While reading Anne Bogart’s book And Then, You Act, I came across several sections that struck a chord with my fears/approach to capstone.  I realize that making a documentary is an enormous undertaking and I also know that I do not make my best work while under a time crunch.  Bogart says several things that encourage me to think more closely about my relationship to the deadlines and my creative process:

“keep moving and slow down, simultaneously”

“The purpose of slowing down is to make room to create the space to think like someone else”

“Pressure can render you stupid and make you rush”

“Time is a partner rather than an enemy”

“You cannot force things to happen at a particular time, but you can prepare and pave the way for the eventuality of expression in the same way that you pave the way for visits of inspiration in your daily life: you create the proper conditions and circumstances. And then you act.”

I think that these quotes will be very helpful in reminding me that I can’t force myself to be creative at a particular moment and that I must instead set aside substantial amounts of time to assess my work and hopefully draw inspiration from working with the material.