Today I watched a couple of 'behind the scenes' featurettes - the type that almost no DVD comes without nowadays. It strips the finished film down to reveal it as the product of pixels and pulleys, stunt-doubles and green screens. After that, I got on the phone to organise the lighting for my own film project; aiming to enhance the look of the footage with high powered garden lights. It's all so prosaic, so unromantic, so ordinary - and yet somehow it doesn't detract from the magic of the final result. Not for me anyway, others may feel different. I can analyze and appreciate how this or that effect was achieved - and then get involved in the story at ground level when the lights go down and the reels are rolling.
Creation, said the owner of Jurassic Park, is an act of sheer willpower. And as such is a messy one. Often things don't look normal, tidy or even under control. Beginning stages only seem promising in hindsight. At the time everyone (including, sometimes, the creator) is thinking What on earth are you doing? Why don't you do something useful? Because it doesn't look nice and it's hard work and it sure doesn't seem like you're going anywhere. But that is the reality we have to accept if we're ever to do anything truly worthwhile in this life. If you just go for the flash-bangs that's all you're going to get - a second of pretty lights and then dust and debris. If you decide to build a lighthouse, on the other hand, you'll be years at brick and dirt before even a spark reaches the summit. But when it's ready, the flame will become a beacon in the darkness - a guiding light to those otherwise disoriented and without purpose.
3 comments:
Your dad put it really well when he talked about how cathedrals took many years to make. The guys who put the floor down, usualy didnt live to see the roof in all its glory. Our vision of the future is what makes the present mundane jobs bearable maybe enjoyable. Delayed gratification is always sweeter, just like the orange thats picked early is sour, dry, and unhealthy. But if you wait, the finished product is sweet, juicy, and nourishing.
I think this concludes the deepest post that I've written on this blog. Maybe I do have a chance after all...
"Rome wasn't built in a day"
A cliché, yes, but it has an important, and oft-ignored point to make: Nothing of value can be attained quickly. Inspiration often comes fast and furious, but without perseverance to follow, we are left with a half-finished, half-crap product.
Just like the movie director (or screenwriter) who goes for the cheap joke, the big explosion, or the gratuitous sex scene, it's clear to see where time and thought could have brought improvement.
One might say that the Mona Lisa is just a spashes of paint on canvas, but it's the time and effort that made it more than that. It's not to say that we can all succeed given time - but none can succeed without it.
Perhaps one of the only blessings of Time. It's usually our enemy.
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