[BLOG] Failure is good
To a certain extent, it’s good to fuck up, preferably before people start recognizing your work and expecting something grand. More importantly however, if you’re getting paid for your art, you better be on fucking point and sharp as you can be. So it’s better to fail before you get to that point. Fail in class, with student films, with your own work. Material you can control exposure with. Fail, so you build that muscle. Learn from watching other people who are already MASTERS at what they do. It all starts with trying different things, falling down, and pushing yourself.
As filmmakers and actors, it’s hard to just hone in on your talent right away and orchestrate a masterpiece. There are exceptions, as with everything, but most of the time, you are going to fail at first. A lot. And that is the only way you get better, by making terrible mistakes and learning from them.
The first solo film I shot (Afloat) was a total fiasco. I tried to write, direct, act, and edit, spend a bunch of money, had no crew but friends who had no idea what to do helping me, and I came up with a big pile of shit. If I had not done it however, I would not be where I am now. I have grown from that experience and am now embarking on two other solo films, this time knowing how to roll. Learning how to write accordingly to what I can actually shoot. Getting together a good team. And separating acting and directing, because that is still something I believe should be kept separate in order to go full into one job.
The catch, unfortunately, is that your ‘failures’ or initial work will stick with you for a while (usually forever), especially if it’s stuck on film. Make sure you keep it and never show it to anyone. But let it be a reminder. Showing you how much you sucked before you started synching gears and creating stuff worth watching. Remind you that everyone has to start something; it’s just about actually starting. And in my case, remind me why I got into this monkey business in the first place.