I was at the chiropractor's today getting my neck adjusted. I lay there and stared up at the ceiling.
Through the blades of the fan, I saw a piece of paper taped to the ceiling. It read: "Success is a Series of Well Managed Breakdowns, Failures, and Mistakes".
Motivational quotes are awesome. They always take a grim, negative perspective and turn it completely on its head. I asked the chiropractor about the paper and we got into a conversation about success. She framed it for me in terms of our recent contest loss:
"Sometimes you lose, but you look at what caused that loss and then alter your approach to the next one, and so on and so on."
What's interesting, though, is the total disconnect between that statement and the reality of contest winning: we can make a dozen ads, lose every contest we enter, and have absolutely NO idea what we did wrong.
Take for example the recent Butterfinger contest. We entered under the category of Kung Fu. We designed an ad that incorporated not only the Kung Fu theme, but also the four 25% contest requirements of humor, clever use of a Butterfinger, overall appeal and originality/creativity. But we didn't get picked.
The video that won starred a man named Robochop, who stood stone still, like a London Bobby, whilst people passing flashed him, punched him in the balls and stole his money. But once they touched his Butterfinger, he sprung to life and Karate chopped a guy in the neck. Even after soliciting feedback from the judges, we have absolutely no idea what made this video "better" than all of the other ones. Other people felt the same way, as there was practically a riot after this video was picked.
So on many levels it's a total crap shoot. All we can do is attempt to make ads that we think are good while adhering to basic laws of advertising and marketing. That's it. An element of the saying is missing. But in a weird way that makes it that much more exciting.
-Will
CURRENT GOAL
$2,000
We are currently saving money to purchase a brand new 35mm lens adapter (watch the video-- you'll see why).
We are currently saving money to purchase a brand new 35mm lens adapter (watch the video-- you'll see why).
ULTIMATE GOAL
$100,000
Our ultimate goal is to raise between $50,000 and $100,000 to fund our first feature.
Our ultimate goal is to raise between $50,000 and $100,000 to fund our first feature.
:: OUR BEST WORK ::
CURRENT CONTESTS
None at the moment.
CONTESTS WON
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2 comments:
It's interesting to hear you as a filmmaker echoing sentiments normally espoused by actors. You can try to please someone else all day long, but there's no way to know what they really want. So come up with a concept that you like, and execute it to the point that you are satisfied with the end result. You may not win every contest, but at least you will have created an entry you are proud of and is 100% yours.
A reminder:
http://bamboonation.blogspot.com/2007/09/kick-me-while-im-downplease.html
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