Lemme tell ya, the possibilities are endless when you begin to understand how it all works. In any process, on any subject. If you know nothing about baking a cake, painting a protrait, building a house, writing music, or even making a movie, it all seems very complicated and even impossible when you don't know anything about it.
But when you start to educate yourself, when you see each step that needs to be taken, and understand why each step needs to be taken, when you familiarize yourself with the necessary tools, and understand what each tool is used for and why, then you begin to understand how the process works, and then learn how to be a part of that process, even causing it.
I'm in constant awe and wonder about what one can accomplish when you understand how a thing works. This week so far has been about further understanding (even remembering) processes.
One such instance is with After Effects. I'm learning more and more everyday, and when I learn and understand how a certain effect works, then I can further see how that can be applied to help put what I see in my head on the screen as a moviemaker. Very special thanks to all the people putting up tutorials on YouTube and very special thanks to Andrew Kramer with Videocopilot.net and his amazing tutorials for After Effects. Learned so much from his breakdowns. I and many other moviemakers are greatful for it.
Another instance is with Fruity Loops. I was so very used to writing music on piano or keyboards, and years ago all I had to work with was Fruity Loops Music Software. I was angry because I was unfamiliar with the software, and I constantly needed a traditional keyboard to sound out tunes in my head. At the time I had to sell my keyboards and I was using a demo of Fruity Loops, and if you know nothing about the software, it is rather complicated. Although I still need the occasional feel of a piano, Fruity Loops has become an invaluable tool in music creation. I've been able to truely understand how each tool works within the software, and finally see it for what it is, a truely powerful tool for music creation.
I just got done working on a track for the next Monster Cops episode, and I started laughing, thinking about back in the day, when I saw Fruity Loops as such a pain in the ass. It just couldn't do what I wanted it to. I saw it as an obstacle. A wall keeping me from creating. Now I undesrtand that it was not an obstacle and there are no walls. Only doors that need to be opened.
I recall when my wife wanted so badly to learn how to knit. It was 2004, and she was fascinated by the process, she had no idea how to start, how to learn. That Christmas I'd ger her a teach yourself to knit kit. with that and the help of some online tutorials we'd found online, she'd begin understanding the process of knitting. She would be frustrated at first, trying to understand the steps. I remember telling her how one day she'd be a knitting pro and we'd look back on these days and laugh, remembering when she didn't know how.
Now her knitting skills have surpassed my expectations. I mean I didn't realize how much more complexity there is to knitting. She's moved on to learn things I didn't know you could learn. She's knitted hundreds and hundreds of things, purses, scarves, hats, blankets, and she's considered by those who know her as an authority on knitting socks. The things she creates don't look handmade. They look like items you'd purchase in a store. Very professional. She's working form patterns that are complex and is working towards creating her own patterns. And now when she finishes a project, she'll look at me and say, "Hey, remember when I didn't know how?" And we'll laugh.
I understand now how there is no such thing as failure or obstacle. What we sometimes see as failure is actually opportunity. What we often perceive as obstacle is actually a chance to be creative. A chance to compose life, instead of opposing it. To create no fate, but what we choose to make.
What some folks call impossible, is just stuff they haven't seen before.
- Robin Williams, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME
