Multiple Targets

I’ve never tried watching a really good movie after having watched an exceptionally bad movie but I imagine the sensation is much the same as going back to throwing punches at a single target after having just worked on attacking two targets, located in opposite directions, simultaneously.

Getting something out of a terrible film isn’t impossible.  In fact, it takes a sort of intellectual courage, a positive re-framing of the situation to do so.  You simply look at the whats and hows of where the film went bad.  Was it the acting?  Was it the script?  Was it a continuity issue?  Was it the costumes?  Maybe the underlying message was simply corny and weak.  If it was a truly bad piece of art, there were most likely many things done wrong.  Never the less, it is interesting to zero in on the causes of failure and list out what you wouldn’t do if you were to make a film.

When throwing two strikes in opposite directions at the same time, you’re more than likely going to throw two pretty bad strikes.  Maybe one strike is okay and the other is awful.  Maybe they’re both awful.  (Or maybe, if you practice a couple thousand times, both strikes are actually quality.)  Whatever the case, you’re liable to notice the negative.  Re-frame it.  What made the strikes bad?  Now take the answer to that question and try not to do any of those things in your single strikes.

Learn from bad art.  Make your good art better.  Down the road, try and discard the idea of bad art entirely and instead simply view your job as being able to make the best art possible given the circumstances and the tools in your possession at the time.