This kept me awake a while back, but it took me that while to be able to form my thoughts into words*. Maybe this will be of use to somebody else.
Directing, in the eyes of many, is simply about making decisions. Being able to make decisions, really. And it’s the decisions you make (or don’t make) that define your style, for better or for worst. And not just the style you see on screen, but the style of how you work, the vibe on your set, how others work and so on. It’s a domino effect, I suppose. Anyway, I digress…
In the heat of a shoot, not to mention the time leading up to one, you can find yourself making rather a lot of decisions quite rapidly. Thing is, how do you know you’ve made the right decision? Well, you don’t. Not really. And it’s far too easy to get caught up in “was that the right decision?” mode, get stuck over-thinking something and create a panic-ridden tar-pit that will drag you in the more you struggle. The important thing is to allow yourself to move on and keep making decisions. Be a shark; not in the corporate wanker sense, but in the “keep moving or die” sense. Unless that’s the same sense… I don’t think it is…
Now, I happen to subscribe to a Japanese aesthetic known as Wabi-Sabi, which roughly (or, at least as I choose to interpret it – and there is really no need to correct me on this) says that the mistakes we make are what makes a thing our own. If you and I were to both potter a cup, for example, two perfect cups would look identical; but my cup is mine because of the mistakes I make, and yours the same. This (admittedly, likely bastardised) philosophy eases my mind whenever I find myself in that nasty doubt-loop.
You don’t have to buy into my love of Eastern mysticism, but I do urge you to find some mental defence against the dark arts of self-questioning.
Incidently, what kept me awake was that I’d unknowingly made a decision that had a negative impact on somebody else. Of course, I found out later and that was a sadness to me. I did my best to rectify that situation. Eastern Philosophy only eases the mind so much… 
*Credit where it is due: Lenny Abrahamson (him of Garage and Adam and Paul fame) was in with us today and I brought this up with him, which is what helped squeeze some cognitive action from the auld mind-grapes… Big up, Len…
Decisions, decisions
This kept me awake a while back, but it took me that while to be able to form my thoughts into words*. Maybe this will be of use to somebody else.
Directing, in the eyes of many, is simply about making decisions. Being able to make decisions, really. And it’s the decisions you make (or don’t make) that define your style, for better or for worst. And not just the style you see on screen, but the style of how you work, the vibe on your set, how others work and so on. It’s a domino effect, I suppose. Anyway, I digress…
In the heat of a shoot, not to mention the time leading up to one, you can find yourself making rather a lot of decisions quite rapidly. Thing is, how do you know you’ve made the right decision? Well, you don’t. Not really. And it’s far too easy to get caught up in “was that the right decision?” mode, get stuck over-thinking something and create a panic-ridden tar-pit that will drag you in the more you struggle. The important thing is to allow yourself to move on and keep making decisions. Be a shark; not in the corporate wanker sense, but in the “keep moving or die” sense. Unless that’s the same sense… I don’t think it is…
Now, I happen to subscribe to a Japanese aesthetic known as Wabi-Sabi, which roughly (or, at least as I choose to interpret it – and there is really no need to correct me on this) says that the mistakes we make are what makes a thing our own. If you and I were to both potter a cup, for example, two perfect cups would look identical; but my cup is mine because of the mistakes I make, and yours the same. This (admittedly, likely bastardised) philosophy eases my mind whenever I find myself in that nasty doubt-loop.
You don’t have to buy into my love of Eastern mysticism, but I do urge you to find some mental defence against the dark arts of self-questioning.
Incidently, what kept me awake was that I’d unknowingly made a decision that had a negative impact on somebody else. Of course, I found out later and that was a sadness to me. I did my best to rectify that situation. Eastern Philosophy only eases the mind so much…
*Credit where it is due: Lenny Abrahamson (him of Garage and Adam and Paul fame) was in with us today and I brought this up with him, which is what helped squeeze some cognitive action from the auld mind-grapes… Big up, Len…