The Fever
and Creative Opportunism
The Fever
and Creative Opportunism
Act on your creative impulses and realize them before the inspiration dissipates. I call these elusive impulses "the fever"; an internal excitement for a new idea with unknown origins that wants to be acted on. Fever is the creative energy all artists feel when possessed of motivation created by inspiration. It's what compels artists to create.
Follow these impulses till you have exhausted them and their variations. The rewards are great. The punishment is predictable, most notably the inevitable impotence to rekindle the original inspiration or excitement after the fact. These impulses are unpredictable and ephemeral, we don't know when they will return, especially when they are really needed, such as being on deadline. Act when the fever presents itself.
That being said, I understand acting on the fever with disregard for time and responsibility for many just isn't possible. Unlike a traditional artists such as painters or musicians (beholden to no one but themselves) those who work in cinema are beholden to schedules not of their making. However, I believe sound designers have a degree of autonomy that allows us to create flexible schedules without someone looking over our shoulders. And, for the most part, our filmmakers would be very forgiving not only of the liberties taken to achieve a better result but thankful for it.
"But I’m only being paid to work 8 hours a day", you might say. These words are death to creative productivity. Follow the fever to its completion….and then take off the requisite time to counterbalance that commitment. This isn't for everyone, to be sure, but a recognition of how I work that leverages my creative impulses in the most effective ways possible. As such, I do skip meals, sleep, appointments, and other commitments to insure no good idea goes undeveloped. As a consequence of that commitment, I live with the satisfaction knowing my work is as inspired as I am capable of. That’s all anyone can ask of me.
Last night I was up till midnight abusing a cello, recording very non-musical and disturbing groans and shudders for a horror film I might never work on (I haven't done a horror film in decades). None the less, I had the fever. I knew this was going to be a killer set of sounds. I wasn’t being paid, I was tired, I hadn’t had dinner yet (I skipped it) but I had an idea this would be awesome and I had to follow through on it. I was giddy with excitement about what I would discover as I worked through the idea. Having waited till the dead of night for it to be quiet enough to record these sounds at home, I spent four hours goofing around with string tunings, crazy bowing techniques and weird mic placements. By the time I finished, exhausted, I had a series of insanely unsettling textures that will frighten audiences the next time I do a genre film..if it ever comes.
Give and take. Give of yourself not just to the project but to yourself and your commitment to excellence. Work 24 hours without a break because you need to. And then take 24 hours off to recuperate and insure you have a life. Follow your creative impulses when you have them. Indulge in the "fever" when you can. In so doing, you will be living a creative life on your terms and your work will be the better for it.
Monday, January 11, 2021