Intro

The path to success is paved with your mistakes. Some of us can’t seem to understand that, though. We often find ourselves succumbing to the false reality of getting it right the first time. That is an impossible task to complete. For my capstone project, I will address this delusion and explore how we can deal with that dreadful feeling of failing. How can we overcome failure? Well, my short film looks to answer that question. I have worked for the past few months on a film that captures the inevitable dominance of failure in our lives through the analogy of a daily jog. My protagonist must learn to cope with his emotions and the struggles of letting failure catch up to him to see how much further he can truly go.

Inspiration

I’ve been inspired by filmmakers such as Vince Gilligan and artists such as Kendrick Lamar to create this combination of both film and poetry discussing a topic Lil Yachty brought up in his recent album, Let’s Start Here, which is the idea of failure. Vince Gilligan’s use of cinematic techniques and camera angles inspired me to go and shoot my own film in a way that utilizes the same techniques to visually convey messages and themes. Kendrick Lamar’s use of poetry and wordplay inspired me to take my love for music and writing to write my own poetry-infused script into my film script to create this combined medium of both poetry and film. These artists are significant to me because they mastered their craft so well to the point where they can convey meaningful messages through their works of art.

During my research, I came across sources that solidified the points I’m making in my film by affirming the confirmation that the only way to overcome failure is to fail. Sources ranging from the Tate Modern podcast to academic/art journals such as the National Endowment for the Arts initiative all corroborate the idea that failure is part of the process since most artists or academics previously had their ideas and works considered as “failures” before they were given the recognition they deserved from the beginning. Tate’s “The Art of Failure” episode interviews multiple aspiring artists who have failed in the past but view failure as a way to motivate themselves to perfect their craft more and not be identified by their failures. “If you want to learn how a process works, or develop a new one yourself, the scientific method demands that you try, fail, and try again,” (NEA 2014).

Methods

Since this is a combination of two mediums of art, in order to collect information as well as inspiration for my project, I listened to a lot of music and viewed a lot of short films AND full-length films to get a grasp on the fundamentals of storytelling and writing poetry. On top of the constant consumption of related media, I looked into technical journals discussing the practices of filmmaking from organizations such as the National Film Institute. Storyboards have been a key part in creating my film as “a film or movie is generally visual storytelling. Hence, storyboards are of great use…they help you plan, produce and check your storyline effectively before filming,” (NFI 2021).

Audience and Impact

As a college student, I along with many of my peers am constantly drowned with responsibilities and tasks that may overwhelm us to the point that we inevitably will fail at some point. I want to look at the idea of failure as something to not be afraid of but to embrace and use as a tool to help us reach that peak in our careers and personal lives. After completing my film, I have a newfound respect for this difficult journey: the creative process. It is also filled with failure but at least I get to come back stronger in the end, and that’s the whole point, isn’t it?

Citations

Team, N. (2021, December 18). Storyboard - Everything You Need to Know - NFI. Retrieved 27 Nov, 2023, from NFI website: https://www.nfi.edu/storyboard/

The Art of Failure: The Importance of Risk and Experimentation. (2014). Retrieved 25 Nov, 2023, from National Endowment for the Arts website: https://www.arts.gov/stories/magazine/2014/4/art-failure-importance-risk-and-experimentation#:~:text=In%20the%20sciences%2C%20the%20concept,%2C%20fail%2C%20and%20try%20again.

Tate. (2018). The Art of Failure | Tate. Retrieved 31 Nov, 2023, from Tate website: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/lubaina-himid-cbe-ra-2356/art-failure