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> Maybe a similar sort of thing with software would be spending time on animations -- the result is a cool flourish, but it lasts 0.15 seconds and it took 3 day

> Maybe a similar sort of thing with software would be spending time on animations -- the result is a cool flourish, but it lasts 0.15 seconds and it took 3 days to get it just right, and it's impossible to quantify how worthwhile it was beyond a gut feeling. Even still, that's not even in the same ballpark in terms of time or effort. The difference is that movies are all or nothing productions in an industry set up for a waterfall process with directors who exert creative control. Everything from dealflow to billing to the unions are set up to support the industry's unique requirements. They do the same kind of budget triage as software companies do, but they emphasize the creative aspect far more relative to tech since they're competing over form not function. The nearest creative equivalent would probably be Jobs-era Apple but I think the best analog would be NASA, whose missions are dictated by scientific and exploratory goals outside of their control. Except instead of an artistic direction, they have to contend with physics that dictates they spend extreme resources on seemingly trivial details like what tape or writing implement works best in zero-g.

olivertaylor 6y ago
> they emphasize the creative aspect far more relative to tech since they're competing over form not function Yes and no. There are a lot of "make it fit in the box" requirements when making a movie. The unions mandate a certain make up of the crew, and a certain size, the stage rental costs are a certain amount, there are various laws and corporate budgets to take into account; all that adds up to a certain number of shots you can do in a day, which adds up to a dollar amount, and ALL THOSE THINGS cascade down to enabling only certain creative things. The difference between a brilliant director and a ok one is not the beauty of their art, it's their ability to pull-off something incredible in the middle of all that machinery. In a way, it's WORKING that machinery in your favor. So while, yes, the industry is set up to support a creative endeavor, that industry runs on a template that makes certain things possible and certain things very difficult. But brilliant producers and directors find ways around it.
- akiselev 6y ago
  >* So while, yes, the industry is set up to support a creative endeavor, that industry runs on a template that makes certain things possible and certain things very difficult. But brilliant producers and directors find ways around it.* Totally agree, and IME that's par for the course for any creative endeavor that becomes profitable but unpredictable, whether its cinema, music, or software engineering. I meant more that the final product is judged on aesthetic qualities more so than in software, so the industry naturally allows for more creative expression at the highest levels of decision making.

olivertaylor 6y ago

> they emphasize the creative aspect far more relative to tech since they're competing over form not function Yes and no. There are a lot of "make it fit in the box" requirements when making a movie. The unions mandate a certain make up of the crew, and a certain size, the stage rental costs are a certain amount, there are various laws and corporate budgets to take into account; all that adds up to a certain number of shots you can do in a day, which adds up to a dollar amount, and ALL THOSE THINGS cascade down to enabling only certain creative things. The difference between a brilliant director and a ok one is not the beauty of their art, it's their ability to pull-off something incredible in the middle of all that machinery. In a way, it's WORKING that machinery in your favor. So while, yes, the industry is set up to support a creative endeavor, that industry runs on a template that makes certain things possible and certain things very difficult. But brilliant producers and directors find ways around it.

akiselev 6y ago
>* So while, yes, the industry is set up to support a creative endeavor, that industry runs on a template that makes certain things possible and certain things very difficult. But brilliant producers and directors find ways around it.* Totally agree, and IME that's par for the course for any creative endeavor that becomes profitable but unpredictable, whether its cinema, music, or software engineering. I meant more that the final product is judged on aesthetic qualities more so than in software, so the industry naturally allows for more creative expression at the highest levels of decision making.