One of my mentors always said, "Work expands to fill the time allotted for it." And I find this to be more true as my life goes on. Giving yourself an excuse, a backup date, or a choice to push back a deadline just makes the work take longer to complete and makes it easier to come up with another excuse or extension in the future. One thing I actually love about working for a news station instead of independently is that everything has a hard deadline with actual dollars on the line if we don't hit our goals. I can honestly say that there isn't anything I produce that's perfect, but I don't know that wouldn't be the case if I had an infinite amount of time. You get better over time by completing more projects and learning to make the next project better than your last not by making something perfect right out of the gate.
I love your honest insight here, Luc. I can totally relate to the perfectionism point. I shot a short a couple of years ago, didn´t like it too much so I didn´t want to publish it. But considering people worked on it for free and a lot of time spent in post, I just published it on TH-cam. Sometimes it´s better to just show that you´re working and making stuff instead of hiding it.
This has to be one of the most impactful TH-cam videos I’ve ever seen on film making. BRAVO and THANK YOU. This was perfect timing. Exactly what I’m needed to hear
Great video! What is perfection in art? Something you felt was perfection 15 years ago is probably not your perfection today. And if you make perfection today, it'll probably not be your perfection tomorrow. Isn't that what we love about art?
"A work is never truly completed but abandoned". I’ve been working on a short documentary for months, constantly tweaking it in an attempt to make it "perfect." Despite my efforts, it never felt finished. I forced myself to step away for a few weeks, and when I returned, I saw that it was exactly what it needed to be. It's not win Sundance either, but it tells the story we set out to tell. For the first time in this project, I’m genuinely proud of what we accomplished on just two days of shooting with no budget. It was a valuable learning experience that I can carry into my next project.
As David Lynch said somewhere somehow, making movies is being like an amateur every single time (being, not behaving). Storytelling is about finding a way out of somewhere.
I'm in an odd place where I no longer like working with people. Invariable the others involve levy criticisms to the extent that they always resent the final product since it may not be possible to accommodate them. Subjects are unhappy, collaborators are unhappy, and people don't want to share amongst their own audiences. The result is they often shoot unedited phone selfies that drag on interminably since it's all about "me, me, me" and not the story or the issue. Mostly I do short ENG-style work (my background is in VNRs) and my 2-minute piece is about the story rather than 30 minutes of unedited subject video. Ironically the same folks complain when their issue/subject gets no coverage/exposure. SIGH!
Hi Luc! Your video just helped me out of the worst!- procrastinating whenever it comes to finish my project since January!- It all started exactly as you pointed out!-with one negative comment from somebody on the rough-cut....! So I've now already plugged in my SSDs right away and will start again the editing after finishing this comment!-There's just one thing that multiplied my lost faith in my creativity: I felt like being the absolut only creative working person in the universe having this problem !! Your video truly is an eyeopener for me!!Thanks!!!!!! So we're all united in self-blockade sometimes!! ;-)))
I relate to this SO much. I had a short film wrapped around my ankles for ten freaking years, and finally put it out to the world (warts & all) early last year. Since then, another short film, a spec commercial, and a new reel. Now I’m about to kick off a short form doc in the next couple months, and I’m also writing a short form narrative. The concern of not finishing those upcoming projects in a timely manner is still very real. Good on you for pushing yourself to finish/release this one. That strive for perfection could definitely be crippling. That said, on kind of another note, it’s been a struggle zeroing in on a niche. It’s like all the stuff I’m doing now is a purge of all the projects pent up when I had that ten-year project hovering over me.
That thing about getting verite is something I can understand, last year I got into a Doc Marathon but the dates screwed me out of getting a lot of action since most of the protagonists act on weekends and u only had weekdays to do it. But yeah I learnt my lesson and will do it better next time.
I was going to start filming my MSI Creator Awards submission today but then I got analysis paralysis and ended up sitting by my computer and watching TH-cam videos all day... (so you can expect more comments from me on your last couple of videos haha)
Love the video,,, All of your videos As I watch,,, I can't say if I have watched all of them lol I know I haven't... But How Do you get the Idea or a job in Documentary filming I my Self love movies But I do watch a lot of Documentary And that is One Major reason why I watch your channel so I can see and hear what goes on in the background... You explain it as I can understand... Watching you is So much like a Documentary,,, But any,,, How does a Documentary become...??? Do you Guys go out and look for it... like through. research Or maybe they come up to [someone,,, like you or your Director??? and Say That they have a story that they would love to tell...??? I can't find anyone that is talking about that... as far I can find... lol If you have a video talking about I was Talking about That would be awesome... lol Hopefully this makes sense...
Super useful video! It's really reassuring to realise that even professionals struggle with self-doubts, fear of criticism and perfectionism... Could you make a video about production management and stuff like getting consent from contributors (contracts?), managing budgets, getting funding, festival strategy...? Love your channel!
This is my biggest fear, becoming unmotivated because I'm not satisfied with my work. At the age of 20 I've done this my entire life... I'm done giving up! I want this badly.
"F*k it, post what we've got" I do mostly live event coverage, and I get what I get. Missing a shot feels bad, but that's just a note for the next time around. Review the footage, put it together, give it a once over, maybe a quick re-cut, "f*k it, post what we've got," and on to the next project.
I can relate to this so much! I have an online workshop that im not even half way through editing that was filmed 6mths ago. Client: my partner. The problem is we were doing this as a test filming "to see what we can come up with" and don't really have any deadline to launch it so sure enough, paid work takes priority and so it sits on the SSD collecting dust. The filming went well and its my fist time using a 2 camera set up so its very much learn to edit a 2 camera set up as you edit. Its at the point now where I'm looking at outsourcing the editing just to get it done.
The better you get maybe the more in your head you get about it. I think back when I was younger and for some odd reason failure never even occurred to me. I would start something and just go for it. Now that I am older I have let doubt and procrastination rule my thoughts. Thanks for the pep talk!
The deadline thing really is an issue for me too. I have started working on multiple projects the past 2 years, and I am still working on them, but I guess if I never set a deadline sooner or later, I will still be sitting on them in 10 years...
Wonderful content, honest, incisive. Great. As a writer/director of 30+ years I agree. I believe 80% is ok. Perfect doesn't exist. Get it done, get it out. You've given me a kick up the arse to get my 3 projects out. Ta.
I know it would be impossible to do, but I wish you could release a video every day so I know that I would have something valuable on the internet to come home to watch.
Thank you for your openness and honesty. This is very helpful for me. I have a mini doc that has been stuck in the edit for 6 months. Thank you for challenging me to get back to work on it.
Awesome video, Its very helpful to hear someone as successful as yourself talk about issues you have. Its not all glam in the world of filmmaking. I cant wait to see the doc it looks great so far and an interesting story for sure. 🤘
Luc, you're such an eye-opening inspiration, that I can't express enough my gratitude for watching your content over the past 2 years. Thank you for this honest and down to earth video as well.
This couldnt have come at a better time. I shot a documentary with my buddies about their highschool band, I filmed it all my junior year within two weeks, I edited it that spring, and the film is 99% done. I showed them a screening at my dads small office and then and there I noticed how terrible the audio was. Like its genuine trash. And ever since then (like 4 months ago) I haven't opened the premiere file. But now I know what I'm going to be working on today!!
This is so funny, because only 2 days ago I watched your series where you broke down your production process for this film and was wondering why I couldn't find the actual finished product. Awesome to hear it'll be released next week!
I find that clients don't know what they want until after seeing the first rough cut. Then they request footage that wasn't shot during the event. This is where the project usually breaks down and stalls. Trying to solve this misalignment in vision during post production is what wrecks the budget and misses deadlines.
Thanks Luc, I can totally relate to this, perfectionism can be both a blessing and a curse. I have learned a lot from your channel and it has helped me grow, so I wanted to give you a small piece of constructive feedback that I hope might help you too…..there is a very simple yet glaring error that I am seeing surprisingly often at the moment on TH-cam, and you made it only 17 seconds into this video. It’s not checking the spelling and grammar on titles and onscreen text. The second line of your title reads “because is never good enough”. It doesn’t make grammatical sense, so I assume you meant to say “because it’s never good enough”. I’ve definitely seen far worse errors than this on TH-cam lately - particularly blatant spelling errors - but just thought I should point it out to you as it’s quite distracting when creators get this wrong, and it would take literally seconds to correct it. Thanks for all the great videos, I really appreciate your honesty, experience and wisdom, and I hope you receive this feedback in the kind and constructive way that it is intended. I thought about not saying anything about it, but then I felt obliged to point it out to you, I think I would want to be alerted to it in one of my own videos..... :)
One of my mentors always said, "Work expands to fill the time allotted for it." And I find this to be more true as my life goes on. Giving yourself an excuse, a backup date, or a choice to push back a deadline just makes the work take longer to complete and makes it easier to come up with another excuse or extension in the future. One thing I actually love about working for a news station instead of independently is that everything has a hard deadline with actual dollars on the line if we don't hit our goals. I can honestly say that there isn't anything I produce that's perfect, but I don't know that wouldn't be the case if I had an infinite amount of time. You get better over time by completing more projects and learning to make the next project better than your last not by making something perfect right out of the gate.
I love your honest insight here, Luc. I can totally relate to the perfectionism point. I shot a short a couple of years ago, didn´t like it too much so I didn´t want to publish it. But considering people worked on it for free and a lot of time spent in post, I just published it on TH-cam. Sometimes it´s better to just show that you´re working and making stuff instead of hiding it.
This has to be one of the most impactful TH-cam videos I’ve ever seen on film making. BRAVO and THANK YOU.
This was perfect timing. Exactly what I’m needed to hear
Great video! What is perfection in art? Something you felt was perfection 15 years ago is probably not your perfection today. And if you make perfection today, it'll probably not be your perfection tomorrow. Isn't that what we love about art?
"A work is never truly completed but abandoned".
I’ve been working on a short documentary for months, constantly tweaking it in an attempt to make it "perfect." Despite my efforts, it never felt finished. I forced myself to step away for a few weeks, and when I returned, I saw that it was exactly what it needed to be. It's not win Sundance either, but it tells the story we set out to tell. For the first time in this project, I’m genuinely proud of what we accomplished on just two days of shooting with no budget.
It was a valuable learning experience that I can carry into my next project.
As David Lynch said somewhere somehow, making movies is being like an amateur every single time (being, not behaving). Storytelling is about finding a way out of somewhere.
Needed this. Thank you.
I'm in an odd place where I no longer like working with people. Invariable the others involve levy criticisms to the extent that they always resent the final product since it may not be possible to accommodate them. Subjects are unhappy, collaborators are unhappy, and people don't want to share amongst their own audiences. The result is they often shoot unedited phone selfies that drag on interminably since it's all about "me, me, me" and not the story or the issue. Mostly I do short ENG-style work (my background is in VNRs) and my 2-minute piece is about the story rather than 30 minutes of unedited subject video. Ironically the same folks complain when their issue/subject gets no coverage/exposure. SIGH!
Hi Luc! Your video just helped me out of the worst!- procrastinating whenever it comes to finish my project since January!- It all started exactly as you pointed out!-with one negative comment from somebody on the rough-cut....! So I've now already plugged in my SSDs right away and will start again the editing after finishing this comment!-There's just one thing that multiplied my lost faith in my creativity: I felt like being the absolut only creative working person in the universe having this problem !! Your video truly is an eyeopener for me!!Thanks!!!!!! So we're all united in self-blockade sometimes!! ;-)))
I relate to this SO much. I had a short film wrapped around my ankles for ten freaking years, and finally put it out to the world (warts & all) early last year. Since then, another short film, a spec commercial, and a new reel. Now I’m about to kick off a short form doc in the next couple months, and I’m also writing a short form narrative. The concern of not finishing those upcoming projects in a timely manner is still very real. Good on you for pushing yourself to finish/release this one. That strive for perfection could definitely be crippling.
That said, on kind of another note, it’s been a struggle zeroing in on a niche. It’s like all the stuff I’m doing now is a purge of all the projects pent up when I had that ten-year project hovering over me.
That thing about getting verite is something I can understand, last year I got into a Doc Marathon but the dates screwed me out of getting a lot of action since most of the protagonists act on weekends and u only had weekdays to do it. But yeah I learnt my lesson and will do it better next time.
I was going to start filming my MSI Creator Awards submission today but then I got analysis paralysis and ended up sitting by my computer and watching TH-cam videos all day... (so you can expect more comments from me on your last couple of videos haha)
Love the video,,,
All of your videos
As I watch,,, I can't say if I have watched all of them lol
I know I haven't... But
How Do you get the Idea or a job in Documentary filming
I my Self love movies
But I do watch a lot of Documentary
And that is One Major reason why I watch your channel so I can see and hear what goes on in the background... You explain it as I can understand... Watching you is So much like a Documentary,,,
But any,,, How does a Documentary become...???
Do you Guys go out and look for it... like through. research
Or maybe they come up to [someone,,, like you or your Director??? and Say That they have a story that they would love to tell...???
I can't find anyone that is talking about that... as far I can find... lol
If you have a video talking about I was Talking about That would be awesome... lol
Hopefully this makes sense...
Super useful video! It's really reassuring to realise that even professionals struggle with self-doubts, fear of criticism and perfectionism... Could you make a video about production management and stuff like getting consent from contributors (contracts?), managing budgets, getting funding, festival strategy...?
Love your channel!
This is my biggest fear, becoming unmotivated because I'm not satisfied with my work. At the age of 20 I've done this my entire life... I'm done giving up! I want this badly.
Thanks for having the balls to share this story and your retrospective. I look forward to watching Highline.
"F*k it, post what we've got"
I do mostly live event coverage, and I get what I get. Missing a shot feels bad, but that's just a note for the next time around. Review the footage, put it together, give it a once over, maybe a quick re-cut, "f*k it, post what we've got," and on to the next project.
Great information you shared today. Thanks Luc
Está genial tu playera! También tengo una de ese sitio en Todos Santos, BCS. Saludos, Luc!
I can relate to this so much! I have an online workshop that im not even half way through editing that was filmed 6mths ago. Client: my partner. The problem is we were doing this as a test filming "to see what we can come up with" and don't really have any deadline to launch it so sure enough, paid work takes priority and so it sits on the SSD collecting dust.
The filming went well and its my fist time using a 2 camera set up so its very much learn to edit a 2 camera set up as you edit.
Its at the point now where I'm looking at outsourcing the editing just to get it done.
The better you get maybe the more in your head you get about it. I think back when I was younger and for some odd reason failure never even occurred to me. I would start something and just go for it. Now that I am older I have let doubt and procrastination rule my thoughts. Thanks for the pep talk!
The deadline thing really is an issue for me too. I have started working on multiple projects the past 2 years, and I am still working on them, but I guess if I never set a deadline sooner or later, I will still be sitting on them in 10 years...
Wonderful content, honest, incisive. Great. As a writer/director of 30+ years I agree. I believe 80% is ok. Perfect doesn't exist. Get it done, get it out. You've given me a kick up the arse to get my 3 projects out. Ta.
Will I get copyright for using your songs in my videos?
Luc, thanks for making this video. I’ve been in the same boat. I’m gonna get my films out.
I know it would be impossible to do, but I wish you could release a video every day so I know that I would have something valuable on the internet to come home to watch.
Just saw ya on that "survival" show 😆
I relate to this 😢 lesson learned ❤
Especially on the Run
This hit the spot
Thank you for your openness and honesty. This is very helpful for me. I have a mini doc that has been stuck in the edit for 6 months. Thank you for challenging me to get back to work on it.
Awesome video, Its very helpful to hear someone as successful as yourself talk about issues you have. Its not all glam in the world of filmmaking. I cant wait to see the doc it looks great so far and an interesting story for sure. 🤘
Luc, you're such an eye-opening inspiration, that I can't express enough my gratitude for watching your content over the past 2 years. Thank you for this honest and down to earth video as well.
This couldnt have come at a better time. I shot a documentary with my buddies about their highschool band, I filmed it all my junior year within two weeks, I edited it that spring, and the film is 99% done. I showed them a screening at my dads small office and then and there I noticed how terrible the audio was. Like its genuine trash. And ever since then (like 4 months ago) I haven't opened the premiere file. But now I know what I'm going to be working on today!!
This video came at such a good time for me. Thanks for sharing all the insight
As a beginner struggling with this exact thing, this was very good. I love reading all of the comments. Great feedback.
This is so funny, because only 2 days ago I watched your series where you broke down your production process for this film and was wondering why I couldn't find the actual finished product. Awesome to hear it'll be released next week!
It has a nice grit to the image like the story itself.A heartbreaking story with a positive outcome,including finishing.Thanks for sharing.
Sound advise Luc. Thanks for sharing.
I find that clients don't know what they want until after seeing the first rough cut. Then they request footage that wasn't shot during the event. This is where the project usually breaks down and stalls. Trying to solve this misalignment in vision during post production is what wrecks the budget and misses deadlines.
Can't wait to see the result, absolutely love that you're releasing it on your channel, so exciting!!
Honest and helpful, thank you!
Congrats Luc!
Thanks Luc, I can totally relate to this, perfectionism can be both a blessing and a curse. I have learned a lot from your channel and it has helped me grow, so I wanted to give you a small piece of constructive feedback that I hope might help you too…..there is a very simple yet glaring error that I am seeing surprisingly often at the moment on TH-cam, and you made it only 17 seconds into this video. It’s not checking the spelling and grammar on titles and onscreen text. The second line of your title reads “because is never good enough”. It doesn’t make grammatical sense, so I assume you meant to say “because it’s never good enough”. I’ve definitely seen far worse errors than this on TH-cam lately - particularly blatant spelling errors - but just thought I should point it out to you as it’s quite distracting when creators get this wrong, and it would take literally seconds to correct it. Thanks for all the great videos, I really appreciate your honesty, experience and wisdom, and I hope you receive this feedback in the kind and constructive way that it is intended. I thought about not saying anything about it, but then I felt obliged to point it out to you, I think I would want to be alerted to it in one of my own videos..... :)