The Path of Expertise (aka Becoming Spielberg)

First let me preface this entire entry by stating that in no way am I claiming to be an expert in filmmaking.

I simply find this chart (detailing the path of artistic expertise) fascinating.  It’s pretty insightful to visualize where people’s creative prowess fall by charting one’s artistic knowledge.

See the FULL CHART HERE with sample images to illustrate its point

To me, this chart explains why a lot of people find it difficult putting in the time to understand the fundamentals — and when they give up vs. flourish into something great.  We all know art is subjective, but I’ve actually seen a filmmaker self-proclaim on their DVD box art that he was the next Spielberg…..I’ll just keep my mouth shut on that one.  I wonder where he fell on this chart.

The thing is…we can spend a lot of time (years in fact) and effort learning the filmmaking tools and fundamentals.  So it’s totally understandable to feel accomplished and proud when we finally create something.  Seven years ago when I completed my first short film I was so proud of it and believed it was great — it is not.  Looking back, I had a lot to learn.  And today, I still do.

There are rules for art, just as there are rules for anything.  Experts can break the rules for specific reasons.  Novices break the rules because they don’t know better.

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Here’s a model first proposed by Stuart and Hubert Dreyfus in 1980 suggesting that people go through roughly five stages as they acquire new skills: (found via the Pagan Tuna Blog) — Click here to read the model’s 10 Implications

The Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition

1. Novice
   • rigid adherence to rules
   • no discretional judgment
   • does not feel responsible for outcomes
2. Advanced beginner
   • situational perception still limited
   • all aspects of work are treated separately and given equal importance
   • does not feel responsible for outcomes
3. Competent
   • coping with crowdedness (multiple activity, information)
   • now partially sees action as part of longer term goals
   • conscious, deliberate planning
   • starts to feel accountability for outcomes
4. Proficient
   • holistic view of situation, rather than in terms of aspects
   • sees what is most important in a situation
   • uses maxims for guidance, meaning of maxims may vary according to situation
   • feels responsible for results
5. Expert
   • no longer reliant on rules, guidelines, maxims
   • intuitive grasp of situation, based on tacit knowledge
   • vision of what is possible
   • accepts responsibility for results

For me, the learning process is like this:

First - I don’t know what I don’t know.  I have no awareness of the rules at all so I think I’m doing ok.  — I’m assuming that the majority of beginners fall into this category.

Second -  I know that I don’t know.  Now I’m aware of rules and aware of how much I suck. — This is the discouraging phase where lots of people just give up because it takes too much time, effort and potentially mistakes to move to the next phase.

Third – I know what I know.  I think I’m an expert now, because I know all the rules and understand how to apply them. – But really all I am is proficient or competent.  I’m good at explaining the rules to other people.  But if I encounter a new situation, I don’t always know how to react if they don’t fit my rules.

Fourth – I don’t know what I know. – Now all the rules are in my subconscious and I don’t have to think about it.  I can just work.  If I encounter something new, I instinctively know what to do.  I can break the rules because really there aren’t any rules if I truly understand what I’m doing.  And because it’s instinctive, it’s really hard to explain what and why I’m doing what I do to other people.

Fifth – you’re Spielberg.