10 things I've learned in making a short film: # 10

close to finish frame from "Leonardo" color isn't correct yet blah blah blah

10) Perfection doesn't exist
Get it out of your head that your film has to be perfect. No matter what you do it won't be. So stop stopping yourself from continuing because it isn't perfect or that you don't have the perfect idea. There is no such thing. When you really look at great animated stuff most of it is very crude and flawed in some way. Charlie Brown's Christmas, the Looney Tunes shorts, the Grinch, the great Rankin and Bass stuff, (can you tell Christmas just passed) all have imperfections and they all stay the test of time. The thing that they have is that they are authentic. The good stuff comes from the right place and people took a chance. Film is a communal art, a dialogue, and it needs an audience to be completed. People often hide behind the perfection excuse because they are afraid of what others are going to think. Who cares. Look if you are making a short and actually finishing it, you are doing something not many people do. So you can think to yourself (or say to them) "Well what the hell have you've done. " It is a scary thing to be creative, to put your thoughts out there, your talent judged. But to be honest it isn't your problem what people think, it's theirs. Of course you want people to like your stuff and if no one likes it then you might want to investigate why. But do it in another film. This is the beauty of thinking long term, many films. Play. Make mistakes. Learn.

Well good luck, have fun!

I leave you with this quote I got while writing these posts. It is from another Jim: ( I didn't get it from this Jim but someone forwarded to me )

Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.

—Jim Jarmusch