Jason, from Monstrosity Entertainment, and I were having a conversation about the artistic eye; how not everyone has it. Duh, you might say, but I think it’s so under-valued it’s worth discussing, or at least pondering…
What is the Artistic Eye?
Everyone with a camera may be a photographer, but not every photographer has the Eye to step above the rest and define themselves as A PHOTOGRAPHER. The same with every medium. I’m sure you can write words, and string them into sentences, but would you consider yourself a writer? If you do, why so, but not the next guy who can do the same? I love to write, and have done so for over half my life, but only recently have I begun to publicize my hobby so others can see. I’m not sure that quite considers me a writer, though some say it does. I’m not arguing a side here, simply bringing up the idea of overuse of artistic verbs. Or maybe they’re under used…
The incredibly great technology that’s available so cheaply to the public makes this such a fun time to be an artist, in any form. It’s the why and how of my beginnings into creating my own movies. It’s why I could take what I had always done- creating worlds on paper- and bring those worlds into a visual context that could be shared. This would have been impossible only 10 years ago. With next to $0, we easily started a movie production that is turning out extraordinarily successful, even when compared to other features of its kind in any level! Not everyone who has the will, energy, time, and/or ideas to do this same thing, can do it in a way that is pleasing to an audience. Tastes vary considerably within genre’s, not to mention the vastness of taste that exists across the entire spectrum of film, then on to other art mediums, but there is definitely something to be said for The Eye. The Eye was the IT factor when Rayce Bird won a competition in a field he was merely an amateur in (by that I mean that he wasn’t/hadn’t done it professionally). He had the Eye that circumvented his inexperience.
- Picture courtesy of Evolutis (evolutis.wordpress.com)
I’ve seen many productions, with much more money invested then our current projects, a lot with more money then I’ve earned in my lifetime. I’m continually surprised with the amount of films I know could have been done better if we’d had the material and resources to do it. I don’t feel this is arrogant, nor do I mean it arrogantly. Spielberg could do better than us, with the same resources as us. HisEye is developed, with decades of experience to pull from. There’s a thing that is just had, or not. Developing this Eye through time and experience is immeasurable, and I’m sure there are some who weren’t born with The Eye who developed it over time, but what EVEN IS IT? Why can I watch some blockbusters and think they’re so far from where they could have been, and then I see a movie made with 10 grand that I think is fabulous? (Yes, fabulous). It’s this undefinable thing that’s virtually impossible to express, explain, and understand…
At the amateur level we see it a lot. Movie makers who promote themselves as such, but have as much quality as a few kids running around their backyard. I have no problem with people running around their backyards making movies, even showing these movies off, but when promoted as something bigger than it is, I take issue. Is it that their Eye isn’t developed, so they truly think what they’ve done is great? Is it my Eye that is too critical? Or is it ego that doesn’t care what The Eye says, only that they get the cool points from being able to say: “Look, I made a movie!” Maybe a little of all these points mashed together…
Unrelated Side Note
I once read that if you publish your work before it’s 100%, you’ve cheated your audience. I don’t know that I believe that. And what’s 100%? If characters are complex and engaging, like I believe people really are, there are infinite amounts of paths surrounding a storyline. Sometimes I wish I had the energy to go back and re-write everything from the perspective of if a decision the character made was changed. Where would the story lead then? Just like a “choose-your-own- adventure”. Maybe I should start writing these instead…
Back to The Artistic Eye
A lot of determining how artistic someone’s Eye may, or may not be, has to 
do with perspective, which I mentioned, and will continually fall back on, because, in art, there’s not a right way, there’s a way that appeals to an audience, and hopefully that audience is the one you were gearing things for. A can of soup might be considered one of the most appreciated works of art, with the right perspective. Personally, I think this is psychotic, or I just didn’t get the memo. What made this so? The amount of money someone paid for it? The amount of talk surrounding it? The actual skill needed to create the piece? As I look at others, seeing their flaws, there’s exponentially more looking at my work thinking the same thing. That’s okay. Maybe that is the answer to the rant. Everyone does have an Eye. As long as one person appreciates what’s been done, art has been created. Just because I don’t like and/or appreciate something doesn’t mean the creator has less of an Eye, it just means they have a different Eye then me, and I’m glad of that. I like having my own Eye. Or maybe it means that we’re all mad, and the fact that these other independents, like myself, aren’t making millions off our art, means we’re all shams. Either way, I like doing it, so I’ll keep on doing it, continually hoping a couple of you will like what I do!
- What’s your EYE like?
- Whose Eye do you value?
Follow Cynthi Marie on FB, Twitter (@Stealing_Shade), or check out more at her own blog & production company website.
My first, and greatest love was always books, which turned into writing early on. Then came movies. Games didn’t enter my life until PS2 came out. I tend to stay away from games as they suck my world into oblivion. I stop sleeping. I stop paying attention to everything else when I get into them, though I break this for Mass Effect, Assassins Creed, Gears, and FF. Recently entering the amateur indie film scene, Stealing Shade Productions (stealingshade.com) was born. I’m also working on a comic book (stealingshade.indieaisle.com) and 2 novels. There are bets on whether these will get finished Find me on Facebook @facebook.com/StealingShadeProductions or check out my alter ego at shutthehealthup.wordpress.com.
