Day 783: Happy Oscars!

I do believe that in the past year I've gained a real respect for everything it takes to put together a film, and I'm sure some of you are sick of hearing about the band trip video by now, but as I face the release of that video on Thursday of this week, watching The Oscars is kind of weird for me. We watched as awards go to cinematographers, directors, actors and writers, among many other things, and I have, if only on a small scale, an understanding of what they all do. Every step of the way through my own band trip video, even if it is just that, a video, I thought of it like a film, a real film, one that I made with the best resources I had available to me. Now, "One Band's Dream" might not be quite the same as "Big Hero 6" or "The Theory of Everything," but on some level, to me, as the creator, it was.

I almost wrote a blog post on this last week, but I do find it unfortunate that creators are literally unable to appreciate their work the same way as an audience, and that's why every reaction is so infinitely important. Every recognition we get for our work is a like a little  nod in our direction, because otherwise we may never even know the gravity or brilliance of what we've done.

Think about it this way:

A writer can read their own book, but they'll never get to read it for the first time. They'll never have the experience of dealing with a cliffhanger and wondering for eternity what will happen in the next novel, because they always know.

The creator of a television show will be able to see their vision come to life on screen, complete for the first time with music and visuals, but they too will never experience a hiatus. They know that the ships of the show will survive, or won't survive.

Those who work on film sets get to be a part of the action. They can watch as things all work in sync, as the cast creates a beautiful picture framed by the cinematographer. And they can be proud of the product they create, but they will always find errors and be their own worst critic.

And that's the point. While, as creators, we CAN be extremely proud of the product we put out, at the same time we will never have those first experiences with it. We will always find that one little flaw that's in the film, while others sit and watch in awe at the finished production that we spent hours on end on.

Which is why I really, truly love the Oscars. I don't always have time to watch them, and sometimes they're a bit frustrating, and they certainly aren't without error, but I think creators deserve that recognition. I mean, we're going to continue doing what we do best regardless of whether or not we have a bright shiny little golden man statue in our hands at the end of the night.

But having one doesn't hurt either.

Congrats to everyone who won at the Oscars the other night, especially Walt Disney Animation for their wins with "Feast" and "Big Hero 6."

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on February 25).