
Well, in Hollywoodland, award season has just ended with the Academy Awards. I often think about what it might be like to receive an award in the company of my peers such as this. I suppose it can be experienced in a few ways.
It seems the trend now is to use the platform to discuss some social injustice, usually encouraged by a film made about that same injustice, which in turn, was made with the purpose of receiving an award because it is made about that injustice. Even the sentence itself reads like someone patting their own back.
Another approach is cynicism. I love the Werner Herzog quote, "I'm not out to win prizes - that's for dogs and ponies." Perhaps meant more genuinely than cynically, his is a good armour against the follies of such awards: Sometimes those who deserve one don't receive one; Sometimes those who don't deserve one do receive one; Then there exists too many hard working and talented achievers who don't even register as a category for an award; And even further, too often, there are those who take credit for the achievements of others work, often to no fault of the voters other than simply not being experts on the various crafts at work. Perhaps, though, most unjustified, are the many heroes outside of the periphery, who do far more for our planet, for humanity, for our society, than those recognized publicly for making movies.
Which brings me to a third approach. When Benecio Del Toro was asked "Where do you keep your Oscar?" He thought about it for a split moment and pointed to his head. That's all the answer we need.
The awards serve as good publicity for an industry and a culture- but it is just a ceremony. What that ceremony symbolizes is what is important, and you don't need a ceremony to find the award. Because it is not going to matter if you do or don't receive the public recognition for your efforts. Only you will know if you deserve it or not. And even if you do receive a public award, you will still need to ask yourself if you deserve it? Only you will have that answer.
But, likewise, that is a question you, not them, have the power to answer, whether the public validates it or not. You answer it daily, by achieving or not achieving your goals, your purpose, or whatever it is that brings you satisfaction. Once the answer to the question is "yes", then it is easier to understand Herzog's quote, and Del Toro's answer. What is known reaches deeper than what is shown.
Keep the award in your head while you are getting there, and let it remain there long after you have arrived. Because that's where the award belongs, that's where it has always been, and that's where you are going to find it. You are not going to find it at the dog and pony show.
The Journey Continues
TG
-We are still moving forward with our lighting. Below you can see a comparison between a recent lighting schematic and work in progress on the actual lit shot. Piece by piece, it is coming together. Don't forget to further check out our gallery.
It seems the trend now is to use the platform to discuss some social injustice, usually encouraged by a film made about that same injustice, which in turn, was made with the purpose of receiving an award because it is made about that injustice. Even the sentence itself reads like someone patting their own back.
Another approach is cynicism. I love the Werner Herzog quote, "I'm not out to win prizes - that's for dogs and ponies." Perhaps meant more genuinely than cynically, his is a good armour against the follies of such awards: Sometimes those who deserve one don't receive one; Sometimes those who don't deserve one do receive one; Then there exists too many hard working and talented achievers who don't even register as a category for an award; And even further, too often, there are those who take credit for the achievements of others work, often to no fault of the voters other than simply not being experts on the various crafts at work. Perhaps, though, most unjustified, are the many heroes outside of the periphery, who do far more for our planet, for humanity, for our society, than those recognized publicly for making movies.
Which brings me to a third approach. When Benecio Del Toro was asked "Where do you keep your Oscar?" He thought about it for a split moment and pointed to his head. That's all the answer we need.
The awards serve as good publicity for an industry and a culture- but it is just a ceremony. What that ceremony symbolizes is what is important, and you don't need a ceremony to find the award. Because it is not going to matter if you do or don't receive the public recognition for your efforts. Only you will know if you deserve it or not. And even if you do receive a public award, you will still need to ask yourself if you deserve it? Only you will have that answer.
But, likewise, that is a question you, not them, have the power to answer, whether the public validates it or not. You answer it daily, by achieving or not achieving your goals, your purpose, or whatever it is that brings you satisfaction. Once the answer to the question is "yes", then it is easier to understand Herzog's quote, and Del Toro's answer. What is known reaches deeper than what is shown.
Keep the award in your head while you are getting there, and let it remain there long after you have arrived. Because that's where the award belongs, that's where it has always been, and that's where you are going to find it. You are not going to find it at the dog and pony show.
The Journey Continues
TG
-We are still moving forward with our lighting. Below you can see a comparison between a recent lighting schematic and work in progress on the actual lit shot. Piece by piece, it is coming together. Don't forget to further check out our gallery.