The Art of Being Creative

Whilst no-ones likes homework, I wanted to put a quick blog together to dive a little deeper on the topics I talked about in my SWPP Advent calendar today (link coming soon…)

In my advice towards the end of the video I talked about using creative everyday projects to fuel your creative brain, and this is where I want to share some more background.

I mentioned using rules to help ensure a cohesive feel to a project and I’ve found some great examples of other people using similar methods. First up is Chuck Jones, creator of the Road Runner cartoons. (if you’re under 40 you might need to check this link first…) He had a set of rules for every cartoon to ensure a cohesive output. Check the video above and tick them off one by one.

Very simple really, but it makes every cartoon feel like a cohesive set, even after making them for almost 75 years with various story writers and animators.

Next up is Danish film directors Lars Von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg. They created the Dogme 95 manifesto in, you guessed it… 1995. These were rules to create films based on the traditional values of story, acting, and theme, and excluding the use of elaborate special effects or technology. It was supposedly created as an attempt to “take back power for the directors as artists”, as opposed to the studio

The goal of the Dogme collective is to “purify” filmmaking by refusing expensive and spectacular special effects, post-production modifications and other technical gimmicks. The filmmakers concentrate on the story and the actors’ performances. They claim this approach may better engage the audience, as they are not “alienated or distracted by overproduction”. To this end, von Trier and Vinterberg produced ten rules to which any Dogme film must conform. These rules, referred to as the “Vow of Chastity”, are as follows:

Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found).
The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot)
The camera must be hand-held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted.
The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera.)
Optical work and filters are forbidden.
The film must not contain superficial action. (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now.)
Genre movies are not acceptable.
The film format must be Academy 35
The director must not be credited.

This is a much harder list to follow than the Road Runners… and obviously any director would need significant planning to take on something like this. But the output certainly ensured a cohesive feel to the films over the 10 years that the movement was active.

Finally, I want to share my rules for the project I am working on at the moment.