The concept of 'Provocative competence'
What methods shall we chose when we approach the making of a film? How will we wrangle all the variables? How can we make something visually original?
Like all creative activities, filmmaking involves improvising, and tolerating discomfort, challenging ones normal habits in search of unique results.
Here is an extract from 'Yes to the Mess' by Frank Barrett:
“Many veteran jazz musicians practice provocative competence; they make deliberate efforts to create disruptions and incremental re-orientations. This commitment often leads players to attempt to outwit their learned habits by putting themselves in unfamiliar musical situations that demand novel responses. Saxophonist John Coltrane is well known for deliberately playing songs in difficult and unfamiliar keys because “it made [him] think” while he was playing and he could not rely on his fingers to play the notes automatically. Herbi Hancock recalls that Miles Davis was very suspicious of musicians in his quartet playing repetitive patterns so he forbade them to practice. In an effort to spur the band to approach familiar tunes from a novel perspective, Davis would sometimes call tunes in different keys, or call tunes that the band had not rehearsed. This would be done in concert, before a live audience. “I pay you to do your practicing on the band stand,” Hancock recalls Davis’ commitment to “Keeping the music fresh and moving” by avoiding comfortable routines. “Do you know why I don’t play ballads anymore?” Jarrett recalled Davis telling him. “Because I like to play ballads so much (Carr, 1992, p. 53).” [Barrett, 1998, p. 609]
Filmmakers can be informed by the practice of artists who work in other mediums. Provocative competence seems like a good guiding principle to answer the questions posed at the beginning of this blog.
*The content of this blog was first posted in August 2018.
**I'm not a fan of Miles Davis. I prefer Charlie Parker.
See 'Yes to the Mess' by Frank Barrett.
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