Sucker for Detail
Last year
I (once again) went through a lovely cycle of “I have no idea what I’m doing”
During my reflections on where I felt stuck
Some curiosities emerged
And these curiosities eventually transformed into questions
I then thought very carefully about who I would love to ask these questions
Two actor’s came to mind
Two phenomenal Australian actors
The kind of actors most of the general public wouldn’t exactly remember the first name of
But the kind of actors who are revered within the industry
The kind of actors other actors hang about on set to watch because they know special work is about to happen
The kind of actors producers fight to the death for to convince the money people to invest in
Why?
I literally had a producer tell me
“They are kind, respectful and rock up on time”
“They are technically brilliant. Not only that, they make other actors around them better - they genuinely lift the calibre of everyone’s work on set”
“They are no fuss - they don’t bring their baggage to set”
“So that’s why we try to convince the money people to say yes - the way we see it, it’s an investment in the production”
Mmm
That sounds yummy
“I want to be like that when I grow up”
I said to myself
So, off I went
To hunt these two actors down
Eventually
I found them
Sitting in a cave on a far away misty mountain top
Nah, I found them both on set
Which, of course, is where they are most of the time
In fact, one of them I’m lucky enough to be filming with at the moment
Which has been great, because not only do I get to hear great advice
But I also get to see the physical manifestations of their ideas - ie, their actions
How they walk the walk
So
What did I learn from these two craftsmen?
Well
Funnily enough
Both conversations led to the same point
They are both suckers for detail
“Almost every problem I have witnessed on set, I believe it boils down to an actor being too general”
“Vice versa, almost every solution I can see on set, I believe it boils down to an actor being more detailed in their work”
This was great to hear
But how did this look in reality?
Well
Last week I was filming
All day
And by the end of the day
We were doing a wide shot
Me and this actor were far in the distance
Just before the 7th and final take of the day
One of these actors came rushing up to me and said
Great Actor: “Mike, it doesn’t quite make sense that I’m point that extra in that direction does it? If the hospital is this way then why don’t I send them in this direction instead?”
Me (thinking about dinner): “Umm, yeah, that does make more sense”
And I can tell you, this actor is like this all day, every day
He doesn’t stop
He doesn’t stop following his curiosity
Each little moment
Each little take
Add in some compound interest
And booyaa
You have a bloody generous creative
So
Be a sucker for detail
Or
More specifically
Keep following your curiosity - It will allow the details to flow
Which brings a wonderful quote come to mind
“Follow the golden thread of what is meaningful and interesting
It will lead you out of the maze”
Hope this helps
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