'...it gets to a point where it's very ego-centered'

That's a direct quote from Scorsese in the first of this week's readings.

He's talking in relation to longer takes, and how some of the directing greats utilised them to their advantage. I guess he's right - this sort of profession has a certain kind of ego-magnestism to it - especially when so very many of us are at the mercy of our idols. I'm thinking, though, that in order to be honest in the way you make films, you need to be able to trust your own instincts. You have to be open to compromising some of your initial preconceptions.

'Even if there was a certain look on his face, I'd rather cut into that shot for (it)'.

So much of what happens on set is not pre-meditated, and some of it's not necessarily bad. For example, when an actor improvises a certain phrase or line, or gives a word a different inflection... it can change the emotional tone of an entire scene, and thus affect the framing, filming and overall mood. I like to think that while you can never really plan enough, and that all forms of pre-production are 100% necessary, you're not 100% required to stick to your shot lists on the day of the shoot. You can't really afford to set things in stone when so much of what you do is causal.. and we know how unpredictable (and at times, unreliable) people can be.

Scorsese also suggests that creativity and creative interest goes beyond the realm of 'talent' and becomes more a matter of instinct:
'Where I set the camera is just something I feel'.

And we feel it, too.