The Muse and the Mentor
When you’re starting out as a creative individual you’re constantly looking for inspirations and role models. You’re always looking for people to pattern yourself after. You’re always in search for some insider piece of information that will clue you into exactly how your idols create the works of art you’re obsessed with.
While you’re building your strengths, there’s two types of inspirational people that you’ll want to bring into your creative framework: Muses and Mentors. Muses are people whom you don’t know in your everyday life but look up to because their work and methodology inspires you. In the world of filmmaking, John Carpenter is one muse who comes to mind. The man can quickly and effectively break down why a scene works or the myriad of different ways to shoot a scene and he’s out there on the front lines making compelling films. It’s one thing to hear a critic or someone whose job is to break down information and talk about scene construction, it’s a whole different game when David Fincher or Sofia Coppola or Larry David does it. When a muse talks about the act of creativity they’re also talking about the way they do it. They’re talking specifically about THEIR creative process, which is supremely inspirational.
A mentor, on the other hand, is someone who is directly involved in your creative process or life and who is able to give you real, practical advice. They tell it to you straight, the way you need to hear it. They’ll tell you when you’re spinning your wheels and will point out the things you’re doing that might be inhibiting your progress. They’ll see where you’re having trouble and can help you approach things from a new direction because they’ve seen you do it your way.
Being a creative individual means getting better and growing. Whether it’s through morsels of information that you gleaned from interviews with one of your muses or direct one-on-one conversations from your mentors, the people who can guide you directly in your life, the goal is to always improve and hone your skills.
As a creative person you need both muses and mentors. You need them for fuel. You need them for inspiration so that you have a roadmap for yourself of what to do and how to do it. There’s also the fact that as you witness these individuals solving creative problems over and over again, you’re developing a creative problem solving vocabulary for yourself. It’ll be much easier for you to complete a project after you’ve witnessed your mentor finish their project or you’ve heard JJ Abrams discuss how he finished his first project. It’s all a matter of learning the right way to do things.
Whether we turn to our mentors, muses, or both, having a trusted guide enables us to grow with some direction and assimilate the wisdom that’s been handed down from pro-to-pro over the years. Once we’ve acquired that wisdom and have some of our own to share, it’s time to pay it forward as muse or mentor to the next up-and-comers.
Find a film mentor at www.filmconnection.com.