As I state in my about page, I am looking to educate myself in the realm of film making as much as I can before the time to attend school comes, all with hopes of starting with, a “clue.”
One of my stronger allies in the quest for knowledge has been literature written by experts in the field. These books, I have come to find, are immensely helpful as they are pure background and foundation, the basics….Indulge me for a bit as I will attempt to put this in metaphorical terms.
We have all gone swimming at public pools, and before jumping in one must shower down. Let’s assume that the reason for showering is not to wash away anything foreign we might bring in the pool, but rather to cool the body down and to get it used to the water for when it finds itself inside the large body of water that is the pool. These books have that exact effect; they get you used to the trade for when you are up to your chin in it. A theatrical example is Adam Sandler’s character in Big Daddy; he studies up before he heads to court.
The downside these have is that they attempt to make a science out of an art, they are very procedural so to speak, and while the end result is an effective one, it is important to understand the art form in every way so that you can effectively implement innovation. An example of this is my current situation at work. I am currently employed at a Wendy’s and I run the grill. The training videos state that I must always have sixteen patties on the grill and as long as I don’t go below sixteen, I will always be able to provide cooked meat as needed. However, the video does take into account that come noon time and everybody breaks for lunch, procedure goes out the window and I am forced to improvise. During lunch hour, there are so many single, double and triple cheeseburgers being ordered that in order to keep up I have to turn up the heat and increase the number of patties on duty, neither of which is “allowed.” The fact that I know about lunchtime, its challenges and how to tackle them despite procedure shows that grilling is an art form upon which I must implement innovation. Furthermore, while the videos do teach how to grill beef parties, it is the practice that makes good. To quote Indiana Jones: “[If you want to be an Archaeologist, you have to get out of the library].” Apply that to the books.
Technorati Tags: film making, theatrical, Adam Sandler, Big Daddy, procedural, Wendy’s, Indiana Jones, Archaeologist
No related posts.
