Revelations, Remembering, and Renewed Focus

Greetings, one and all! Unfortunately I started the week out somewhat grumpy. When you’re repeatedly stymied in your attempts to finish the project you shot two years ago, and have technically been working on for seven years, you can feel a bit… done. But then I got a livestream invite from the admin of a homeschooled filmmaker group that I’m a part of. The stream was on writer’s block, but as my mind had started to turn toward what’s next, I thought it could be useful. She opened up with questions about what our block looks like, then talked about the major kinds of writer’s block, but the kind that resonated with me didn’t relate to writing, but to the act of making the movie itself. It was the difference between being process-focused and product-focused.

The gist of it was if you find the process that works for you, and focus on working the process, then you’re less likely to experience burnout than if you focus on the product, the end result, because that’s where you start making choices that steal the joy of the work. I remembered how I’d made myself a promise almost a decade ago along similar lines; that (at least until I start getting paid for this) I would only work with people I like, take my time, and make it beautiful. In short, I promised to make the process better for me. How does this relate to the present? Well, when she asked about our writer’s block, I said mine was I am now aware of the cost of putting every word I write on the screen. Understandably she started talking about the monetary cost, but half way through I realized that the cost that stopped me wasn’t monetary, it was mental and emotional energy. See, when we can’t afford to buy something for the movie, odds are we’ll just make it. On The Nine Isles we made a lot of things, enough to burn out my brother and I, who both love to make things, for almost two years and counting. We can put just about anything we want up on screen, but at what cost? We’d expended a resource a lot more valuable than money, and it wasn’t replenishing. Somewhere in the process I had become product-focused, and it sucked the joy and willpower right out. So now I’m trying to finish the project with zero energy.

I can’t fix the past, but I can certainly change the future. The moment my focus shifted from product to process things changed. I’m excited about my work again. I know what the short we’re shooting this year will be, ideas for themes and characters for one of my script ideas are now flowing freely, and I’m happily doing research on things that would’ve tired me out a week ago. So I’m thankful for that meeting, and I’m thankful that I had the time to participate, because I’m happier and more focused than I’ve been in a long time. Yes, there’s still the hurdles to completing what’s already on my plate, but at least now it feels like a slog through a swamp, not a dead-end. Slow, difficult, but not a hard stop.

Now that I know where we’re going with things, the stunt team focuses in on what’s needed to make it happen. On top of the weapons drills, there are two main aspects that need to be addressed. For the less experienced stunties, that’s selling the hit. For the more experienced ones, it’s making sure to make readable moves with clear lines of action and intent. Basically playing for the camera.

We focused on the first point this week, starting with fists and knees, and working up to bladed weapons.

While it took longer than planned, it was drilled well enough that we’ll be able to move on to the next phase with a solid grasp of the basics.

Well, that’s about all for this week. Until next time!