We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maurice Brown a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Maurice, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

When I was younger, I was highly imaginative. When I would play video games and watch movies, I would envision how I could express it creatively. I stumbled upon YouTube videos where I would see short films, film breakdowns, and montages. These made me wonder how they created these videos, which brought me to Adobe After Effects. During this time, I started learning Video Editing, which was a wonderful outlet because I could express my creativity through visuals and sound design to evoke emotions in the viewer.

The method I followed was diving in and not looking back, even though there were caveats with my approach. There were many days when I sorted through moments of confusion and discomfort, followed by moments of accomplishment. The primary key here is that I kept honing my craft and followed the principle of continuous improvement. If I could have a phrase for the essence of my learning, it would be “Try new things even if you think you might not like them.”

With that principle, I have tried many different methods within my field and surprised myself. It would be fine if I did not like it, but at least I tried. Applying that principle transformed how I learned and deduced problems. Now I tackle the most complex matters regardless of how intimidating they may seem.

Knowing what I know now, there are two steps I would take to speed up my progress. Those steps are deliberate practice and quantifying how I track my goals. While growing up and figuring out how to study my craft, I had no intentional structure implemented. The passion would drive me, allowing me to focus on what I wanted to do at the time. Now I realize there were gaps in my knowledge that I have had to fill in over the years. If I started over, I would solidify my understanding of the subject before moving to the next project. Then, I would test myself later and track how I did. My earlier works show my progression as an artist, but do not show the many detailed processes and problems I had to solve. I compare it to how I train in the gym with progressive overload to make continuous improvements, no matter how minute they may be. That realization would have assisted me many years ago. Some may say doing that is unnecessary, but I feel that skills are more enjoyable when you understand what you are doing.

One essential skill for my growth was asking the right questions to solve a problem instead of pondering my frustration. When I am presented with a problem now, I question the problem instead of shying away from how complex or daunting it may be. Asking the right questions allows me to break down any issue into simple steps or sort through my logic to move forward in the current project. The second skill I started over the past few years is journaling my insights for the day. Journaling helps iteratively, helping me figure out the problems by externalizing my thoughts. It has helped me maintain my progress and continue to improve over time.

Obstacles that stood in the way would be getting stuck in planning or idea mode. There are still struggles with each day since it is a daily battle, but I make sure to count the improvements. There is a system that I have created that allows me to shift from planning to execution mode. Discipline is the heart of this process because one bad day can try to knock you off balance, but staying the course is crucial.

Maurice, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Maurice Brown, but I go by MoeeVisuals, where I post content to help inspire and teach creatives about video editing and visual effects. I do video editing, 2D/3D motion design, and VFX work for clients! I also provide assets, tutorials, and feedback for those trying to learn the skills I have acquired. The main goal is to help many others trying to delve into the creative world.

While growing up, my childhood curiosity sparked my interest in various topics, allowing my vision of what was possible to extend far beyond reason. During those moments, I wanted to learn many things and excel at them too. I went from animation and music to video editing and creating video games. My persistence and imagination were extremely vivid, but once I discovered the versatility of video editing and visual effects, it began to make sense. The compilation of movies, TV shows, anime, and childhood cartoons I had watched was funneled into my craft. I realized that all of these things fused into the creativity I possess today. When I put that into perspective, it empowered me and made me realize that there are many paths to take in this life. I realized that mine is to share my dream with others and show them how they can do the same thing.

I am proud of the way that I’ve cultivated my curiosity to move forward and grow as a freelancer and content creator. It is not as easy as everyone says it is. Various hardships and silent victories arose that have compounded to create what I am today.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

That great feeling of accomplishment when you commit to a new challenge and conquer it is the most rewarding. In most creative fields, especially mine, it can be very time-consuming. The hours you put in as an artist are crucial because sometimes you may feel drained from the time spent working through problems. Though, when you push your limits further than last time, those are key moments that enrich the joyous feelings of being creative. Furthermore, the action of sharing your work with other creative souls that support your vision or enjoy the same topics is very empowering. The rewards you obtain from being an artist or creative are multifaceted, which makes it worthwhile.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The fact that life is finite ignites an internal flame, an unrelenting drive to improve. God put me on this Earth for however long He allows me to. This phenomenon drives me to learn, experience, and grow as much as humanly possible. To provide value and assist others through my creative lens. Although there are ups and downs, the main driving factor is that I can use my creative skills to help others and myself in many ways. That statement itself is a strong enough catalyst for the drive I possess.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moeevisuals/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoeeVisuals
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/moeevisuals
• Other: Additional socials: https://linktr.ee/MoeeVisuals