I'm invited on November 8th to the screening of my film about the École des Ponts at SETEC, a major engineering consultancy firm. In preparation for the debate that will follow the screening, I was asked for a copy of this engraving found in the film, which represents an "idealized" vision of the École des Ponts:

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In the film, Antoine Picon, engineer and architectural historian, provides a vibrant commentary on it, which is juxtaposed with the school's life today.

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Related links:

• "The Builders" film page (chezfilms.com)

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Lazy Sunday at home. Still feeling a bit under the weather. I took the opportunity to rewatch "The People v. O.J. Simpson". What an incredible miniseries. The writing, the direction. And Sarah Paulson is amazing in it. Brava! Bravo to everyone!

This is my 50th video since I started posting every day again and I've now reached 300 YouTube subscribers.

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On Instagram and TikTok, we're closer to 3000 followers but YouTube is harder.

To navigate this complexity, my editorial strategy rests on three essential foundations:

• blah
• blah
• blah

A strategy I could sum up with this ancient quote that guides me every day:

"Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't." – Buddha (maybe)

All this to say I'm not trying to understand. I post and we'll see what happens.

That said, I'd be lying if I said I haven't started spotting certain aspects that influence a video's success. But I don't let these ideas overshadow my goal:

Telling whatever I feel like, whenever I feel like it, without hiding.

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Related:

• Insultometer
• 3 Nicolas in 1
• One video per day (again)

I regularly work from the Off Courts offices.

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I've been taking notes my whole life and it's done me practically no good. Until recently, because I changed my system.

First, let me clarify: I've been using Obsidian for 3 or 4 years (after Apple Notes, Airtable, Notion...) and even though I love this software – I'll talk more about it later – it's not a tool issue. It's a process issue.

Before, I was hoarding notes.

Like an obsessive person suffering from Diogenes syndrome: I was afraid of losing an idea, of letting the providential thought slip through my fingers. So I accumulated, and accumulated. And once in my vault, I did nothing with them.

Over time, I found technical solutions to use my notes more – mainly by putting them in front of my eyes – but that wasn't enough.

What was missing? Pressure.

The most important thing isn't writing a note: it's the work you do afterward to integrate it into a body of knowledge that you use every day. Applying pressure to a set of ideas so they aggregate and form a diamond.

So now, I proceed like this:

1. I write a note in a catch-all file (Inbox)
2. I then copy it into the relevant file (e.g.: productivity, presence, creation)
3. In this file, I group connected notes into large sections with subtitles and summaries.
4. I create (or maintain) at the top of this file a global summary in two or three sentences that captures the essence of what's important, often in the form of clear and concrete advice.
5. I rinse and repeat.

The final objective is therefore to produce this targeted advice that is immediately applicable and that I organize myself to reread regularly. Having compiled it from multiple sources makes it very personal and concrete.

That was one of this morning's activity.

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Related:

• Marketing BY Dummies (example note)
• Obsidian (website)

I've noticed that the times I got angriest were when someone acted as if I didn't exist.

As if where I stood, there was no one.

The driver who nearly runs me over. The fellow passenger who plays their music as if they were alone. The colleague who completely disregards what I say.

I've noticed it in others too. The strongest emotions arise when we feel ignored.

So much so that much of what we do seems designed to prove that we exist.

Work, conversation, creation, networking... Everything seems subconsciously calibrated to give the world proof that we're really here.

As if our essential fear was being a ghost. The existential dread of being nothing but a specter that needs to thrash about to be seen.

And when someone ignores us, it's as if they were highlighting this emptiness. As if, with a gesture or a remark, they were reducing to nothing all the efforts we make to exist everyday.

Related:

• Being yourself isn't a luxury
• The regret you can avoid on your death bed (French video)

Dracula, but worse. A comedy short film written and shot in 72 hours during the 2025 Off Courts Festival.

With Marianne Fisch (as Mina), Léo Grange (as Jonathan), Nicolas Boulenger (as Prof. Vénèresling), Ahmed (as the Grocer). Cinematography Jean Ratsimbazafy, Sound Vincent Robidou, Music Edouard Pons, Assistant Director Mathis Recondu, Camera Assistant Huseyin Asscam, Makeup Omaya Salman and Anna Martin, Costumes Soazig Henri-Le Cann, Fight Choreography Alexandre Thomas. Thanks to Librairie La Distillerie, Chez Ahmed, the Kino / Off Courts team and Sony France. A film by Nicolas Boulenger.

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Related:

• Behind-the-Scenes Photos
• Short Making-of Video
• Zen & creation

A year ago, I bought an SSD hard drive to show my movies anywhere. But it didn't come with a sturdy case. So I bought this card holder (which cost an arm and a leg) at the stationery store. 

I couldn't check the size because it was filled with plastic sheets that I tore out.

When I discovered that not only was it the perfect size, but the cable fit just right inside to stabilize the whole thing... small victory.

It goes everywhere with me now.

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(No, that's not dirt inside, it's dried glue residue.)

I think the festival went so well, both in terms of the connections I made and my film, because I was fully present.

I decided I would continue meditating every morning, regardless of my schedule. I stuck to it.

I even meditated at noon the day before filming, when I was stuck on preparation. Result: solutions fell from the sky.

I came without an idea, without a script, without a crew.

When something was resistant, I let go.

When I was hurt by a rejection or an event, I noticed this emotion and did my best not to act reactively.

I was listening to everyone, all the time. Without forcing myself. I was happy to be there.

Every aspect of my film – ideas, locations, crew – came naturally, through chance encounters.

Neither the filming nor the editing were easy. Yet I can't imagine how it could have gone better.

The difficulties and stress were part of the ideal path.

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Related:

• Zero Film Ideas
• Don't Listen to Constructive Criticism
• What Meditation Changed for Me