Saturday, February 6, 2010

The Other Side of the Fence. Sweet Rejection.

I know I've left everyone hanging regarding Crazy8's. That's why you should all follow me on Twitter. Alas, despite what felt like a great pitch we came to a halt in this year's Crazy journey. We pitched well, and had a fun and professional leave-behind, but I got the sense that there was less excitement over the subject matter of our story than we had hoped. I could be off base in that assumption, but I wasn't altogether surprised when the news filtered down that we hadn't made the cut.

The Happy:

It was a great opportunity to get out there and pitch, to prepare a package and sell ourselves as filmmakers, writers, and creators. All pitch experience is a HUGE benefit right now, as we continue working on our show and looking towards the future of our careers. It's great to put some names to faces in terms of the Vancouver scene. Meeting local producers, writers, and introducing ourselves is the backbone of a career in the biz.

The Not-So-Happy:

Being told "No" just plain sucks. No matter the reason, no matter the good things you had going for you, hearing that you weren't quite good enough is one of the most difficult things to stomach. It can be a serious motivation killer. I am a delicate lotus, and must become accustomed to the harsh winds of rejection. That's the biz.

I have decided, however, that we are too far gone in our love affair with this industry to lose momentum over something as small as a "No". We seriously improved over last year by making the first cut with our video pitch. We had way more confidence in our in person pitch than we did last year. We really upped the anti, and showed our dedication to learning an improving. The further away from it I get, the more perspective I have, and the less No-So-Happy there is. I'm sure "No" is a word I will hear many times in the future (this is not an invitation) so a little preparation is a good thing. The yesses will be that much sweeter. So no stopping, no stalling, we've "surfed the comedown" as a friend so eloquently put it, and we're riding a new wave now.

This is me telling you, I'm all in.

2 comments:

  1. It sucks, not just being told "No", but being told "No" after so much hard work, and, let's face it, emotional investment. You said it was a learning experience, an enriching one, and a toughening one, "That which does not kill me, makes me stronger," but it still sucks and patience, "Yeah yeah patience! How long will that take?"

    My hats off to you for making it through your pitch meeting; I have yet to have my first, and I'm scared witless, even though my improv background and enthusiasm favours live pitches over the fragmented e-mail ones I've been doing so far.

    I am at least at the stage where I am getting read - and rejected. Before, not being read at all, that REALLY sucked. You're getting your stuff out there, and that's a big step forward. Heinlein wrote a series of steps or stumbling blocks between writers and success, and one of those is actually showing your work to another living soul. Many clever creative people never get that far, afraid of rejection.

    To hell with it, reject me! Do your worst, I dare you! Okay, maybe not your worst, but... At least that gives you the opportunity to say, "Oh yeah? Well let's see you reject THIS ya thick bastards!" and come back swinging, "I'll write something so damn brilliant their eyeballs will fall out instantly, knowing nothing so fantastic will ever be seen by them again, I'll...!" and so on.

    A strong pot of fair trade coffee awaits, should you ever be in the neighbourhood.

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  2. "No" is short for "Not yet."

    One day you will meet the right team who knows the value in saying "Yes" to your project!

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