In his 1972 publication, Film as Film, V.F. Perkins writes 2 simple ideas, so obvious that at first glance require no second thought.
“The most [the critic] can ‘demand’ from a film is coherence…”
and
“The story-teller’s freedom to create is inhibited by his two first requirements: clarity and credibility.”
It is easy to get caught up in details and decisions that distract us from this, but this is why clarity of vision is necessary. Personally, my biggest mistake to date is I often confuse spontaneity with laziness of vision. Cinema is not for the lazy, although many have tried to convince me otherwise. As far as I can tell shooting from the hip is for the legends. And if one should attempt that method and get lucky, then what is the point? The pleasure for me is in the preparation, something I have learned only recently. Although at this point in my studies, an embarrassing production is still much more valuable than months of reading textbooks.
