Tales of a Student Producer, Part 4

The film I was coproducing wrapped two weeks ago while I was abroad for spring break. Now all I have to do is record some budget stuff, plan the wrap party, and distribute DVDs in a couple of months.

I caught up with the director during our screenwriting class the week after spring break to see how the shoots went. Apparently they were crazy. They had limited time, a lack of actors and crew, and completely modified shots. I always felt a little badly when we had to modify something. You have to be flexible on a film shoot, but there is a line that you can cross that sacrifices the integrity of the film, and I was always concerned that the demands for flexibility would force the director to make choices she didn't want. I think that filming anything is a huge accomplishment, but I think that this film will turn out great and will update when I see the finished product.

One of the things we talked about is how the finished product never matches what we imagine. I think it's a struggle every artist goes through, the moment the realize that nothing they ever produce will be as good as what they envisioned. It's really discouraging at first. My stories are never as good as they are when I'm working them out in my head. It's like failing every time you go to work. I think that it's something every artist has to make peace with if they're actually going to make art a life-long pursuit. But just because you it seems like you'll never reach your ideal doesn't mean that you don't closer and closer each time you pick up a camera or sit down at your computer or mix your paints. And just because I'm probably never going to get to the level of emotional, intellectual, crafted brilliance I desire in my stories doesn't mean I'm not going to get pretty darn close sometime. Perfection isn't the result of genius (at least not for me). Perfection is the result of hard work. And with that in mind, I can reconcile my ideal with the result a whole lot more easily.

It just sucks for everyone else, because you will never know how good the story actually is. : )