the process of scoring a film so wonderfully explained. David walked the audience (of which around 50% were composers) through his catalogue and his process. He then demonstrated the various techniques he uses to structure the music to the film and build it layer by layer, whilst all the time being mindful that changes may need to be made due to editing of the film itself. It was fascinating. There was a real sense of his humility in being able to appreciate the contributions of others, whilst also remaining focused on the task at hand – for which he has a clear passion.

Whilst I’m not making music, his explanations and processes resonated with me. When I’m constructing a proper financial plan based upon someone’s values, it is very much a layered approach, with the need for editing and re-working. I like to think that on occasion I really help people find their personal rhythm in their own lives and values, but I’m stretching things. I certainly love what I do and enjoy the creative aspect of my work, but it isn’t really a masterpiece, but I do hope that I’m helping others (my clients) to make a great work of their lives, by really thinking about how they want to live them out…. not your run of the mill financial stuff.

Dominic Thomas: Solomons IFA