Why Burning Your Plans Lead to Better Films

Why your biggest breakthroughs are hiding in the chaos.

Something I discovered while shooting my new short film—which I just wrapped production on last Saturday—is that shot lists, by and large, haven’t been useful for me.

I make a plan, but it all immediately goes out the window the moment we’re faced with reality on set.

There were several parts of the film I had no clue how to shoot. I didn’t know what would make it work. I worried a lot—but I still showed up, trusting that we’d figure it out together once we were there.

I basically had no concrete plan for the climax. All I knew was that I wanted to shoot handheld so we could stay flexible. I needed the freedom to move fast between setups and adapt in the moment.

If I’d stuck to a strict plan that didn’t fit the moment and refused to compromise, the scene would’ve fallen completely flat. But instead, my special effects artist, cinematographer, script supervisor, and actors all brought ideas to the table—and I was able to say yes to what rang true and no to what didn’t.

We nearly ran out of time and I had to send my producer to go get us an additional two hours on location but we got it done and I’m very happy with the results.

As a director, we often feel like we’re supposed to have it all figured out. But the job isn’t about having every answer—it’s about setting a clear vision and holding the big picture, while giving your cast and crew the freedom to bring their best to it. Your role is to accept the ideas that align with the soul of your story—and protect it from the ones that don’t.

You are the defender of your film. And the final product will depend on your ability to recognize what serves the story and what doesn’t.

So next time you’re stressing over how you’re going to pull something off—just focus on putting the right people in place, and show up. Give yourself the space to stay flexible. Work through the problems together.

That’s where the magic happens.

That experience reminded me: filmmaking isn’t about sticking to the plan—it’s about staying present enough to respond.

This week’s Creative XP is built around that exact idea.

You’ll remix genres, watch one of the most unique animated films I’ve ever seen, explore the editing tool that’s changing my entire workflow, and get a creative challenge that embraces randomness on purpose.

No more waiting for the perfect conditions. Let’s get moving—messy, flexible, and fully in motion.

🎯 Script Quest
Your weekly creative challenge to flex your storytelling muscle one wild scene at a time.

Mash-Up Logline Challenge
This week, we’re taking your cinematic history and twisting it into something totally new.

Your task:
Pick one film you loved as a kid. Then pick one of your favorite films now.
Mash them together into a single movie idea.

Now write the logline for that hybrid story. That’s it.

Not a synopsis. Not a treatment. Just one tight, compelling logline that captures the heart of this mutant movie.

Examples:

• The Iron Giant × Her → A lonely man builds a friendship with a sentient AI war robot in a near-future suburb.

• Matilda × Zodiac → A gifted girl with psychic powers helps track a cryptic serial killer by reading minds in 1970s San Francisco.

Why this works:
It forces you to think in terms of genre collision, tonal tension, and emotional hooks. It’s also a creative reset—putting play back into the writing process. These exercises are fuel.

Bonus XP: Share your logline in the comments and offer feedback on others!

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🎬 Watchlist
A handpicked film to study, packed with insights to sharpen your craft and deepen your understanding of storytelling.

This Week’s Film: Waking Life (2001)
Directed by Richard Linklater

Waking Life is a philosophical tone poem disguised as a film—and one of the most radical animated features of the 2000s.

What makes it so unique?
Linklater shot the entire film on a consumer-grade camcorder and then handed that footage to a team of artists who rotoscoped over it—frame by frame—using an early version of what’s now known as interpolated rotoscope animation.

Every frame was reinterpreted by different artists, so the visuals shift constantly. Characters morph, reality wavers, and the style becomes part of the story: a dream within a dream within a dream.

Why this is essential viewing:

• The rotoscope technique mirrors the film’s central theme—lucid dreaming and unstable perception.

• It’s a masterclass in blending form and content.

• It proves how limited tools can lead to limitless innovation.

What to watch for:

• The way the animation distorts and enhances emotional beats

• How dialogue-heavy scenes are kept alive by visual movement

• The collage of ideas: philosophy, consciousness, free will—delivered as montage-like conversations

If you want to experiment visually, break format, or use animation in unconventional ways—Waking Life is a creative blueprint.

📺 Stream it on Criterion, Apple TV, or Prime Video.

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⚡ Power-Up
A fast, practical upgrade to make your creative life smoother, smarter, or just more fun.

Tool of the Week: DaVinci Resolve 20
Not sponsored. Just switched—and I’m obsessed.

I’ve officially moved on from Adobe Premiere and I’m editing my brand-new short film in DaVinci Resolve 20 (free version!) for the first time—and it’s incredible.

Why I’m loving it:

• The edit page feels snappy and intuitive

• Color grading tools are built-in and powerful

• The Fusion tab gives you VFX options without needing another app

• Actually useful sound design and mixing tools

• And I haven’t hit a single wall using the free version yet

Plus: The latest update added new tools and refinements that actually improve workflow.

If you’ve been feeling stuck or frustrated with your current NLE, give this one a test drive. It might just win you over.

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🧠 Waypoint
An inspirational checkpoint to keep you grounded, growing, and moving forward.

“I would travel down to Hell and wrestle a film away from the devil if it was necessary.”
— Werner Herzog

Herzog doesn’t speak in metaphors—he lives them. This quote isn’t for drama. It’s his operating philosophy.

He’s dragged a steamship over a mountain (Fitzcarraldo), filmed on active volcanoes, walked across Europe to visit a dying friend, and once ate a part of his own shoe as a promise to a fellow filmmaker.

What do we learn from him?
That filmmaking requires absurd levels of tenacity, resourcefulness, and will.

No matter how visionary you are, there will be obstacles: broken gear, no money, lost footage, life imploding. You push through anyway.

Because if you really believe in your story, you don’t wait for perfect conditions—you declare war on hesitation.

This week, ask yourself: what would it look like to show Herzog-level commitment to your project?

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🌱 Skill Tree
A tiny task to help you level up because progress is built one small action at a time.

This Week’s Challenge: The Random Film Roulette
Most of us fall into patterns with what we watch. This week? Break it.

Here’s how:

1. Choose 3 movies you’ve never seen. Pick randomly off IMDb, Letterboxd, or ask 3 different people in your life.

2. Write them down. Toss them into a hat, or spin a digital wheel (like wheelofnames.com).

3. Watch the one that fate gives you.

Your mission:
Take notes on what surprised you most. What worked, what didn’t, and what you might steal for your own work.

Bonus XP:
If you need movie options, check out my Self-Taught Film School Bundle—packed with 100 films taught in world class film schools. Plus, a handy guide to help you dissect them & apply the lessons to your own work.

This challenge is about embracing randomness—because new ideas often come from unexpected places.

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✅ This Week’s Recap:

• You mashed up childhood wonder with adult obsession to craft a brand-new story logline

• Studied Waking Life, a rotoscoped dreamscape that turns philosophy into cinema

• Upgraded your editing life with the free power of DaVinci Resolve 20

• Channeled Herzog-level willpower to keep making films no matter the odds

• Let chaos pick your next film to learn from the unexpected

None of this works if you just read it. The whole point of Creative XP is to help you build by doing.

You don't level up by thinking about it. You level up by trying, failing, overcoming, and repeating.

So go write your logline. Watch that weird film. Show up like it’s your job.

And if this issue sparked something? Pass it to a fellow filmmaker. Momentum grows faster when we’re building together.

— Adam Petrey
Creative XP #004