creativity
by stephen pick
on
Nov 5, 2009 at 11:33:52 am
hi
i teach in a small college in the uk and wondered if there were any other video production lecturers who could share some ideas with me on teaching creativity?
in a video production course it could become easy to get bogged down teaching the technical aspects of the course. students - and everyone else, it seems - are obsessed with the quality of picture over the actual quality of, say, the story they are telling. this leads to flashy productions that are lacking any sort of creative thought other than that of lots of technical effects.
so, does anyone have any thoughts on how we can get creativity back on track at a beginners level? does anyone have any ideas how to present these ideas in a teaching or training environment? has anyone got any examples of trying to solve this problem?
Re: creativity by Mark Suszko on Nov 5, 2009 at 4:27:50 pm
See my answer in the Final Cut Forum where you cross-posted. BAsically, creativity evolves from trying to work within very narrow limts, is my feeling.
Re: creativity by Richard Herd on Nov 5, 2009 at 7:29:47 pm
I understand exactly what you mean! In effect, it appears incorporating a dramatic writing section in you course would be idea, and I like a small book called An Anatomy of Drama by Martin Esslin. I also believe in acting and movement. The goal would be to create a technical vocabulary on why one performance is more convincing than the other. Hard to beat Stanislavski's An Actor Prepares (although that may be a bit too method for the UK :).
One could also stress the word "technical" means essentially "technique," and each sub-medium of film has its unique technique. The only two that really touch the emotions for the audience are the writing and acting, and everything else serves that purpose. For example, I dp'd a project where I was fortunate enough to photograph some amazing scenes, and I was behind the camera, emotional and choking back tears. Yeah my lighting and framing was the best I could do, but people so far love the movie because of the writing and acting.
Said it before, I'll say it again: Capturing clean pic and audio is easy. Getting a million people to pay $10 to watch your production is very hard.
Re: creativity by Roy Schneider on Nov 5, 2009 at 7:53:13 pm
Stephen:
The technical part of the the industry has almost been eliminated. All that is left is the creative. Adjust your curriculum and grading scales to reflect that. Open your classroom to project brainstorming sessions. Allow students to share their creative ideas openly. Get outside the textbooks.
As a student all I learned was how to operate systems (before software) that were outdated. Yes the basics of technical production has to be taught, but creating a class where creative efforts are praised and noticed will make your students much more employable.
One technique we used to do was to show a project to the class, and open a discussion on how the message could have been conveyed differently. This gives the students various ways of conveying the same message.
I applaud your efforts and hope you get some nice feedback from this forum.
Re: creativity by Jason Jenkins on Nov 5, 2009 at 8:15:14 pm
When I was in school, one of the assignments was to tell a story with no dialogue. This is what I came up with. Technically, it's pretty bad but the acting and story make it work, IMO.
Re: creativity by Mike Cohen on Nov 6, 2009 at 8:02:03 pm
Mark - I think the actual experience of waiting for toast is a notch better than anything having to do with Crystal Skulls.
Stephen,
You can't teach creativity - you can only encourage it. Sure college courses focus a lot on equipment, but my professor had it right - learn the gear then get going on making stuff. And let students critique one another.
I always envisioned running a video class like it is a production house. You the instructor are the client. You come up with projects and let the students come up with the ideas, pitch their concepts and then do the work. If you as the client like the work, you pay them with points. The more points you get, the higher your grade.
Another class assignment: Re-create something you see on tv and tell me why you like it and how you accomplished it. This marries technical skills with some recognition of aesthetics.
Dissect a scene from a film or tv show as a class. Does it work? Why or why not?
There are ways to encourage students to be creative. unfortunately university cirriculums tend to be old fashioned and not very good at this.
Re: creativity by grinner hester on Nov 6, 2009 at 11:35:27 pm
you can't teach creativity anymore than you can quinch it. It's not something that is created but something that one is born with. Some like to excercise it in brighter ways than others, that's all. Know that and it will be easier for you to allow each of your students to showcase theirs in their own way.
Re: creativity by stephen pick on Nov 7, 2009 at 3:08:45 pm
hi all,
thank you all so much for your insightful replies. there are definitely some patterns here:
1. teach the basic tech and let them go out and learn from their experiences.
2. have lots of brainstorming/discussion sessions where we can all share our creative ideas.
3. analyse different productions and ask, how can we do this differently.
4. get the groups to critique each other.
5. have lots of practical sessions.
6. run it like a production company with me as the client.
some excellent ideas to further creativity here. any other ideas ive missed?
i also really liked the film 'toast'. a very good idea to get the students to exclude all dialogue. ive been playing with the idea of getting them to make a silent film for a while and then go on to post dub and entire piece just so they can see the process and start from the very beginning of film making. any thoughts?
Re: creativity by Phil Lowe on Nov 8, 2009 at 6:28:00 am
I'll take a shot at this.
Creative expression begins with creative thinking. I know that seems obvious but - as you asserted in your original post - too often people are given tools and techniques without understanding that they are only a means to express a vision, and not merely an end in themselves.
Vision, in the truest sense of the word, requires focus. Creativity, as has been said, is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, so creativity is a process (not a feeling) that requires focused thinking and hard work with the ultimate goal of expression.
Creativity involves self-sacrifice. I'm not just speaking of the kind of sacrifice one makes in terms of time or labor, but the sacrifice of ego. And this is where the process of thought, vision, and sacrifice all meet: the point of creative expression is to involve the viewer in one's vision. So one of the most egoistic pursuits of all, namely to express oneself creatively, can only be achieved when the needs of the artist are subjugated - in large part - to the needs of the viewer. (A paradox it is.) :)
Put another way, expression for expression's sake (which describes most "avant garde" media ever produced) is little more than puerile egoism. It's expression that puts the need of the artist to express himself above the desire of the viewer to be moved. I contend that true creative expression focuses not only on what someone is trying to convey, but to whom they are trying to convey it. The artist is not only trying to produce something: he's trying to produce something that will communicate something for the purpose of moving someone to an emotional or thoughtful response.
Creative expression, therefore, necessarily involves a relationship between the artist and the viewer. The tools the artist uses are merely the means by which he conveys his vision. While the artist must be a master of the tools he uses, he must also discipline his mind to focus on both his vision and his audience and, in so doing, not only see the smallest of details but the purpose of his pursuit in the first place: to communicate.
Now, with all that in mind, give them an assignment to do a 30-second advert. Break them into groups of 3 or 4 and make them take the project from written script to finished commercial. Then repeat the process for a 60-second spot and a 90-second spot. Finish this with a project of 3-5 minutes long and let them critique each other at every turn.
I believe you can foster creativity, as all people are innately creative in one way or another. Giving them a starting direction with a hard time limit and a deadline forces them to focus their thinking and marshal their resources, and focus is what's ultimately required for any project they'll undertake.
Re: creativity by stephen pick on Nov 10, 2009 at 11:47:48 am
thanks phil
one of the groups - 2nd year ND - are actually in the middle of an advert assignment. ill try and update on the results and will definately devote a session to a group critique with feedback. the process of peer review is very useful, in the most basic sense that they are put on show in front of what is usually their intended audience.
you are also right about the tech just being a tool for creative expression. it needs to be mastered but too much reliance on the tools can become a hinderance to creativity.
