Does the perfect movie exist? Is there one movie that can be all things ot all people, transcend time, taste, and culture? Of course not. There has never been one novel, song, painting, or sculpture with the power to unify everyone.
There have been incredibly popular ones of each, but popular is a tricky word. If something modern is popular, it usually gets put down as pandering to the lowest common denominator, a simpler or more base work for the masses. The truly great achievements aren't appreciated until awards come out, or time tests them against how well they are regarded by the next generation and so on.
I personally think THE HUDSUCKER PROXY and THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION are, to my tastes, flawless films. I can see no missed opportunities, weak performances, slips in editing, anything that detracts from repeated viewings. The only possible gripe, and it's not within the narrative, is that neither title is easily marketable. Memorable and unique, and therefore better for posterity, but bad for the initial box office. Then again, CITIZEN KANE bombed hard when it came out as well.
The point is, if you are planning on making the perfect movie, give up. If you want to make a good movie, a personal movie, and experimental movie, or just tell a story or give some thrills, proceed.
So many artists consider themselves perfectionists. Perfection takes time. A perfectionist director will spend an hour going over stills of the set to make sure every prop is in place, it means something where it is, every actor knows every spot of blocking, every vital inflection, and that the lighting, sound, outside environment, and so forth are absolutely as envisioned. To their mind, the shot will be perfect.
The first problem with this is that it takes time. With one set up, you should hopefully get more than one shot an hour done. We're talking no special effects, complicated long takes, and on a small budget, of course. Just standard shooting of a standard scene. The lighting should stay fairly consistent between shots, or else shadows and tone won't match. The set and costumes don't need to be changed, since again it's all the same scene. It's mainly a matter of moving the camera, re-blocking depending on the shot, focus, depth of field, confinement, etc. and adjusting for environmental changes.
Still, I have been on sets that involve one shot an hour. Sometimes the shot would be a close up, followed by another, then somebody else, while an entire crew and coffee shop full of extras sat off camera "being too loud and distracting." Unfortunately, none of us could get permission to leave for food, errands, or to go outside and smoke while he figured each shot out because he was going to get from us, and didn't trust that we'd be there when he needed us. One by one people bailed through the day. When he did finally need the extras, the few of us who stayed were berated as "fucking extras" and unprofessional on behalf of the ones who had taken enough abuse.
That's problem two with being a perfectionist. You may think the director in the above story is an asshole, and you would be right. In my experience, self-described perfectionists are assholes. Maybe it's just a high level of coincidence that the perfectionists I have met are assholes, snobs, and lacking in social skills. Probably not.
The perfectionist knows what is perfect, so already there is a bit of a God Complex. Take the corollary to that ego, and realize that everyone else on a project is therefore not God, does not know, see, or understand the vision, and by default has no right to make suggestions, criticisms, or changes. Everyone on set is essentially there to serve the director, and should know their place.
While there is not much if any pay on independent film, typically the Perfectionist is the absolute cheapest of the cheap. You shouldn't expect to be paid, since being involved in something so special should be its own reward. Eat before you show up and after you leave, so we won't have to break for lunch. No snacks provided. Feeding the cast and crew, adjusting for their schedules, dealing with their concerns, resolving conflicts, none of this goes into the camera. If it doesn't clearly affect the director's vision, they don't want it in their sight.
The third big problem is how perception changes. Perfect to the artist going in is one thing, but spending a few months, a year, shooting weekends, losing cast members, rewriting, getting re-inspired, finding all of those ways to make it "even better" by completely changing things, often things that have already been shot, this will all change the concept of "perfect." For this reason, most projects I've worked on with Perfectionists go nowhere. They don't finish filming, they run out of money or favors, or the cast and crew move on. If filming is complete, editing goes on forever. The effects never look right. If only we could go back and pick up that shot. The worst part is, since the perfectionist is not collaborative, if the film is ever completed the only person who cares is the auteur.
This is why a film is never finished, it's abandoned, to do the classic paraphrase of Da Vinci. There needs to be pacing to the telling of the story not just for the audience but for the teller. There needs to be an immediacy, an excitement. From start to finish you need to get things done. The more you go over the same footage, work on the same project, the less each moment means to you. You become numb to it. Even if you aren't a perfectionist, it's bad to let every joke, scare, or emotion become devoid of any feeling to you. You could wind up cutting the heart out of your movie, just because it doesn't mean anything to you anymore.
From beginning to end try sharing ideas, working with people, and understanding that you may not always have the best idea. It doesn't matter if the guy delivering the pizza to your set has never studied art direction. If he steps in and makes a comment on what would make part of the set look cool, consider it. He might be in the audience, and he might be right. If you ask people their opinions along the way, you might just find you're pleasing more people than just yourself. You don't have to sell out, but you might be able to sell your film.
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| Make Me Proud |
Every other Monday
Exploring everything you should consider as you make your
indie masterpiece.
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| Patrick Storck |
Patrick hails from Baltimore, MD, where playing by the rules is frowned upon. Only average things come from playing it safe.
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