inspiration : Picasso

breaking rules acknowledges the rules

quick: which of these paintings is a Picasso?

picture A or picture B?

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obviously, it’s picture B.

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but it’s also picture A.

Picasso painted both paintings. Pablo Picasso learned and mastered painting early in life, and picture A is from his childhood. picture B is from his adult career, exploring cubism and breaking ground of his own.

early in life, he mastered the fundamental techniques of painting — composition, color, portraiture, etc. — so that later in life when he “broke the rules”, there was purpose to it. he knew how to play on people’s expectations and take them to a new place.

Picasso said, “it took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”

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in whatever you do, if you want to break new ground, you have to first stand on the ground. if you want to break rules, you have to understand the rules. if you want to invent new words, you have to learn the language.

my personal trainer says, “slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” learn the technique, then you can use with wisdom and agility when you need it.

many beginning filmmakers rush to break rules without learning the fundamentals of the cinematic medium or the technical craft. those that spend time learning basics are able to more quickly and more deftly create something new and powerful for their audiences. those who don’t usually just make a boring, unintelligible mess.

i love sharing the fundamentals with young filmmakers, in hopes they’ll soon change the world for the better.

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in the coming weeks, i’ll be doing some quick pointers/tutorials on the basics of all kinds of filmmaking stuff (particularly post-production, as i go through these stages with “the darkness rolled over her”) for paid subscribers. so watch for that soon.

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