Words that caught us: Stealing Shots

 

What’s the difference between

A documentary and a feature film?

And how does this relate

To our life and work?

 

We saw this tweet the other day…

It said something like...

‘You see how easy and nice

Those celebrity lives are?

Well…it's because they have the money

To pay for all the guys, that run the show!’

 

We didn't immediately connect

Why these words caught us,

And we don’t remember who the writer was…

But they later came to make sense

When we read this piece by Jay Acunzo,

On 'stealing shots'.

 

He says...

“Stealing shots is the practice

Of capturing content from the real world,

Rather than a staged one.”

 

We know this doesn't make sense so far.

Stay with us for a moment.

 

What the tweet said, in effect,

Is that celebrities live in staged environments.

So, what we see, admire and desire in them,

Is, often, not real, or normal.

It is mostly staged, and paid for!

 

The life of a celebrity mirrors a feature film

Than a documentary.

 

Both are films,

But their main difference lies in their

Purpose and subject matter.

 

A documentary is an accurate representation

Of real events, people and situations.

Its aim is to educate, inform, instruct,

And inspire its audience.

It deals with reality,

And is often constrained by low budget.

It’s unscripted, uses real people,

Real locations, and stolen shots.

 

A feature film, on the other hand,

Tells a fictional story, event or narrative.

It deals with fiction,

And its main aim is to entertain its audience.

It uses actors and sets,

Has higher budgets,

And its dialogues and actions

Are always scripted.

 

Most of us live in normal environments,

Constrained by low budgets,

And the realities of life.

 

“When we need inspiration, or ideas…

[In our life and work],

It’s so tempting

To wish for more perfect moments…,

Or carefully built stages,

On which our [life and] work can stand.

But we don't often stand on stages.

We slog through the mud.

Rep after rep, day after day, year after year,

We operate in a demanding, messy,

Sometimes uninspiring reality.

[But we still can] look for places

To steal some shots around [us] –

Tiny ways to notice, or feel, or think something,

That [we] can incorporate into [our life and] work.

Nothing about these moments would be grand or staged,

But so often, these are the richest sources of inspiration,

Metaphors, stories, and insights.

We see something, feel something, and shoot it.

Little moments, consciously considered.

Tiny threads, worth pulling later.

Reality, unfolding all around us.

Every single day.

Full of shots to steal.”

 

For those of us living in real environments,

Constrained by the realities of life,

We have to have the guts,

And the will,

To consistently slog through reality,

Noticing and stealing the shots.

This is what it takes

To make a good documentary.

 

So, what would you rather be,

In your life and work?

A documentary,

Or a feature film?

An accurate representation of life,

That educates, informs and inspires,

Or a fictionalized stage,

With scripts, actors and sets?

*This reflection has been inspired by Jay Acunzo and a tweet (a stolen shot) by an inspired soul, whose name we don't remember. 

** Perhaps this tweet caught us because of our love for nature. It is the best and only source for a genuine and authentic environment. If you enjoy nature and rustic decor, you'll feel at home here.