Picasso

I watched a BBC documentary on Picasso on Friday night. It got me thinking again about whether or not film is due for a revolution in structure and form.

Picasso started off as a classical painter, academic realism they call it. Then his work added a symbolist influence. Blue period. Rose period. And finally modern art transformed... cubism, crystal period, neoclassical, surrealism, and beyond.

Painting and novels were the primary art forms of the day (my guess), and it's obvious painting went through a revolution in the early 1900's, and from what Chuck said in his article, fiction is going through a similar crisis. And they could be much further along than film.

I know it's a common chorus, people have been proclaiming the death of the 3-act structure hero story since Aristotle. But maybe we could use some exploration like Picasso did with the bull, seeing what elements of traditional film structure you can remove while still maintaining the essence.

The problem is, I get bored with so many movies I see. I wonder if it's because I'm older and have seen enough to get all the tricks, or if it's because audiences are more savvy now. I'd like to believe it's because audiences are more savvy now (which Chuck stated in his article), because I'd love to see more exciting, experimental movies.

Picasso BBC doc: click here
Chuck Palahniuk article: click here

Big release

I've been wrestling with some of these ideas. Why does every movie need to be released and do massively well opening weekend? Some books do that, sure. The big sellers. And other books take years and word-of-mouth to be a hit. For those books, generally they haven't wasted money on a huge release, because they know what kind of book they have. But every movie, regardless, feels like it needs to be treated the same. 

Why can't you have good, quality, smaller movies, and allow them to build over time? Eventually making their money back. 

I'm hoping that as the digital market expands, you'll see room for different types of releases. 

It's the same problem Soderbergh noted with Liberace. I think his numbers were, the $5M budget movie needed to make $120M just to break even. Which is absurd. With $30-40M going to marketing, and $30-40M going to theater owners as part of their distribution split. 

Obviously what I'm talking about would be non-theatrical releases. With growth hacker / lean startup marketing techniques. 

Shipping daily

It feels good, shipping product daily. It's advice I'm taking from Seth Godin, every day fighting the resistance to hide and work on an idea until it's perfect. Getting in the habit of putting thoughts and ideas out there, even though they may not be 100%.

His ideas on the lizard brain from Linchpin are sticking with me, long after reading the book. I'll find myself trying to remember his specific ideas when I'm fighting fear throughout the day. I enjoyed Steven Pressfield's book on resistance, but having Seth tie resistance to biology is bringing the ideas home in a deeper, longer lasting way.

Seth Godin: click here
Linchpin: click here
The War of Art: click here

Not fearless, but courageous

As a filmmaker, you should focus on what you're most excited to shoot. Not what looks cool or what other people would like. But what you're most excited about seeing on screen.

And a corollary to that is you need to appear to be fearless about putting that your excitement on screen. Your opinion. Your thoughts. Your likes. Your interests. Your passion.

But it's not truly being fearless. It's being courageous. Nobody is fearless. You have to recognize the fear and move past it. Take action in the face of fear. Doing it anyway.

Change in perception

Sometimes changing your perception is all you need. A slight change in how you view an event, a circumstance, something you did, something someone did to you.... It can make all the difference in the world.

Favorite article of the day: http://www.stevenpressfield.com/2015/08/find-what-you-love-and-let-it-kill-you-2/

per·cep·tion

pərˈsepSH(ə)n/

noun

1. the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.

   "the normal limits to human perception"

   • the state of being or process of becoming aware of something through the senses.

     "the perception of pain"

     synonyms:

     recognition, awareness, consciousness, appreciation, realization,knowledge, grasp, understanding, comprehension, apprehension; formalcognizance "our perception of our own limitations"

   • a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental impression.

     "Hollywood's perception of the tastes of the American public"

     synonyms:

     impression, idea, conception, notion, thought, belief, judgment,estimation "popular perceptions of old age"

Do what you least feel like doing

Always good advice when you're in a tight spot, not sure what direction to go next. Take time, figure out what you least want to do, and take that as your next step.

Small steps, one at time. That's all it takes.

Being present, in the moment

There's something intoxicating about watching good actors that are present, and in the moment. It's like a spell they cast on everyone else, watching them moment to moment and their quick microexpressions.

Good advice for us all, back in the real world. Talking to someone who is truly listening to you is also intoxicating, infectious, compelling.

It's a way to be present in the moment, which is as much of a gift for you as quality listening is for the person talking.

I need to focus on doing more of that.