Don’t Let Perfect be the Enemy of Good

This is something I have to keep reminding myself when reviewing footage right after a shoot. I have a tendency to let the problems of certain shots dampen my enthusiasm of a project. It’s easy to beat yourself up on the things you did wrong instead of celebrating what went right.

When I started working on the footage for Alien Quest: Return to Drendulon, a short I filmed in January 2017 about an alien arrival during the Trump presidency, I was overwhelmed by the all of the issues – gear visible in shots, popping sounds in audio, harsh lighting, changes in sunlight between shots, missing shots, lots of throw away takes, several out of focus shots, shots that had to be rotoscoped, etc.

To top things off, Saturday Night Live released their version of a Trump alien sketch as I was editing mine.  At this point I decided to abandon the project. I thought it would be a mediocre short and gave up, even though I invested my time and money into shot planning, picking out wardrobe, filming, buying props and costumes, etc.

As time went on I gradually appreciated the things that went right with the shoot: nice moving shots, costumes, acting, and I began to think of workarounds to solve the problems, and spent LOTS of time getting the short to the point where I could get excited about its release.

In the end I felt the worst thing I could do to the project is not finish it. I realized that if you’re not making mistakes on a shoot you either have a budget and a crew (I definitely don’t) or you’re not challenging yourself enough. I could have easily done an office sketch with a tripod and predictable lighting, but instead I lugged a ton of gear to a location filled with uncertainty. Here’s to breaking comfort zones.

Check out the short here: