Drawing on an experience of collaborating within the studio, discuss this quote: “I always find that if two (or more) of us throw ideas backwards and forwards I get to more interesting and original places than I could have ever have gotten to on my own” (Cleese, John 1991 A lecture on creativity).
When we collaborate as a group at our table, it is always interesting to see the ideas that get produced once the creative juices start flowing. Usually it takes one person to start us off before a multitude of ideas begin to evolve based off that one person’s initial comment. Personally, I find that my own creativity is prompted once someone else has provided their input, because I am often lost as to where to begin. Therefore the quote rings true to my own development of ideas, as I would not be able to get to the places I do without the inspiration of my group.
When discussing the concept of architecture in a world, our group was able to thoroughly dissect the prompt and everyone had something useful to contribute. We found that there was a flow-on effect that led to ideas I would not have crossed on my own. We started off with the idea of superheroes and the cities they are situated in. The obvious idea was that these worlds are incredibly vast, often characterised by sky-scrapers, roads congested with traffic and people bustling on the footpath. This creates the feeling of a large and busy world which the key superhero treats almost like a playground; Gotham was a prime example.
Batman uses the structures and buildings like pieces of equipment from which he can leap off and fly between. Toying with this concept then led one of our members to bring up the world of ‘Thor’, as it was, interestingly, characterised by the opposite of what we had just discussed. This world is based in a small-town city where Thor is blatantly larger than his surroundings, particularly when indoors, which purposefully emphasises his god-like status.
Had it not been for the collaboration of our group, I would not have considered this idea. However, I now feel that this could be something useful to consider when it comes to developing my own screen story later in the semester. I think this highlights that innovation in a media context is most often manifest through collaboration. A film is the end product of a process involving several individuals that each contribute their unique visions. As lone components these visions would not be sufficient. This field of interaction is an ‘open and dynamic’ system that facilitates the ‘movement of ideas, knowledge sharing and critical feedback’ (Mcyntire 2012, p. 146). While no one’s ideas were outrightly discounted we were able to respectfully oppose or question others’ input and I think this is an important and valuable aspect of collaboration. To thoroughly tease out an idea, all facets of it should be explored so that there is no limit as to what the idea can evolve into. Completely unpacking an idea, even to suggest things that may be considered trivial, will be ultimately valuable to the collaborative process because you never know what other people will bounce off or what could inspire a light-bulb moment for someone else.
References:
Mcyntire, P 2012, Creativity and Cultural Production: Issues for Media Practice, Palgrave Macmillan, England
Be First to Comment