Think Different?

...just think, please.

I ran across the following today.


I laughed.

I've never bought into the Mac cult. I hope I never do.

Perhaps it's the fact that CTU uses Macs. Maybe it's my own personal experiences with Apple computers. It could also be the rantings of the cult followers just push me over the edge. But, whatever the case... ugh.

Don't get me wrong: I really like working with my G5 and cutting in Final Cut Pro. But I also happen to use a PC, enjoy XP, and have found Vista to be really nice; in fact, everyone I know who is actually using Vista likes it.

This post was going to be about story... but I think I got sidetracked. What I find that often stops people from making movies is not the technical difficulty, nor the time, nor even the lack of resources, but just the plain and simple lack of a story to tell. This happens for many artists and creative types. This problem is often referred to as "writer's block", but it happens to photographers, painters, filmmakers, as well as poets. We get stuck.

How does one keep creativity high? The few suggestions that I've heard include things like: Consistency (such as writing in the same place at the same time every day so as to create a "creative space") and Stimulation (placing yourself in areas where you can get stimuli that will spark your muse, such as reading blogs, going on walks, or talking with friends).

Those ideas are certainly good ones to incorporate, but in order to be creative, we have to think. Careful, we must not think too hard and so confuse ourselves or get bogged down, but we do have to think. That's why it's true that if you just start writing you'll often come up with something to write about: You forced yourself to think.

And, really, you don't have to think differently. Just think, please.

So, next time you feel like you should create something but are bummed out because you don't have any ideas, think back to the last time you actually sat down and thought about a story to tell. Odds are, you haven't for a long, long time.

...that is, if you're anything like me.

So, now that you're almost done reading this post, why don't you spent some time thinking?

That, or go to bed.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor