STOKEWARD METHODOLOGY – POST #11 – PERFECT IS NEVER PERFECT

I will be shooting tomorrow…hypothetically. This is where all the money, time and energy has been put in to, to be able to actually shoot this film. The nerves are normal. However, sometimes the nerves and the fast paced energy can be too much, so it’s important that your producer is with you for at least 12 hours prior to shooting (that means sleeping over) to ensure that he or she has got it down-packed with organisational facets, and making sure that everything will run smoothly.

The person that the director will be spending the most time with is the assistant, actors and also the cameramen. There are two ways I usually go about being a director with films, and that all depends on my investment and foreseeable future of my film. 1) I usually understand that everyone is learning and that sometimes it won’t be perfect. This is where I need to be calm, and act as a mentor, not a dictator. I allow for mistakes, and encourage people to try their best and to learn from their errors. OR… 2) I will do as many takes until i can get the shot that i want, given I have the time to do so, and will make sure that not one single error occurs. However, this one usually leaves people feeling stressed, and may leave you with high expectations, and soon to become disappointment, as no film ever has been shot without errors involved. They can either be covered up in post-production, or kept in the final cut because they are so minimal, but include a really great shot nonetheless.

This is where the learning comes from as a director/producer of a film or scene. We make mistakes, and learn from them, but we have to know that while this is our ‘baby’, and we want it to be the best, all the time, perfect is never perfect. The interpretation of the audience will decide the quality, and validity of your film as either professional, or amateur. That is the cutthroat business we are in. But as a student of film for life, I remember a quote by Quentin Tarantino: “Why spend 300,000 dollars on film school, when you can spend 30,000 dollars on a film. That’s the best film school in the world!” Because we learn.