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Good morning all. I’ve had something on my mind for a couple months now and with the recent “I made quarter finals/ugh, didn’t qualify” tweets I’ve been seeing, thought maybe I’d share some encouragement with y’all.
You know what a tesseract is, yes?
You know what a tesseract is, yes?
MW defines it as four dimensional analogue of a cube, something like this succession:
I want to use this as a metaphor for storytelling, specifically in film/tv.
1 dimension may be writing
1 may be the acting
1 lighting
1 crew
1 directing
1 audience
These sides together make a cube. This is sort of the thing we can all see, and strive for.
1 dimension may be writing
1 may be the acting
1 lighting
1 crew
1 directing
1 audience
These sides together make a cube. This is sort of the thing we can all see, and strive for.
In chasing film/tv, we try to position ourselves/carve steps to make that cube, feel that completing the cube is the apex, & get discouraged when chance after chance is taken & fail to construct the cube.
I understand this, as I’ve tried too.
We often miss the tesseract.
I understand this, as I’ve tried too.
We often miss the tesseract.
The tesseract in this metaphor is the individual impacts your art can make. I believed for years that if I didn’t get a film on screen, reaching many people for a theater run, the story would suffer. Well, that’s ridiculous. Your story shouldn’t be confined to 3 dimensions.
If you spend $1000, make a short, and 12 people see it, that’s not a failure. That’s the beauty of the tesseract. 12 people took time to see it. Let’s say of those 12, 1 is truly moved by it and changes some narrative in their thinking because of it. Money well spent.
If you spent 10 months writing a screenplay, had dozens of people read it, made notes and changes, and at the end, you grew. This is the beauty of the tesseract. If the 12 people read your final draft, & it inspired them to tell others to read it, time well spent.
The theater/screen isn’t the endgame. It’s a *great* game, but not the endgame. The story you tell to another person over lunch has just as much value as the director reel you curated. Both are impactful. Both can inspire. Both are worth it.
Why?
We. Love. Stories.
Why?
We. Love. Stories.
So, you aren’t a QF. That sucks, I feel you. Or, you were a QF. I celebrate w/ you. Either way: You never know who will be impacted by your story. You never know who will tell someone about your reel or script and, when that person reads/sees it, they want to make it.
Enjoy the process of storytelling. Enjoy chasing the 3 dimensions of the cube, and don’t forget the 4th. 12 people impacted could be more powerful that 6 million.
Happy Saturday. I heart you yall.
Happy Saturday. I heart you yall.
