Ep. 53 - Filmmaking with Small Children

Film and Family

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In Stephen King's autobiography, On Writing, he describes in detail his struggle with addiction, which nearly cost him his family. King's powerful conclusion is that,

"Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around."

If we sacrifice too much on the altar of "art making", we deprive ourselves of anything truly meaningful to make art about.

Ideally, the purpose of film is not to escape our lives, but to help us appreciate and add meaning to them. The investments we make in our health, relationships, and education bring rich rewards, but these take time. Films can condense this timeline and helps us see a perspective beyond the dull or difficult now; to see a character's triumph in context. Our greatest memories are hard-earned, which makes them all the more valuable.

I know our family feels this strongly this week. I (Anna) am in the hospital with pregnancy complications, and Kent is left to manage the home and take care of our other three children single-handedly. We've found it difficult, but necessary, to put some artistic pursuits on hold. But we know the sacrifices we make to bring these little humans into being, are actually the very substance of life.

We cannot forget the whole reason we want to make movies in the first place! The medium enables us to share in our relationships, experiences, and the wisdom we gain from our most difficult trials. It would be completely backwards to sacrifice these treasured life experiences in our efforts to express why they matter so much.

We hope that no matter what you are going through, that art can function to support and inspire you through it. Do not allow artistic expression to rob you of the concrete things in life that matter most. As you protect your life experience, you also put yourself into a position to pay it forward, creating art that inspires and supports others because of the meaningful lessons you allow life to teach you.

How will you make art that supports life instead of sacrificing your life to support art?

Even though I've been away, Kent still managed to record a short "behind the scenes" podcast interview with two of our kids this week, talking about their experience making a feature film as a family. Isn't he amazing? And our kids are pretty adorable too. Check it out.
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