“Writing is re-writing.” How many times have we heard that phrase before? And it’s true. The first draft of a script is never the final one, and the real magic comes from looking at it weeks later from a different perspective, and reshuffling scenes, cutting some, and adding some more. It is critical.

And yet, conversely, the idea of “Re-shooting” is somehow a no-no. The standard mode of thinking is that, if a film has to be “re-shot” that means that something was wrong with the original shoot. It is a Scarlett letter on a filmmaker who attempts to do this.

This mode of thinking is outdated and wrong. A lot of that stems from the corporate backwards way most studios run. Every word, phrase, and story beat has to be planned and approved months ahead of time, with no movement or room left for improvisation. I find that the one of the biggest bursts of inspiration I get creatively is seeing the first cut of the film. When its on its feet and the characters are moving and talking one can instantly see what works and what doesn’t. One can easily cut the fat out of the scenes, and streamline the narrative. I find that the film is now “alive” and I get ideas for new scenes. I’m inspired by what the actors are doing, and get excited about new ways the story could go. These are things you can’t see on the page.

This is how the creative process works. It’s totally natural. And smart filmmakers should budget for re-shoots. Even if the first cut works perfectly (and it almost never does) there is a benefit to adding new cutaways, shots, and potential scenes. True, its difficult. Actors and crew are onto other projects. Hairstyles have changes, as have seasons, but its a challenge that is beneficial.

And the top filmmakers budget for this. Woody Allen always schedules at least three days of re-shoots on every one of his films, months after the original cut.

I did this on “Mayfarers.” In the original cut we never saw Porter Mayfarer, the grandfather. In re-watching the first cut I saw how much this phantom character affected the other characters’ lives, and thought how great it would be to have cut-aways to him, and eventually, episodes about him.

I hope that with new, cheaper technologies filmmakers will look at the filming process more like the writing process, and throw off the corporate rigidness that has dominated the field the last 100 years, and instead embrace the idea of re-shoots.

Re-shoots are not a dirty word. They are a necessity.