Expect to Embarrass Yourself
I went to a show about a year ago at which David Fincher was presented with a "Modern Master" award for the films he's directed. There was a two-hour interview with him on stage, and he talked about the movies he had directed. Interspersed throughout the interview were little clips from his films that were shown on a big screen.
After watching a clip from Se7en, the interviewer asked Fincher how it felt to watch his work on the old screen. He visibly grimaced and said, "It's a little like looking at old photos of yourself from middle school. They just embarrass you."
Whatever you're working on today, it almost inevitable that it will end up embarrassing you years from now when you look back on it. I say, whatever you're doing, whatever kind of art you're creating, go into it with the expectation that you'll embarrass yourself. Accept it right from the start. Embrace it. Don't let it stop you.
As a matter of fact, I'd take it a step further: don't just plan to embarrass yourself; promise yourself that you will. This commits you to doing two things:
1. Finishing what you're working on, even though it might not be perfect.
2. When you're done with the current project, you'll do other projects after that.
Whatever the medium, finishing today's project enables to start other projects tomorrow. And being able to look back later and see something in your old work that is embarrassing is just a paper trail. It's evidence that you've gotten better as an artist, or writer, or filmmaker.
If you're not embarrassed by past work, you're not getting better.
After watching a clip from Se7en, the interviewer asked Fincher how it felt to watch his work on the old screen. He visibly grimaced and said, "It's a little like looking at old photos of yourself from middle school. They just embarrass you."
Whatever you're working on today, it almost inevitable that it will end up embarrassing you years from now when you look back on it. I say, whatever you're doing, whatever kind of art you're creating, go into it with the expectation that you'll embarrass yourself. Accept it right from the start. Embrace it. Don't let it stop you.
As a matter of fact, I'd take it a step further: don't just plan to embarrass yourself; promise yourself that you will. This commits you to doing two things:
1. Finishing what you're working on, even though it might not be perfect.
2. When you're done with the current project, you'll do other projects after that.
Whatever the medium, finishing today's project enables to start other projects tomorrow. And being able to look back later and see something in your old work that is embarrassing is just a paper trail. It's evidence that you've gotten better as an artist, or writer, or filmmaker.
If you're not embarrassed by past work, you're not getting better.