There’s No Such Thing As Failure, Only Learning…But It Still Feels Bad
Discover more from Flow With Film
There’s No Such Thing As Failure, Only Learning…But It Still Feels Bad
I entered an editing competition. And lost.
For the past 30 days, I was hard at work putting together a fake movie trailer for an editing competition called Edit Fest 2022. The challenge was to spend 30 days cutting a one-minute movie trailer, advertisement, or title sequence using stock footage provided by Film Supply. Working on it was the most fun I’ve had editing in at least a couple of years. It’s hard coming across a project you really care about, and I poured every ounce of my heart and soul into this. Submissions were due on July 7th, and finalists weren’t announced until July 11th—an agonizing four-day wait for the results.
On the morning of July 11th, after a fitful night of sleep, I began compulsively refreshing my email inbox and the Edit Fest website every few minutes. Finally, their website updated with the finalists. Having not received any email notification that I was a contender, I already knew something was up. Then I scrolled through the 18 finalists across two pages. And it was confirmed. My edit wasn’t there. The sinking feeling that followed was an all too familiar one.
Rejection never gets easier. And it’s doubly as hard when you know you were firing on all cylinders in your best effort to put something really cool together. It’s hard not to fall into a spiral of self-doubt and self-loathing, a pattern of thinking that stems from a lifetime of insecurities, perpetuating themselves with each failure. The fear of mediocrity is a real one, and the fear of never being able to break it is even stronger.
I haven’t made it into the film/TV industry yet, but having worked as a professional video editor for about 6 years now, I know I have at least some degree of marketable skills. That is a kind of consolation. But by having the majority of my professional work not be passion projects, I was beginning to question if I even enjoyed editing anymore. And the most important thing I can walk away with from this experience was a reaffirmation that, yes, I actually do like editing. In fact, I love editing. Piecing a story together out of disconnected parts is a transporting experience, a truly rewarding exercise that uplifts my entire mind and spirit.
Yes, losing the competition is a disappointment, and to not admit that would be a lie. But I’m still proud of myself for trying, and I’m proud that I now have more skills than I had a month ago. The immediate sting of failure will always hurt, but the antidote of humility will always bring me back to where I need to be—a learning state of mind. There’s still a lot of work to be done and the grind doesn’t stop, because the learning never stops. And that’s where the joy really is.
Here’s my trailer if you’re curious:
Also, you can watch my favorite of the movie trailer finalists here (voting is open for People’s Choice Award). This trailer is a knockout, and I completely understand why it made the cut (and why mine didn’t).
P.S. I apologize to everyone that has been expecting reviews these past couple of months—I know I haven’t been putting them out as frequently. I was thinking about doing a lightning round, quickly reviewing everything I’ve watched recently, but I might just wait until the next newsletter so I can take a little breather. Hope to see you next time!
There’s No Such Thing As Failure, Only Learning…But It Still Feels Bad
Hey, that was a great trailer. Let me tell you something about contests. They're artificial and don't predict real-world success. Think of the American Idol show. Do you think Bob Dylan would have made the cut? Or Billie Holliday? How many of the season winners went on to a real career? It's the singers who were eliminated midway, like Jennifer Hudson and Adam Lambert and Clay Aikin, who kept plugging away and found their own path.
We all find our own path, with or without contest wins.
Yes, it's depressing to be passed over. But it means nothing more than you didn't win a contest. As a good friend of mine, who was a dancer and went to many cattle calls and was, as we all are, rejected more times than he was hired -- and he was a terrific dancer, with looks and all -- he said, you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you come up with a prince. I wish you the best, Dan.
Dude, your trailer totally makes me want to watch this fake movie. Bummed you didn't win the competition... still it's a joy to read that you find the creative process a reward in itself. Looking forward to your next film review!