Earlier this year I finished 4 years as a mature student at a UK University called Keele. It’s not a famous one, it’s not an ancient one steeped in tradition. It was an experiment, built on the grounds of an old estate, which thrived and became its own entity. It’s the only University in the UK attached to a village and not a city. It rebelled during the 60s and declared itself an independent sovereign state. It’s a big place, sat on top of a hill, with beautiful grounds and old buildings sitting right by more modern structures.
Amongst all the other things, Keele has a phenomenon which the staff and students know as “The Keele Bubble”. It comes from being sat on top of that hill, attached to a village, the nearest town over 2 miles away.
If you live on campus it’s easy to go weeks without leaving the campus. If you live off campus, you’re a little removed, but on the days you’re there, leaving can be tricky. If you get stuck in the bubble, you can forget what it’s like outside of it. You can lose track of people who aren’t also in the bubble very easily, you experience extreme culture shock if you go to a home some distance away for holidays – and triple that when you graduate. Keele is a place that pulls people in, and many people find it very difficult to get away, many stay on for extra study so as not to leave. Many people leave and then return.
Inside the bubble it’s safe and familiar. Outside of the bubble is the Great Unknown. It’s tempting and easy to stay there even when you know you need to step out of it.
I took a step back and looked at the industry we work in – and I saw something very similar. There’s a bubble, and it’s very easy to get lost in it.
I lived off campus the whole 4 years, but I got stuck in the bubble just the same. Now, it’s difficult to keep hold of people who remain in the bubble while I’m not there.
Similarly, while those I work with live in and around LA, I currently remain in the UK. I have a day job, which does more than just pay the bills – I enjoy the job, I like the people, and it ensures that I don’t stop going out into the world beyond the indie film bubble.
I love the people I work with – I’m proud and happy both to work with them, and call them friends. Few things have given me as much satisfaction, and have gained as much long-term dedication as this. It’s hard to be outside of the bubble – unlike Keele I don’t have the option of just hopping on a bus to jump inside for a while. But being outside of the bubble also lets me see how seductively, how slyly the bubble can insinuate itself into a person.
My day job reminds me about the rest of the world and helps me stay connected to other things and other people. It’s a job I’ll hang onto for a long as I can, past a time when it might be necessary to eat and such, because it is an essential thing to have.
I’m a storyteller at heart, always have been, probably always will be. I love stories, I love films and shows and books and games with meaty stories, and I love to write and create them and bring them to life. It’s hard for me to get out of that world. Sometimes it’s my own personal bubble that I get lost in. It’s always been essential for me to have something outside of it to keep me connected. The same goes for this industry – it’s essential I have something outside of it to keep me connected. Should a day arrive when I pack up and head for the epicentre of the bubble, it will fall to me to remember that and keep a corridor open to the rest of the world.
I know I’m not alone in this. I looked at the lists of people I talk to (face to face, phone, Skype, text, messaging, etc), a little while ago, and what I saw was that the number of people outside of the bubble who were getting my genuine attention was shrinking.
Yes, the longer you spend in the bubble the more people you know who are also a part of it. But if your contact to the outside world is shrinking, or almost gone, maybe it’s worth trying to open up that corridor again.
After all, I can’t tell stories that will mean anything to anyone if I lose contact with the people I’m trying to tell them to, now can I? And nor can you do what you do best, if the only people you know are other people trying to do it too.
The bubble is safe and stepping outside of it is scary, but as I’ve said before, sometimes you have to do the scary thing in order to be your best. Wanna join me?